[CAUT] John Cage, "The Earth Shall Bear Again"

[Porritt, David]

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Why would we discredit this music that has been accepted by many top
musicians.  It makes us look like Luddites.  We certainly have the right
to like it, or dislike it and we have a responsibility to try to protect
the instruments but if a student wants to play it and the teacher
encourages it I don't think they look to us to be the musicologists.  As
I've mentioned before it's their job to play the music, and our job to
repair the damage.

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dp

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David M. Porritt

dporritt@smu.edu

________________________________

From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Jeff Tanner
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 12:36 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] John Cage, "The Earth Shall Bear Again"

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On Oct 5, 2005, at 11:48 AM, Otto Keyes wrote:





My vote is to let the earth bear it....again.....give the rest of us a
break

outside the cage...

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Otto

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Well, I would vote with you, but it is beginning to look like my
preferences and suggestions that prepared piano accelerates piano wear
are being totally ignored. =20

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"I just want to do something different"=20

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"but it sounds so cool"

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Yeah, some people probably think the sound of an airliner colliding with
a tall building sounds cool and different too.

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Anyhow, I agreed to help her with the preparation.  This piece didn't
look too involved as long as she lets me help.  Rather do it that way
than find a bunch of maimed damper felt and broken strings.  The problem
is going to become that she will want to rehearse it on a prepared
practice room piano from now till March. =20

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Question is this:  the instructions give exact distance from the damper
to place the screws, bolts, etc.  How much does piano make and model
affect what Cage was after?  (I mean, really, was there really a method
to his madness? or was this guy just really doing some serious
d-basing?)  When he says "bamboo", is it a "slice" of large bamboo or a
"tube" of smaller diameter bamboo (like what he was using to snort coke?
maybe a doobie holder?)?  green or dried?  and what is usually used for
the "plastic" weaved around the low A, Bb, and B?  Drink straw maybe?
(see snort)

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No. I'm sorry. I just can't take this music form seriously.  But some
people want to give it merit.

=20

Jeff


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