There has long been a debate within the Second Life music community about what constitutes live entertainment.
One of our own, Phoenix Gerhadsen has an excellent blog post regarding the argument concerning live vs. "karaoke" performances. She has also included a great article by Loegan Magic on the topic. I had told her long ago I would post a reference to it here and I have been sadly remiss in getting that done. It's a worthwhile topic that should be brought to light.
Before I direct you to it, I would like to add my own thoughts;
Merriam-Webster defines music as "Vocal, instrumental or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody or harmony." Nowhere in that definition does it say, "If you sing, you must accompany yourself".
Many of our performers use what is known as 'tracks', recorded instrumental accompaniment to give a rounded and professional sound quality to their live performance. That is not the same as prerecording a performance and just playing the file when they are onstage. The voice you hear is coming to you live as you listen. That performer is opening themselves to your praise or your ridicule in real time.
Does the fact that this person is not a one man band, strumming a banjo while they turn their head in one direction to play a trumpet and thumping a bass drum with their toes make them less of a 'live' performer? Absolutely not!
There are many wonderful performers who can sing and play an instrument. We are graced with several at Cafe Casablanca; Dilah Halostar is an accomplished pianist, JC Farstrider and Declan Greenfield both gifted saxophonists. They all bring us their vocal and musical talents. They also enhance their performance with added instrumentation or 'tracks'.
A voice is an instrument. Whether the person singing is a trained professional or a gifted amateur, they are offering us the opportunity to share their love of music. Maligning someone for not balancing a guitar on their knee or having taken piano lessons is narrow minded and is a type of elitism Second Life can ill afford.
If you don't believe these same tools are used by many highly paid real world entertainers in their concerts and stage performances, you should do a little research into the arts. From grand opera to garage bands, backing tracks and prerecorded instrumentals are employed more often than you might imagine.
I stand by every entertainer who comes to Second Life to share the joy of music with us. They put hours into giving us the best they can offer and I praise every one of them for having the courage to put themselves in front of us and facing a very demanding audience.
The link to Phoenix's blog post is:
http://phoenixsings.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-not-karaoke-morons-please-read.html
One of our own, Phoenix Gerhadsen has an excellent blog post regarding the argument concerning live vs. "karaoke" performances. She has also included a great article by Loegan Magic on the topic. I had told her long ago I would post a reference to it here and I have been sadly remiss in getting that done. It's a worthwhile topic that should be brought to light.
Before I direct you to it, I would like to add my own thoughts;
Merriam-Webster defines music as "Vocal, instrumental or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody or harmony." Nowhere in that definition does it say, "If you sing, you must accompany yourself".
Many of our performers use what is known as 'tracks', recorded instrumental accompaniment to give a rounded and professional sound quality to their live performance. That is not the same as prerecording a performance and just playing the file when they are onstage. The voice you hear is coming to you live as you listen. That performer is opening themselves to your praise or your ridicule in real time.
Does the fact that this person is not a one man band, strumming a banjo while they turn their head in one direction to play a trumpet and thumping a bass drum with their toes make them less of a 'live' performer? Absolutely not!
There are many wonderful performers who can sing and play an instrument. We are graced with several at Cafe Casablanca; Dilah Halostar is an accomplished pianist, JC Farstrider and Declan Greenfield both gifted saxophonists. They all bring us their vocal and musical talents. They also enhance their performance with added instrumentation or 'tracks'.
A voice is an instrument. Whether the person singing is a trained professional or a gifted amateur, they are offering us the opportunity to share their love of music. Maligning someone for not balancing a guitar on their knee or having taken piano lessons is narrow minded and is a type of elitism Second Life can ill afford.
If you don't believe these same tools are used by many highly paid real world entertainers in their concerts and stage performances, you should do a little research into the arts. From grand opera to garage bands, backing tracks and prerecorded instrumentals are employed more often than you might imagine.
I stand by every entertainer who comes to Second Life to share the joy of music with us. They put hours into giving us the best they can offer and I praise every one of them for having the courage to put themselves in front of us and facing a very demanding audience.
The link to Phoenix's blog post is:
http://phoenixsings.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-not-karaoke-morons-please-read.html
Please take the time to read it. We are a world where the loudest voices usually hold the most sway. Let's make a louder voice for live music in ALL forms being accepted with the respect due.
