12 Steps to Success as an Artist

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:48:04 +0000

Step one: Have no ideas.
Step two: Struggle to come up with some good ideas.
Step three: Suddenly lots of ideas start to arrive unexpectedly; write them all down.
Step four: Realize all ideas previously generated and written down were bad ideas.
Step five: Erase everything and start again.
Step six: Give up and/or get distracted by some other project.
Step seven: Toy with several half-ideas, but don’t develop them for fear of finding out later that they were in fact bad ideas.
Step eight: Half-heartedly start to develop/continue to toy with one of the half-ideas, all the while telling yourself that it won’t go anywhere and it’s probably a waste of time.
Step nine: Wake up in the middle of the night to realize that this half-idea that you’ve been toying with could not only be really good, but could also incorporate some of the material that you came up with earlier and really liked but finally erased because it seemed to go nowhere.
Step ten: GET EXCITED: You’ve still got it! How could you ever have doubted yourself? Become obsessed with fleshing out your new idea, working night and day until it is absolutely perfect.
Step eleven: Get stuck on some minor aspect. Obsess/vacillate over various possible but seemingly unsatisfactory solutions for a while.
Step twelve: Finally decide/concede that it must be finished. Be happy with your creation but also sad because the excitement of being inspired and working with your inspiration is over. Return to step one.

Canciones de Turista:

dave — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:32:16 +0000

The culmination of my two years studying ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University was my Master’s Thesis, finished in April of 2005, entitled Tourist Songs: Cultural Tourism, The Buena Vista Social Club, and Cuban Son. I address the recent shifts in the Cuban policy on tourism, and observe the (many) ways in which these changes directly affect musicians, especially those performing a style of music with tourist appeal, such as “traditional” son. I include detailed transcriptions and analyses of pieces performed by the musicians I encountered while doing my field work in the summer of 2004, as well as recorded examples. And it’s all here for download!

You can listen to all of the musical examples here (refer to the bibliography for more detailed information about the recordings) :

«Aquella Boca,» Sexteto Habanero 1927
Introduction to «A La Cuata Co y Co,» Sexteto Boloña 1926
Introduction to «Suavecito,» Septeto Nacional 1930
Introduction to «Caballeros, Silencio,» Sexteto Habanero 1927
Introduction to «Vitico,» Isaac Oviedo 1998
«Alza Los Pies, Congo,» (excerpt) Sexteto Habanero 1928
«Mi Arere,» (excerpt) Los Muñequitos de Matanzas 1988
«La Gente del Bronx,» (excerpt) Arsenio Rodríguez 1951
«La Bola,» (excerpt) Manolín, El Médico de la Salsa 1996
«La Expresiva,» (excerpt) NG La Banda 1990
«No Se Puede Tapar El Sol,» (excerpt) NG La Banda 1990
«El Traguito,» Félix Godón *
«Harina de Maíz,» Cuarteto Rumí *
Guajeo in Dm, Ilià¡n Torres *
Introduction to «Se Quema Pueblo Nuevo,» Septeto Machín *
«Ven, ven, ven,» (excerpt) Septeto Machín *
«Me Quedé Con Juana,» (excerpt) Son Soneros *
«Saca La Mano, Antonio,» Son Soneros *
«Mozambique,» (excerpt) Pedro «Pello el Afrokan» Izquierdo ca. 1963
«Ahora Te Pido, Sonero,» (excerpt) Son Soneros *
«Lágrimas Negras,» (excerpt) Son Diamante *
«El Que Siembra Su Maíz,» Perlas del Son *
Introduction to «Sabor a Caney,» Perlas del Son *
«Pedro Navaja,» (excerpt) Ruben Blades 1978
Guajeo in Am, Daniel Cos *
«Si No Te Vea,» Moneda Nacional *
«La Raya Rumbero,» Moneda Nacional *
Introduction to «Aquella Boca,» Cañambú *
«¿Que está pasando?,» (excerpt) Cañambú *
Bongó solo, Manuel Alemán and Cañambú *

* Field recording, recorded with permission by the author June-August 2004

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davidgarlitz.com » Writing

12 Steps to Success as an Artist

Canciones de Turista: