| To: VOCALIST <vocalist> From: Eva Zuber Subject: Re: Photocopying Music (long) Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Hi All,
At 1/14/00 07:45 PM , Dale Gillespie wrote:
>I myself have no problem with photocopying music. For one thing it sits better on the paino when the sheets are taped together, which eliminates page turning for the accompanist. >
Same here. I find it ridiculous to require the use of the original score if: 1) I own the original, and need to use a photocopy for a practical reason - page turning, song available only in the bulky anthology or an opera score; 2) the song/aria is out of print; 3) the song is available in a sheet version but not in the key I need - in which case I should be allowed to have it transposed, and photocopied for myself and the pianist.
>I feel the same way as some of you seem to about purchasing a book of music for just one song.
Exactly! Why, you the consumer, should be forced to purchase the whole volume when you know that 99% of it you'll never use. A good example here are all kinds of "anthologies". Most of them have a selection of songs/arias by composer rather than by fach. So for example, in a soprano operatic selections, out of 20 or so arias, you may find only 2 or 3 that are really good for your type of soprano. Lieder collections are even worse! Not only they disregard the voice types, they also throw in the songs for men and women together! Personally, I find these collections absolutely useless - unless you are a teacher, and you use them for your students. For the performers, though, they are a total waste of money!
In the case of the opera arias, my decision whether to buy the whole vocal score or just a sheet depends on whether the whole role is for my voice type or not, and whether I have the prospect of singing it in the next 5 years, etc. As I said, I stay away from the anthologies as much as I can.
Re: the requirements in the competitions.
I was told that in the Canadian Music Competition the singers are required to prepare 12 songs/arias! There are multiple judges at each level - I did not bother to count how many original scores one needs! It's too outrageous even to contemplate. Why the organizers have to be "More Holly than a Holly Grail?". Would it not be more sensible to let the contestants bring one original and however many copies are needed, and then destroy the copies after the competition is over? After all those competitions are meant for young people who 1) are still students, and entering a competition is for them a learning process, 2) usually have very limited financial resources, and mostly rely on their parents to finance it all, 3) do not get paid for singing in a competition, therefore as non-professionals have no means to claim the costs as a business expense.
Lastly, did you ever see a big-name-singer dragging in a truckload of scores during their recitals? I did not! Their pianists seem to do with very neat, slim portfolios. Is the music in those portfolios all original? I doubt it!
The outrageous demands make us all unwillingly to become resourceful cheaters. Feel guilty? Not me! When you are put in a position between a rock and a hard place, what are you supposed to do?
Ciao, Eva Zuber Toronto ezuber-at-bigfoot.com +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "I'm an enemy of the average" - Ganna Walska, singer +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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