Comments for Richard D. Russell

Comment on The Beatles & active listening; an early lesson from “You Won’t See Me” by Michael Kniat

Michael Kniat — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:20:26 +0000

I absolutely agree about “You Won’t See Me”: The harmony backing vocals are what makes that song. Whenever it comes up, I find myself singing along to one, or both, of the harmony parts — not to the lead vocal (it’s too high for me anyway).

A quick anecdote about active vs. passive listening: Several years ago, before I switched back to pursuing a full-time music career, I had a gig as a marketing consultant for a small software development firm in Park Slope. It was a great, laid-back environment: all the programmers & developers were encouraged to get comfy and happy at their desks — which included plugging in their headphones and listening to their favorite music as they worked — all day, every day.

The owner of the firm — my client — noticed that I was the only one not listening to music. This surprised him, knowing that I was also the only musician, as he supposed that I would be the most eager one to plug in of the entire office. At length, he brought it up to me directly, expressing his confusion about my apparent lack of interest, and encouraging me to take advantage of the opportunity to get into the groove of my choice.

I had to explain to him that, as a musician, my mind is trained to listen to music in an analytical way. Consequently, I find it difficult to listen to ANYTHING passively — and for music that I especially like, it’s just about impossible. Because it’s impossible to devote full attention to two things at once, if I were to plug in the headphones and listen to music all day, I would never get any work done!

Comment on Another element of music? by Richard D. Russell

Richard D. Russell — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 18:30:50 +0000

I was just in the Guggenheim last night and was struck by the acoustics there. I wonder if anyone has ever heard live music there and can report back? (I’ve heard a jazz combo, but that was with sound amplification and is not quite the same.)

Comment on “Amid the Blinding Snow” Feb. 20 pictures by Blinding pictures

Blinding pictures — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:07:05 +0000

[…] вЂњAmid the Blinding SnowвЂќ Feb. 20 pictures Mar 3, 2011 … Three new compositions by Richard Russell premiered on Feb. 20. […]

Comment on “Why Do You Compose?” a response to Rob Deemer by Richard D. Russell

Richard D. Russell — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:33:44 +0000

I agree completely — and you’ve said it so much more succinctly. Thanks!
RR

Comment on “Why Do You Compose?” a response to Rob Deemer by Brighton

Brighton — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:15:06 +0000

the personal *is* the universal, so when we write and express what we feel, it resonates with others who are open to it. the reason you still dig the moonlight sonata is that Beethoven expressed a personal, yet universal feeling very very well. To me it is a mistake to compose to show off how much you know — it is better to show off how much you feel.

Comment on Announcing YouTube Channel by Richard D. Russell

Richard D. Russell — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:02:37 +0000

Thank you for your positive feedback! I do hope to get back into podcasting one of these days; there’s been a few reasons why I have not been able to return to them just yet. Meanwhile, I WILL look into the iTunes links issue in the next week or so.

Thanks again!

Comment on Announcing YouTube Channel by Brighton

Brighton — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:13:01 +0000

Just discovered your podcasts, which I guess are from a few years ago. I really enjoy them. I am an older composer getting back into writing classical music and there are so many good pointers and worthwhile discussions in your podcasts! I’m having trouble today downloading them in iTunes. Please check and see if there is some kind of problem with the feed. Thanks!

brighton
atlanta ga

Comment on “Katrina the Shrew” to premiere June 2 by Richard D. Russell

Richard D. Russell — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:58:49 +0000

Thanks so much! I’m on my way to the evening performance and can’t wait!
–RR–

Comment on “Katrina the Shrew” to premiere June 2 by Dedennis

Dedennis — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:10:00 +0000

Congratulations, Emily and Richard!
I am a teacher at Central and just saw the first performance.¬† It was very clever and entertaining. The songs are wonderful! And the message about stopping bullies is one we can not hear enough!

Debbie Dennis

Comment on The Music Business Continues to Pass by Richard Russell

Richard Russell — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Thanks for the update/correction! In fact, I do rather remember reading about the instance of the Smashing Pumpkins many a year ago.

I suppose the point is that the channels of distribution are now more open than ever before. Art is created all the time by hundreds of thousands of artists–that’s a given. But it is just as important to consider how this art reaches an audience of any size.

For better and for worse, art’s delivery to the public at large is now in the hands of the artist. The implications of this are staggering–not the least of which is how does an individual artist gain attention these days? But also: how is the good separated from the bad? “Great” art is not always recognized, and “poor” art is frequently rewarded for the wrong reasons.

But the answers to these questions, for now, are less and less in the hands of corporate profit-makers.