Each Note is a Universe

[Susan Alcorn (deceased)]

From an interview with music (live in the studio) this morning:

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/pr ... 851241.mp3

[Kevin Macneil Brown]

Engagaging conversation; compelling-- and ever-surprising!-- musical colloquy. Thank you for the link.
And very nice that they gave you a decent stretch of time.

[Howard Parker]

Susan,

I enjoyed the broadcast this morning as I was tooling up to Hagerstown.

cheers

h

[Archie Nicol R.I.P.]

I'm sorry, Susan, but it's all a bit Picasso and the Emperor's New Clothes to me?

Arch.

[Alan Miller]

Im mostly with Arch on this one, I listened to the whole piece and tried to "get it".
From all the articles I have read Susan is a very very accomplished traditional steel player and some of the stuff she does has a lovely sound and I like it, Picasso was a very talented "traditional" artist who in his latter years went off on a tangent...many didn't get it.

Susan, in the interview the music you play was described as "very personal" maybe that is part of the reason others struggle with it... as some people struggled with Picasso's later works.
This isn't a criticism, if you get my drift,we are just not used to hearing these sounds from a pedal steel guitar.

I would really love to hear some of the western swing and country stuff that you mentioned, do you have anything of it posted elsewhere ? Maybe you have moved on from that at this point though ?

[Larry Jamieson]

Well Susan,

I am always interested to see what you are up to next with the pedal steel. It is always different, unique, creative, and interesting. I am always amazed at what people do with instruments that is "outside the box." Have fun and be yourself!

Cheers,

Larry J.

[Joey Ace]

That's about as far away from my musical universe as I can imagine.

Still, I also appreciated you posting the link.
It's very interesting to see what you're up to.

Thanks.

[Billy Murdoch]

I find it difficult to enjoy music which does not have any progression and no rhythm.
You seem to have succeeded in disguising the sound of the steel guitar.
Could You post something else,perhaps,"way to survive"or "San Antonio rose"to illustrate the versatility of the instrument and Your ability.
Good luck with Your project.
Billy

[Howard Parker]

I've seen Susan in live performance and find the music fascinating.

I was totally disoriented at first but found that the brain adapted if I just relaxed and listened for an extended period.

Like letting your eyes adjust to the dark.

Sorry Billy...I did giggle a bit. How does playing country music show any versatility? Isn't that the complaint of some, that the steel is stuck in a country music rut? (not that I agree...)

cheers

h

[Billy Murdoch]

Howard,
I will be first to admit that I have been a Country fan for a long time and A lot of My opinions are biased.
I respect everyone's taste in music.
The vesrsatility of the steel guitar is shown or heard on all the techniques involved in playing "country"
harmonics,chord structure,dynamics,speed picking,pick blocking,palm blocking,bar control and numerous other ways to get a "pleasing" sound.
I perhaps should have mentioned the use of the steel for playing Jazz and Swing music too.
The music Susan produces is of a different type and My opinion is that whilst it was played on a steel guitar it appeared to have been played with a different technique,the result being it does not sound like a pedal steel guitar.
by the support Susan has, She is obviously well liked and I wish Her well.
Billy

[Joey Ace]

The forest would not be as interesting a place if all the birds sang alike.

I believe Mike Perlowin once wrote a review of Susan's music saying something like, "If aliens landed on Earth, this is what they'd be listening to."

(Paraphrased by memory. Sorry if I got it wrong, Mike.)

[Tony Smart]

"How does playing country music show any versatility?"

I disagree.

Let’s look at Country Music. You have Down Home Country, Modern Country, Country Rock, Crossover Country/Pop, Western Swing (with it’s Jazz overtones) etc..

I don’t think there’s any other single form of music that encompasses such variety/versatility.

I'm saying this as someone who likes all sorts of music.

[b0b]

I found the phrases where they converged to unison notes most interesting. These two performers are very much on the same wavelength. Don't be deceived by the level of abstraction. They have both mastered their instruments, and are using that mastery to explore unusual sonic ideas.

Just as some paintings are not pictures, some music is not songs.

[Steve Alcott]

"The forest would not be as interesting a place if all the birds sang alike."
"Just as some paintings are not pictures, some music is not songs."

Joey and b0b, these are two of the most eloquent statements I've run across lately on the subject of music.

[Nic du Toit]

I'm grateful for the link...... Finally I found something I could add to my Sound Effects library...... I often get asked if I've got samples of drain-pipe noises, or the agony of someone drowning....

[C. Christofferson]

..and, probably, each universe is a note - with a helluva lotta harmonics..Now you've gone and done it, you've stirred up a slightly deeper level of the dreaded subconscious and it's potentially more unpleasant emotivity than the 'happy but nervous' opiate of good ole country music.

[Don Brown, Sr.]

Well, I finally found a post, that I'm stumped on responding to.

To each, his/her own I guess. I didn't hear an ounce of music. I heard plenty of Noise, Sounds, and what appeared to be someone on something pretty good, to take them that high into space, without a Shuttle? Wow!

Susan, that was excellent playing at it's finest.

I've tried telling folks that kind of stuff happens to steel players, given enough time...

All kidding aside, I think you overdone that, by using a pedal steel.

I'll go practice now, and one day, just maybe, I'll be able to play just like that, when I get older.

I think they both deserve tons and tons of credit, for having the guts to ever go out in public. And to that, I'm very serious!

I could name a few places that stuff would definitely go over big time, but the audience is usually quite out of it too.

[John De Maille]

Sorry folks, I guess I'm just not musically educated enough to understand this "music".
They'd have to pay me to attend a concert of that noise.
Just had to say it!..... Flame me if you want.

[Kevin Macneil Brown]

It seems to me that asking music to always sound in particular ways is like asking human beings to always think, feel, and speak in particular ways.
I like it that some artists-- Susan is certainly one of them-- will always be deeply engaged with new possibilities and perceptions about music, sound, and expression. This can make for some exciting-- if not always familiar or comfortable-- journeys.

[Nic du Toit]

just as music is whatever people choose to recognize as such, noise is whatever is recognized as disturbing, unpleasant, or both.

[C. Christofferson]

Nic, that's a nice can of worms there i like it alot. When i hear my cat purring I interpret that as a pleasant noise. It's not music although it could be called that in a poetic sense. You must be referring to sounds that could be labelled as noise coming from a musical instrument, wether external or internal (meaning vocal).

[Nic du Toit]

Hi C.C. ... I reckon there could be 'pleasant' noise as well; Like the overhead drone of a Plane flying overhead....especially if you imagine the passengers getting ready for the first in-flight drink, and wondering what their destination might be. Although, the same noise would considered disturbing if it wakes you from your afternoon siesta! ....It's all in the ear of the beholder!