Brevity: The Blight Of Expression

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Brevity in writing, relating to all subject matter, including instructions, opinions, steel guitar promotion, aloofness, and concise ridicule, can become wearisome to a reader. Reasonable objectivity would be welcomed.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

So can wordiness . . . particularly if taken to the extreme

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
My CD's: 'I've Got Friends in COLD Places' - 'Pedal Steel Guitar'
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Barry Blackwood · Posted 12 Jul 2006 5:48 am

On that note, Bill, you have never been considered wearisome ....

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

Knowing what to say,
and when to say,
and how much to say,
and to whom to say,
is the province of lawyers...

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Extreme conciseness resulting from an exact, carefully thought-out use of language can sometime leave the impression that one doesn't have much of importance to say. There are many, many books of music instruction, repair manuals, political commentary, historical updates and so on wherein the author has maybe two or three chapters worth of really valid and original contributions, yet, no one will publish a two chapter book? Hence, padding it out with review and background is necessary, just to get the two meaningful chapters published.

It's also difficult to judge the given background knowledge of any given reader, so the review sections are better left in than out, in my opinion - you can always skip what you personally know. Then, there are plenty of books that are all review. Then, of course, there's total blather too....

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

Sometimes when trying to express really complex things then a wide vocabulary and occasionally long complex sentences is the only way...

But writing long convoluted sentences to express relatively simple ideas that could easily be written much more simply is often just a way of pretending to be profound when really saying very little...

And, in my humble opinion, THAT is more frequently "wearisome", and pretentious and irritating in a laughable way...

But hey, it's a free country...

And to go for the obvious quote: "Brevity is the soul of wit".

I just reread the original post and I really WANT to think that you are pulling our legs with this one...!

Terry Edwards · From: Florida... livin' on spongecake...

Good topic, Bill. Brief, but good.

Terry

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

There's an old saying among writers, "Sorry, here's the long version - I didn't have time to figure out how to say it concisely."

I teach at a university. The number one issue in communication, IMO, is the inability of most people - especially academicians and students - to express their ideas clearly and concisely. Instead, they pad with a lot of convoluted, irrelevant, but impressive-sounding blather.

But perhaps you are referring to the practice of some forum members to give one- or two- word answers to non-trivial questions. For example:

Q: Could someone give me a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages of keyless vs. keyed steel guitars?

A: Keyless stinks.

Chris Lucker · From: Los Angeles, California USA

Clarity is what is important. Bill, you write as though you are paid by the word without the talent for parallel construction E. B. White displayed every week when he wrote the New Yorker's Talk of the Town section.

Jesse Pearson · From: San Diego , CA

Pithy

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

Indeed at this precise point it becomes readily apparent that the exact subject matter under current discussion, with all it's sundry tangents, while indubitably leading to much interesting cogitation by all concerned, really has no bearing on the kinds of topics that were this particular forum's original intention...

Or rather...

What does this have to do with "steel players" anyway?

[This message was edited by Pete Finney on 12 July 2006 at 11:54 AM.]

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I think it does relate to the forum - I took Bill's point to be about how we communicate on the forum. But it probably belongs in "Forum Feedback". I assume the moderators will move it if they are so moved.

Steve English · From: Baja, Arizona

as a native Texan, the only thing that continually bothers me is all of ya'lls accents!!! (you northern Texans ain't too bad...)

Gabriel Stutz · From: Chicago, USA

You guys are lucky you didn't go to art school (and I hope for your sakes, you didn't). You'll find some seriously masturbatory verbosity there, my friends. It really gives you a taste for clarity.

Gabriel

Chris Brooks · From: Providence, Rhode Island

As Strunk and White say,

"Eschew prolixity."

Chris

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

There is an abundance of valuable information pending notification, by well versed steel guitarists. Bountiful civility, rests on the shoulders of those instrumentalists who may be seeking advanced notation from the masters of the steel guitar. Warding off a diminishing information source, as it relates to
the steel guitar, is a constituent of progressive advancement.

[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 12 July 2006 at 12:56 PM.]

[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 12 July 2006 at 01:44 PM.]

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Chris,

English teachers are noted for admonishingly reminding students to avoid "flowery language". I might ask, how else is it possible to describe nature?

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

never mind...

[This message was edited by Pete Finney on 12 July 2006 at 03:00 PM.]

Andy Sandoval · From: Bakersfield, California, USA

It has come to my considered attention that in a large majority of cases, far too many people use a great deal more words than is absolutely and truly necessary when engaged in the practice of writing sentences to convey opinions and thoughts, therefor losing sight of any and all cohesive continuity of ideas resulting in a lengthy, long drawn out, and rambling dissertation instead of getting right to the point with a short clear and concise statement. (of course I'm being a wise-ass here)

James Cann · From: Phoenix, AZ

As a hostage to the music of the words(read 'English teacher'), when I recently read of a character's reference to 'sexual whimsicality,' I knew I could never use 'kinkiness' again.

Chris Lucker · From: Los Angeles, California USA

"Chris,
English teachers are noted for admonishingly reminding students to avoid "flowery language". I might ask, how else is it possible to describe nature? "

Have you tried Haiku?

Chris

Dave Boothroyd · From: Staffordshire Moorlands

I give my students an assignment on defining musical genres that requires them to pick five from a list and define them in one hundred words.
They all say the same thing- a thousand words would be easy. To say everything in one hundred is very hard.
I tell them it's good practice for lyric and poetry writing!
(and it's a lot quicker to mark)
My old English teacher used to say that good writing was about using words in the best way. Poetry was about using the best words in the best way.
Cheers
Dave

Henry Nagle · From: Santa Rosa, California

Actually... Bill is right on. No kidding. I'd rather read something wordy than something angry.

Ian Finlay · From: Kenton, UK

I believe there's a world of difference between the modes of expression used in poetry, music lyrics, newspaper articles and internet forums.

Forums and newsgroups tend to emulate verbal speech modes rather than prose. Hence the term "chat rooms" being used to describe many different technologies used to exchange ideas.

Bill, do you speak like you write? I've never met you (although I'd love to!), so this isn't meant to be sarcastic in any way.

Ian

Jeff Agnew · From: Dallas, TX

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