Musicians
I don't know if non-musicians will find this funny, but what the hell. I'll post a link.

So, at the moment we're playing Elgar's 'cello concerto. This is Yo-Yo Ma playing it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM9DPfp7-Ck&feature=related One of the bassoons was heard to comment on it, "This piece would be a lot better if the tempo stayed in one place."

...
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Thu 3 Mar 2011, 16:50, 7 replies)

It's the same with everything that Ma bloke plays. The tempo goes up and down and up and down and up and down.







sorry
( SteamedCleaner, Thu 3 Mar 2011, 17:03, closed)

In a way, he has a point.
I'm a semi-professional classical muso, and if you're trying to accompany a soloist it's a lot easier if they don't throw in gratuitous rubati all the time. Two memories that come to mind are:

1. singing the St. Matthew Passion with a bass soloist who had about ten bars' intro to gauge accurately the tempo of the piece and then came in a good 30% slower, forcing the entire orchestra to grind to a halt in a kind of musical handbrake turn;

2. performing with a very famous French organist who was unfortunately also famous for making up his tempi as he went along, which if you're a choir trying to sing along to his accompaniment forces you to ignore 20 years of training and ignore the conductor completely in an attempt to stay in time.
( .Yeti. El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Thu 3 Mar 2011, 17:30, closed)

Yeah, I agree that it works for a lot of music, and many soloists take the piss
But when it's actually written into the score... *shrugs*
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Thu 3 Mar 2011, 17:47, closed)

Once new a guy who fancied himself as a pianist
who, while watching MTV declaimed that all popular music was shit because it only had one tempo.

Then Bohemian Rhapsody came on and his left lung imploded.
( argyleblanket The man on the roof works for me, Thu 3 Mar 2011, 17:38, closed)

Lung you say
*chucks in letterbox reference and runs*
( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Thu 3 Mar 2011, 18:24, closed)

Had to be done.

( argyleblanket The man on the roof works for me, Thu 3 Mar 2011, 18:29, closed)

If one has to be obvious it pays to be first!

( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Thu 3 Mar 2011, 18:40, closed)