|
Ailsa -> Nature or nurture? (Feb. 17 2008 20:10:21)
|
Hello everyone, well isn't this fun?!!
I'm quite interested in the whole nature/nurture thing, because I've been involved in quite a few different world musics and the same argument comes up again and again in all of them - it's not just flamenco. I've heard that if you are not black African, you can't play djembe authentically, if you weren't raised in Rio de Janeiro you can't really get the samba groove etc.etc.
I've got a bit of a problem with these sort of statements. The first is from my experience - I've met any number of Brazilians who can't hold a beat, and in Cuba, where apparently "everyone dances" I got asked to dance by the only Cuban guy who had no idea about rhythm and timing! Those people were no less Brazilian or Cuban, but they'd certainly by-passed any genetic predisposition to music. So I tend to end on the side of it being nurture, not nature.
Now if the argument is "If you grow up with a type of music all around you, you will automatically feel the rhythm/compas/whatever better" I would have to respond, "Well duuuuuhh!!"[:D][:D] So of course people in Spain have an advantage in flamenco, and people in Brazil for samba. Though even that is a generalisation, because in Brazil there are the 'anti-sambistas', who think that samba is crap and don't want to be seen anywhere near it!
I think perhaps what got some people's blood boiling was this from Estela:
quote:
The day I see one single guitarist, singer or dancer from outside the ambiente doing something in flamenco that seems minimally authentic or worthwhile, then I will scratch my head and remember your words.
I think that's just a bit too strong, and does diss all the people who are working hard to be as good as they can. I bet most of us recognise we are never going to be authentic, even minimally, but I don't want to be put down about it. When I see vids of myself dancing, I can see what I am - a classically trained English dancer. I'm probably always going to look like that, but hell it's not gonna stop my trying, and when I'm on my course in Jerez in a couple of weeks authentic is where I'll be aiming.
@romerito, I like the idea of having sex in compas, I'm gonna try that later. [:D][:D][:D]
|
|
|
|
