TALENT: THOSE WHO HAVE IT AND THOSE WHO HAVEN?T There?s a myth goes ?round on this planet regarding a thing called ?talent,? or genius.? The idea is that some people have it, and some people don?t and nothing, no way, is ever going to change that fact. Well, recognize it for what it is: a discouraging lie. Fact is, anyone can become a skilled musician, dancer, writer, painter of pictures. The only requirements are: 1) PURPOSE The person must truly intend to do the thing. 2) PERSISTENCE The person must not be intimidated by difficulties that arise on the way toward a goal. 3) TECHNOLOGY There must be a means of training the person in the actions he needs to perform in order to achieve excellence in his area of interest. 4) HELP There must be another, or others willing to deliver the technology in such a way as to achieve the desired result, which is a competent and acknowledged professional. Some individuals experience more trouble than others when reaching for a desired goal. There are some teachers who do not want to be bothered with such individuals: this means real work for the teacher, and is a test of his ability! When you hear someone, supposedly a professional, going around proclaiming that ?this one has talent, and that one does not,? realize that you are listening to a lazy, uncaring individual who would not take the time to assist the more difficult cases. Such an individual is less than competent himself. There are rare instances in which a potential student will not allow himself to be helped; but a true teacher can make a success out of almost anyone. TOM FAIR for the Tom Fair School of Music Copyright (C) 2004 by Tom Fair. All Rights Reserved.

THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SONGWRITING A BRIEF SUMMARY by Tom Fair Not everyone is fully aware of the fact, but the music industry, as it is widely known is actually no more than the business of publishing songs. Songs are the foundation upon which everything else has been built. Songwriting in America began primarily as a pastime. Such songwriting is categorized as folk music. Emulating their ancestors, European-Americans would contrive ballads of love and the social and political events of the time period. Especially prevalent was the influence of music from the British Isles. Concurrently, there developed a folk tradition in the lives of the Afro-American slave population: songs of work, freedom and interpersonal relations. These two major sources of American song came together in the works of Stephen Collins Foster [media] . Foster, who was determined to make his living by writing songs, ushered American songwriting into its next evolutionary step: it advanced from a recreational activity to a commercial activity, and it has been conducted on that basis ever since. Among Foster’s “hits” were “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” and “Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair.” Today, many regard these works as folk songs; but they were in fact written with the intent of being paid. While he was certainly not the first songwriter to sell a song, he was as far as we know the first to successfully “quit his day job,” and thus we may bestow upon Stephen Foster the title Father of American Songwriting. From Foster’s time up until the late 1800’s, the primary vehicle for songwriters was the traveling minstrel show. Among the more successful songwriters of this era was Daniel Decatur Emmet, who is known primarily for composing “Dixie (I wish I was in the land of cotton…)” and “Polly Wolly Doodle,” two numbers that are also widely regarded as folk songs. In truth, the development of American folk music continued as blues in the rural South, in Appalachia, in the cowboy music of the West, and in New Orleans where horns and drums cast off by returning Civil War veterans were obtained and applied to the beginnings of jazz. But songwriting as a profession continued in the North, where in New York City pioneer music publishers M. Witmark & Sons set up business in 1886. The Witmarks were among the most successful song pluggers of their time, and participated in the phase known as the Tin Pan Alley era. In the early years of the 20th century, Tin Pan Alley songwriters produced such hits as: “In The Good Old Summertime,” “Give My Regards To Broadway,” “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” “Swanee,” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” Noted songwriters from this era include Harry Von Tilzer, George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields and George Gershwin. M. Witmark and Sons was purchased in 1929 by Warner Brothers as popular music and film began to merge and produce what is known as The Great American Songbook. American popular music and thus songwriting now entered into a phase of high production and emphasis on melody. Lyrics were designed to be “clever” and romantic, using devices of formal poetry – or simply everyday language designed to appeal to the patrons of sound recordings and films. There was little intention to make a serious statement about life – songs were strictly for entertainment purposes. Among the most successful songwriters of this period were the aforementioned Berlin and Gershwin (with lyricist brother Ira), Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and Cole Porter. For the rest of this article, e-mail to Tom Fair at: dynamic_events@hotmail.com