LIVE MUSIC!
JUST A SMALL report to let Pepperpot readers know that our girl, ‘GT GIRL’, did fairly well at her debut performance as a calypsonian in the Barbados Crop Over Calypso Competition a few Sundays ago.

Stanley Greaves ‘Old Time String-band’

It will be remembered (See my last Sunday’s feature on her) that Nalini Sukhram was singing GT ADVICE, telling the Bajans that Guyanese women weren’t coming to take their Bajan men away. I am happy to report she didn’t get pelted with tomatoes. In fact, she got a good round of applause from the generally welcoming Bajan audience (with a few Guyanese among them).

Anyhow, she sang well, though a little nervous. Some of the words were also mumbled, because she had the microphone too close to her mouth. Next time, though, as I told her, she got to come with a song that puts in a lot more than what Guyanese women can offer — not only wine and keep a man happy in bed.

As I sat watching her and the other acts, and the live back-up band, complete with brass section (sax, trombone, trumpet), it set my mind wondering about live music. I realised how few times these days that I had heard a band play like that. Live music means just that — musicians up on stage actually playing their instruments to backup a singer.

Changing times
One of the reasons is that there is less live music. There are fewer and fewer bands. We are today living in a computerised world. And we are rushing headlong, as consumers, into an even deeper isolation with the digital revolution.  Industry figures show that even sales of music CDs (compact discs) are declining. Figures for the UK market show that in the last four months of last year, there was a 27 per cent decline.

Music lovers, especially the young, are now into digital music. They listen in on their Ipods and other receivers into outlets like Iphone, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. People can just log on to music stations on the Internet and download songs, most times illegally.

It is a pity. We are glad that the increased standard-of-living and general all-round development and progress in Guyana means more and more people can purchase their Iphones and the like. But society, as a unit, and the community spirit is being affected.

Where are the live musicians these days? If there are, where are the talented ones? Do they rely on computer-enhanced sound effects to cover up their mediocre strumming (of guitar) or playing a few chords (on the keyboards). Where are the sustained acoustic riffs and solos without all the monotonous programmed bass line in the background?

The Graduates, a band that dominated the entertainment scene back in the early 70s or thereabouts, as they look today

I am not saying you have to be perfect. When starting out, a band may not be as coordinated as one would like. But over time, things come together. And people will appreciate authenticity and natural self expression, even with the rough edges.

I was in Georgetown last November and had to search around hard for a good live music act. An exception was one Saturday morning, I was walking through Stabroek Market when I heard a group of visiting Peruvian musicians having a impromptu jam session among the vendors. They played traditional South American instruments like the cuatro. An appreciative crowd had gathered, and I didn’t hesitate at all to add my little monetary contribution to the hat that was passed round.

Is musical public expression on the decline in Guyana?   There are those who may say so, at least when it comes to entertainment establishments like restaurants/bars. A main reason isn’t difficult to discern: One is the development and increasingly lower cost of electronic devices themselves. Establishments found it cheaper to hire a DJ, with his/her bag of CDs (and probably paying not one cent in royalties to the musicians on the discs). In a strange, artificially-enhanced situation, these non performers and non artists themselves take on the fake role of musicians, miming other people’s music. Less and less musicians got jobs. Their talents are wasted away.

There are also the home attractions for youngsters: TV games, Ipods, Internet games. Unlike the past in the 1950s and 1960s where youngsters may have been more inclined to take up playing a musical instrument, today there is less interest.

Back to basics
The occasional public concerts with stars like Allison Hinds are okay, but what of opportunities for regular relaxation at night spots with live music, especially for our growing tourist traffic?

The efforts for a comeback can start with the establishments themselves. They must start re-hiring live musicians. The proprietors, however, have to be sensitive to their neighbours and keep the volume down. There is no need for big boom boxes. Some of the instruments, like a trumpet and bongo drums, don’t need amplifying at all. One of the problems I had with the calypso tent two Sunday nights ago in Barbados was the high noise level. At one time, they actually boosted up the level of the song for a particular singer, and it had my ears ringing.

Youngsters coming out of the music classes at secondary schools need to get back to the formation of teenage bands, including at least a couple brass instruments or steel drums  to go with the traditional first and bass guitars.

Brazil makes some fine instruments. I used to have a Brazilian guitar while studying and working in Toronto, and learnt to read music and play a few songs. I still have a (Japanese made) Yamaha acoustic guitar. But I also have two made of Guyanese woods by probably the only musical instrument maker in Guyana. His name is Karim, and he had taken over from his father. He used to live on the railway squatting area near the Georgetown Hospital. Where is he now?

Enterprising retired musicians need to advertise to teach lessons. My next door neighbour in Barbados has a room at the back of his house for teaching school kids piano lessons. I am always so happy to hear them playing, though sometimes it can get a bit jarring to the ears when they practise the musical scales. Learning and playing music is a discipline in itself. If a youngster is  musically inclined,  parents should give him/her all the encouragement, including providing the musical instrument, even if it is secondhand or borrowed.

The Ministry of Culture in Guyana should be lauded for its continued support and encouragement of the calypso competitions, which need the backup bands. And of course, we mustn’t forget the Guyana Police Force Band. Like its counterpart in Barbados, which I have listened to at many functions, we must always salute what has become a virtual cultural institution in Guyana.

Live music is a wonderful artistic expression. We must redouble our efforts to keep it alive and expand it so that both youngsters and adults can enjoy its little pleasures.

More importantly, it can help bring people together as a social activity. It is a type of togetherness which seems to be waning. We seem to be doing our little thing in our own small world in the computerised and  TV-watching world we have come to live in. I may sound old fashioned, but I still think that all this headlong rush to go high-tech with music isn’t a good thing.

(Norman   Faria is   Guyana’s   Honorary Consul in Barbados)