Obama’s Unnecessary Musical Deception
So it happens that the all-star quartet who played at the Inaugural ceremonies didn’t actually play. What the crowd heard was a version of the song recorded by the group the day before.
I must say, I wasn’t terribly surprised. I know a bit about music and I can tell you there was no chance that they were really going to play their instruments for a live crowd in that weather.
If you happen to know a string player (and I know several), ask them how excited they’d be about playing outdoors in 30-degree temperatures and gusting winds. After you get past the incredulous look, the frown, and perhaps a couple colorful words, I bet you get some variant of “not very”. String instruments are very sensitive to temperature and humidity. Keeping them in tune is a chore. Unlike nearly all wind and brass instruments, you can’t tune them on the fly. A trumpet or trombone player can adjust a slide on his instrument even in the middle of a song to bring it back in tune. A string player can’t.
There are a couple other considerations, too. String players need their fingertips, so gloves were out. And they need room to move, so bulky coats weren’t an option either. At some point, their fingers were going to start to go a little numb and they’d be shivering. Neither one makes for good violin or cello playing. And there is the real risk that a string will break, which could ruin the song entirely. So, no surprise that they didn’t want to risk blowing the piece by playing it live and outdoors.
Where there is fault is with Obama’s inauguration team. They shouldn’t have deceived the crowd. There would have been nothing wrong with being honest about the circumstances. I’m sure there were a few creative types who could have whipped up a multimedia presentation to accompany the music for whatever video screens they had to give people something to watch (incidentally giving them another propaganda moment, too). The crowd would have understood.
It looks like the new administration still needs to learn a thing or four about honesty and a good public image.
(via memeorandum)
Other Posts of Interest:
- It’s Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas
- Pandora to be Killed by the Record Industry
- On “Forte” and “Forte”
Category: Music, President Barack Obama
