I began this Substack account by quoting Duke Ellington, who wrote in 1962, "There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind." It is a longstanding and accepted practice of etiquette among musicians never to call any music “bad.” More than one of my teachers and professors made that point clear to me. One piano instructor went as far as tell me, “There is no bad music. And as a matter of professional ethic, you have to approach everything you perform with that in mind, giving it your best effort.” He told me this rather sternly because I complained about one piece assigned to me in my days as a university student, to accompany a trumpet student in recital. Having read the score, I found it boring at best. But I learned my lesson: I never again complained in his presence. Nonetheless, I continue to practice the etiquette, considering it part of the musician’s code, more binding than the Pirate’s Code. Nonetheless, the word “boring” is not really a synonym for “bad,” although such words as “bland” and “empty” can be applied to equal effect. However, even here I am cautious. I merely like to point out that I would much prefer to listen to “4:33” by John Cage (you must remember him).
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