# Has playing differently become epidemic?



## mud (May 17, 2012)

I get the sense that recording artists are often playing the wrong notes to set their recordings apart from prior art.


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## Head_case (Feb 5, 2010)

Which recordings? 

I haven't heard any wrong notes being played in my collection (maybe I'm oblivious lol!). The distinction between different performers may be more relevant in solo recording artists, rather than ensembles. For instance - a string quartet, just 4 instruments of the same string family, have phenomenal challenges to achieve tonal sealing to a seamlessly consistent finish. 

Whereas playing 'wrong' notes, as apoggiatura or decorations might work, at best it is a gimmick, and a performer never relies on these to replace technique. 

Back to the example of the tonal sealing of a performance string quartet - when surmounted, such challenges make their music performances, a work of art. It's technically and artistically very difficult to achieve this kind of tonal blending and sonic signature, each instrument dependent on one another, each player sensitively reading each other's tone production, through years of internalised imprinting. This is craftsmanship - perhaps it's important to reiterate, since everything in this post-modern world just seems to be explained away or rubbished, rather than appreciated.


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## Jaws (Jun 4, 2011)

mud said:


> I get the sense that recording artists are often playing the wrong notes to set their recordings apart from prior art.


This question doesn't make sense to me. Recordings are made up of lots of bits of played music. So as one person said to me, the good thing about making a recording is that if you go wrong you can do it again. So maybe it isn't the artists, but the person who is putting the pieces of played music together to make the recording, who is selecting the wrong bits?


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I find with guitar pieces many many recordings I listen to have _modifications_ from whats notated in the sheet music - sometimes things are added, sometimes things are taken out, sometimes just modified (ie. harmonics played as normal notes, or harmonics added, or notes played an octave higher or lower than whats written etc). I assumed this kind of thing would be common for all instruments. Though I'm not sure if this is exactly what you mean by 'wrong notes'.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

tdc said:


> I find with guitar pieces many many recordings I listen to have _modifications_ from whats notated in the sheet music - sometimes things are added, sometimes things are taken out, sometimes just modified (ie. harmonics played as normal notes, or harmonics added, or notes played an octave higher or lower than whats written etc). I assumed this kind of thing would be common for all instruments. Though I'm not sure if this is exactly what you mean by 'wrong notes'.


Yeah, it seems to me that the OP needs to clarify terms. To me, 'wrong notes' means flubs/mishits. Deviations from the score or 'standard' interpretations of it are another thing.


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## mud (May 17, 2012)

Oh, nevermind.


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