Everything you wanted to know, but never thought of asking

Which Sex Is My Guitar?

In case you didn't know, I will enlighten you: guitars have a sex. Why do I think that? Because I have observed and played lots of them, and sometimes lived with not just one but several at the same time. I have loved them all. Some have been very feminine. Some have been very masculine. Others have been mostly feminine with masculine qualities or mostly masculine with feminine qualities.

I can hear you thinking "I know where this is going: the feminine curves of the guitar and all that stuff." And I say to you, no, not at all, it's much more interesting than that tired old cliché.

The question - which sex is your guitar - may come as a surprise to you. Quite likely you have never thought of it before. You may think it nonsense and quite irrelevant and all that matters is how you play it, and what to play on it. And even if it were true it can have no influence on which new guitar to buy.

Yet all these activities and decisions could be assisted by considering the question, OK, two questions, which sex is your guitar, and if you are considering swapping it for a younger model, which sex would you like that one to be.

For starters, consider the action (the height of the strings from the finger-board). A high action is hard, loud and doesn't often buzz, whereas a low action is soft, quieter and buzzes quite easily. Replace "buzz" with "cry" and read the last sentence again.

Now think of the scale length. A short scale length of 64 centimetres from saddle to nut is sometimes referred to as a lady's model. The extra scale length of 66 centimetres is considered tough and made for larger hands.

Now do you see where I am going with this? No? Well how about the sound itself? Some instruments have a loud, brilliant, percussive sound. Others are sweet, even and - most admired of all - described as having a great sustain.

"Hang on a minute " I hear you say, "a sweet sound may be a feminine attribute, but surely sustain can be both feminine and masculine?" Maybe, maybe not. A loud guitar (masculine) gives an impression of sustain, but it is rare for the same instrument to have both volume and sustain in equal measure. Therein lies the rub for many a toiling guitar maker.

There are guitars on Mars and Venus and on some planets in between

For your guidance allow me to summarise the extremes for you to best identify your preferences. On Mars there are thicker-bodied guitars of 65 or 66cm scale lengths with higher actions, loud basses, and brilliant trebles which go "ping". On Venus there are smaller-bodied guitars with scale lengths of 64 and 65cm scale length with soft actions, sweet trebles, and loads of sustain, which go "rrrring". There are various planets in between on which live guitars with mixed qualities.

So at the risk of boring you let me ask you the question again: which sex is your guitar? Since you have persevered this far let me re-phrase that in the light of my comments. Given its qualities, to which sex does it belong, or of which sex does it contain more characteristics?

Now I can hear your brain whirling. Excellent. You are in the process of identifying its gender and all the advantages that go with discovering more about your likes and dislikes. If you are thinking of buying another one all I ask of you is not to rush out and buy the first feminine or masculine guitar that takes your fancy. Take your time to get to know each other, whether he or she minds or not.

You are going to live with him or her so remember my words of caution: act in haste, repent at leisure. Leave that sort of behaviour to the unenlightened.

February 2012

Progress is measured by quality, rather than the quantity of time dedicated to it

The scene is a familiar one imagined and sometimes witnessed by musicians and non-musicians alike: the aspiring virtuoso crouched over his instrument practising for hour after hour, day in and day out. As we peek in at the doorway of the studio with a nod of amazement, we all wonder and admire the determination, the patience, the sheer endeavour required to reach the highest echelons of instrumental accomplishment. Artur Rubinstein the pianist said “If I don’t practise for one day I notice it, if I don’t practise for two my friends notice it, and if I don’t practise for three days the whole world notices”. Andrés Segovia claimed he practised five hours every day, although I don't know quite how he managed that while travelling during his endless world tours.

Maybe, in the light of the above comments from illustrious musicians the best advice we can offer to the young musician is to be prepared to dedicate many hours to his or her craft. But will it be enough to achieve excellence? How many have not quite managed it, even after extreme dedication? Are there other qualities necessary apart from a natural pre-disposition? What did Rubinstein and Segovia bring to their practise which turned them into the special artists they became?

“ It matters not whether we repeat a phrase ten times or a hundred times if we do not learn something from each time that we do so”

Franz Liszt the pianist gave us a clue when he said “if you can play a phrase slowly ten times in a row correctly, then you can play it at any speed you like”. Although this sounds rather optimistic to many a mere mortal, it is very good advice. The key word is slowly. It tells us something about the type and quality of the practise, for that is what matters. It matters not whether we repeat a phrase ten times or a hundred times if we do not learn something from each time that we do so, so as to improve it the next time.

The hardest thing is to practise slowly and to observe what needs correcting or improving. Once those hurdles are overcome a player improves hugely. Many students do not and cannot find the patience or discipline to practise slowly, nor do they observe and listen with sufficient detachment to correct their errors.

Even when the practise speeds up to performance speed the student has still to understand how best to improve his playing, and how best to use his practise time. So we come back to our guitarist, pianist, or violinist friend, practising away five, six, seven or eight hours a day. How much of that time is being well spent? And how much has been wasted in the wishful thinking that he inevitably will reach the goal simply by sticking at the practise for long enough?

Practise is a journey towards the unknown that pushes at the barriers between the possible and impossible. The destination is uncertain, for a student can never know how good he can become until he or she embarks on that journey. It includes not only improving technique but also interpretative and musical skills, which is why the quality and thoughtfulness of a student's practise is so important.

If you are an aspirant professional or a dedicated amateur ask yourself some of the same questions above. They may lead you to a new and more profitable way of practising, and so turn you into a better player.

Read more:

My blog: 10,000 Hours' Practise Makes Perfect posted 7th August 2011

My blog: A Practise Session In Three Parts posted 23rd October 2011

Andrés Segovia: An Autobiography
www.amazon.com

February 2012

Carlos with Abigail and Nelson Mandela's prison Island in the background, Cape Town, 24 January 2012

Of sharks unhinged and other curious tales

Last week I was in Cape Town, South Africa for the first time in nearly 30 years. Nothing, or almost nothing is the same, not even the sea and beaches. How could the sea change, I hear you ask? Well, to be precise: what’s in the sea and who’s on the beaches. Let me start by telling you about my visit in the 1980’s.

I was on a national concert tour of solo recitals and concertos with various orchestras. Towards the end of my stay in Cape Town the late Elsperth Jack, professor of guitar at the University, threw a party to which came musicians, writers, artists and teachers and others I can’t now recall. I played a few pieces, others did the same, and a good time was had by all. Afterwards I was told by some present that it was the first time they had attended together a social gathering of blacks, whites, and “coloureds” (the official definition at the time for mixed-race peoples). I was really moved. I could see the effects of apartheid and segregation all around and glad that even in the more liberal atmosphere of Cape Town this occasion had been special.

In spite of knowing the old South Africa I wasn’t prepared for all the changes as I arrived in Cape Town on the 21st January in a heat wave. I was greeted at the airport by my friend Margaret Carey whom I know from her time in London. What a pleasure it was to stay with her and the family in their spacious home. She arranged for me to meet up with some of my ex-students James Grace, Michael Hoole and Peter Muhl. They have carved out distinctive and distinguished careers for themselves with the guitar. I also met guitarist Avril Kinsey and Steven Felmore who designed so beautifully my book An Easy Guide To The Guitar.

One day we took the cable car to the top of Table Mountain, 1000 metres above sea level, and watched the sun set while we picnicked. Another day Margaret’s family and I imbibed the odd bottle or two of wine while enjoying local dishes at the Delheim vineyard which dates back to the 1690’s. We sat al fresco and feasted on the Ostrich bobotie, which is ostrich meat cooked with raisins, apricot jam, curry powder, chutney, nutmeg and an egg on top. That happy mix of ingredients is typical of the people of Cape Town today who give the impression of just that, happy and a mix - a happy mix!

So how are things different from my first visit in the sea around Cape Town? (Skip the rest of the paragraph if you are a bit sensitive!) The answer lies with the sharks and their recently acquired taste for humans. Apparently, the adrenaline-charged pastime of descending in a cage so as to come eyeball to eyeball with frustrated sharks has encouraged them to exact their revenge on us teasing humans. Catching sight or sniff of an uncaged person out for an innocent frolic in the sea proves irresistible – well, put yourself in their position.

The beaches have changed too. Sun worshipers of all colours now enjoy them together but are wary of tell-tale fins coming ever closer to the shallow waters of the best beaches, the very same beaches which once were the exclusive preserve of whites. The blacks, on the other hand, were designated the ugliest, narrowest and dirtiest strip of sand and water, often close to sewer outpours and oily discharges. Segregation didn’t stop at beaches but also park benches, public transport, pavements, airport lounges, hotels and restaurants. More importantly schools and towns were totally separated by law.

Allow me to point out the obvious given that I love flights of fancy and time travel. Anyone over 40 years of age remembers the old South Africa during which time they became young adults, but for 30 year olds such as Margaret’s daughter Marianne and her husband Roger it is no more than a childhood memory.

So what of the youngest friend I made in Cape Town, Marianne’s and Roger’s 2½ year old daughter Abigail? She is as distant from the time of apartheid as today’s 25 year old was at his birth from the 1960’s Civil Rights’ movements in the USA and in Northern Ireland. More startling still, she is as distant as today’s 60 year old was at his birth from Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful rebellion against British rule in India in the 1930’s.

As I held Abigail in my arms for the photo Robben Island was just visible in the bay behind us. Here Nelson Mandela was incarcerated, cruelly and uselessly for 18 of his 27 years*. Abigail will discover that one day soon and will ask why. When she reaches my age in 2071 she may be able to answer the question I pose of her now: will Robben Island become the memory of a bygone age, or continue as the symbol of an ongoing struggle worldwide for justice, peace and harmony between peoples?

I would like to hold those thoughts in my mind and not let them go, fondly hoping that in that distant time to come, she will turn round to me and answer my question with confidence:
“Yes, we’re getting there.”

February 2012

*In the winter of 1964, Nelson Mandela arrived on Robben Island where he spent 18 of his 27 prison years. He was released in 1990.

Read more:
Carlos Bonell: An Easy Guide To The Guitar
Art design by Steven Felmore
http://www.amazon.com

Delheim vineyard and restaurant
http://www.delheim.com

Table Mountain
http://www.tablemountain.net

Nelson Mandela and Robben Island
http://www.africanhistory.about.com

You may wish to learn more quickly but feel you are stuck in a learning process you don't know how to change. Here is a four point plan which may help you do so.

1. Set the stop-watch
2. Scan the music
3. Concentrate on three run-throughs
4. ...and don't forget to remember...

Self-confidence is an essential pre-requisite for setting all this in motion, as it is for any change or improvement you are considering. To help you feel more confident and make a good start choose a piece well within your ability.

1. Clocking the stop-watch
Setting a time frame quickens the pulse and does wonders for the concentration. Give yourself no less than twenty and no more than sixty minutes.

2. Scanning the music to form an overview
Choose a realistic length: the more difficult the piece the shorter the section to learn. Scan the music almost as fast as a computer scan would! Consider form, structure, texture, rhythm and tempo. Do so without playing and without going into a lot of detail. An effective scan will give you an overview and help you prioritise the next steps.

3. Concentration and the three run-throughs
Now begin playing through the piece slowly, the speed determined by your scanning. Keep your concentration at a peak. Don't answer the phone if it rings and don't engage in conversation, however tempting. Both will throw you off balance from your task. Besides, you will have to reset the stop-watch, although most likely you will have probably forgotten how long you have been at it already.

FIRST RUN-THROUGH: try to remember where you hesitate or stall. At the end of the first run-through practise briefly those phrases.

SECOND RUN-THROUGH: play at the same speed as the first run-through and try to play through the tricky passages in time. At the end practise again the difficult passages.

THIRD RUN-THROUGH: speed it up, but not a lot. Concentrate and you may to your surprise sail through the piece.

4. Remember, remember...
Part of your concentration should be dedicated to remembering what to do and not do next time round. At this stage of the learning process the fingering reflex memory is not reliable and keeps repeating the same errors unless your brain steps in, so to speak, and takes charge.

Brief pit-stop to take stock
Now relax and switch off for a moment or two. This will help you refocus on how far you have come, and to where you think you can progress in the time you have allowed yourself. You could go in various directions:
- reduce the errors or
- play more smoothly or
- memorise key phrases

Enough is enough
By the time you have reached your time deadline your brain will feel it can take no more. You may also feel exhilarated. If so, the chances are you have taken your powers of learning to a new level of speed and intensity. Congratulations.

This has been my rough guide to speeding up your learning.

January 2012

Try as I might I can’t get a handle on my own New Year resolution number eight: to not waste a moment on indifferent music and to dedicate all my energies to only good music. The more I think about it, the more difficult it is to define good music.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I cannot identify good or indifferent music when I hear it. I can. My problem is defining the character of each, so let me rely on conventional wisdom in this regard to see whether it can help me do so.

Good music is original and expresses something new
If this were true it would cast most music to the waste paper basket of history and we would be stuck with endless replays of a handful of works. This might be a definition of great music, which is something else over and above my question.

Good music has to be complex
No, I don’t think so. Some good and even great music is simple and repetitive. Repetitive? I hear you say. Yes, as in Ravel’s Bolero, and as in the repeating sequence of a four chord cycle which dominated Western music for hundreds of years.

Good music has a wide emotional range
Yes maybe. But Samuel Barber’s Adagio for strings and the theme from the slow movement of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez would not qualify since they dwell in a narrow emotional world of melancholy and nostalgia.

Good music is expressive and revealing of a personal emotional state
Yes, but so also is bad music.

Good music is contained in memorable and heart-stopping moments
Yes, but a continuous succession would become emotionally draining on the listener, and maybe only works well as film music.

Well, enough teasing. What is the answer? Maybe good music is the pleasing combination of elements of most or all of the above factors in one and the same piece. Stir and mix the ingredients in the right proportions, and there you have it, a good piece of music.

I am glad I have sorted that out. Now I can go back to fulfilling my New Year Resolution number eight. It has also given me a clue as to how to go about composing good music, which is scary, because that was nearly my New Year’s resolution number six where I set myself to compose a great piece. Thankfully, although all great pieces are good, only a few good pieces are great. I think I may have to revise that one, lower my sights, and first try to write a good piece according to my own definition, rather than a great one.

That is quite enough to be getting on with for now and the rest of the year.

Listen to:
Ravel’s Bolero
Samuel Barber’s Adagio For Strings
Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, second movement

January 2012

My New Year's Guitar-Playing Resolution Number Five Revisited

Number five of my New Year’s resolutions has assumed an urgency needing immediate attention, since half of the first month of 2012 has already passed and slipped through my fingers, and maybe through yours too.

Setting realistic targets with plenty of time for additions as the year progresses is my immediate response to the challenge of how to stick to a programme of study over the year. This applies whether you are a dedicated enthusiast or a seasoned professional. If your targets include learning lots of new pieces, then choose just a few essential ones leaving time to learn other pieces which you may come across during the year. If your target is improving aspects of your technique don’t set the bar too high, leave time to explore and develop other related aspects.

The less experienced you are as a player the more difficult you are going to find setting realistic targets. That is one reason why examination boards and conservatoires devise and offer a year’s curriculum which can be very helpful, although you need not stick to it as a binding guide. Your trusted teacher should be able to help you set a personal set of goals for a year’s programme of study based on your own abilities and work-rate.

The more experienced player you become the more likely you are to be realistic about how much you can progress, although the margin between realism and idealism may be blurred.

You can plan your year’s programme of development in three parts: short term, medium and full-term. The short term applies to a target of one week or one month, medium term could be three months, and full term is the whole year.

Practical/short-term versus idealistic/long-term
You may find it easier to plan a year’s programme in bite-size chunks of one month at a time. We can all more readily see ahead one month than a whole year, so if you are very practical in your outlook you could plan a year in multiples of a month. For example, you may have decided to improve your technique to play fast scale passages: set a specific (realistic!) metronome mark for each month, increasing by the month and see where it takes you by the end of the year. On the other hand you may feel inspired to set a long-term goal of one year and prefer to work out backwards how much you should get through per month. For example, say you have decided to learn Bach’s Chaconne by the end of the year: you could divide it into approximately twelve sections, one per month.

Taking stock and re-focusing
Don’t abandon your year’s target if you feel you are not going to reach it. Rather, think that it wasn’t realistic and needs fifteen or eighteen months. Assess your progress from week to week and be prepared to not only change your achievement time-line but also how you are practising and studying to reach it. Your target should give you time to discover other music and explore other avenues of self-improvement.

Notice that I have not offered any advice regarding what you should be studying in your year’s programme, only how you should decide it and organise your practise. To decide on an interesting year’s programme try to combine all the elements which make up a three-course meal: a starter, main-course and dessert. In musical language that means a starter: something that encourages you to continue; a main-course: something that is challenging and fulfilling; a dessert: something which is fun and pure pleasure!

This has been my rough guide to setting a year's realistic programme of study and development.

January 2012

My four mile walk across London does the trick

Crossing the Panama Canal 1 January 2012

I crossed the Panama Canal on New Year's Day in 30 degrees. It is a sight to behold and a marvel of human endeavour. So too is aeroplane travel, for within a few days I was back in London - in 5 degrees! The change of temperature and time zone was a shock to my system, but I do have one remedy which does the trick for me and makes me feel a lot better very quickly, and that is walking.

On Friday 6th January, only two days after arriving back in London I went to meet some students at the Royal College of Music. As I finished at 6pm it was already dark. It was cold and the air was quite still – good for walking. Here is the route of the walk I took, which I recommend whether you are a Londoner or a visitor, jet-lagged or not jet-lagged. It is about 4 miles long and takes in some of the finest parts of the city. You can do it during the day or at night. It will take you 1 hour 45 minutes at normal walking pace.

In London 6 January 2012

Go to the Royal Albert Hall, walk around it and down the steps which lead to the Royal College of Music. Already you have taken in two great Victorian buildings. Turn right at the bottom of the steps and walk down Prince Consort Road, left into Queen's Gate, and take a right at any of the next three turnings which lead into Gloucester Road, where you turn left. Admire the great Victorian residences on the way, many of them no longer private addresses.

Keep going along Gloucester Road, cross over the busy Cromwell Road, and proceed straight into Cranley Gardens until you meet Fulham Road where you turn left. A few minutes down Fulham Road you will see the Art-Deco style Michelin House from 1909, now converted into a restaurant by Sir Terence Conran. At the end of Fulham Road just as you turn right into Brompton Road don't miss the imposing Victoria and Albert Museum. You don't have to wait long before you see the pretty lights of the Harrods store on the right hand side just before you join Knightsbridge. Not even the thundering traffic put me off admiring the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and other buildings on the way to Hyde Park Corner, where I turned left into Park Lane. Just past the Hilton Hotel I turned right into Curzon Street, where is situated one of the most beautiful cinemas in London. At the end is a huge 18th century palace-like building which is now the Saudi Arabian Embassy.

I turned left at this point in Charles Street and then took a right into South Audley Street walking all the way to Grosvenor Square and the US Embassy. This part of the walk reminded me most of an older aristocratic London, with its 18th and 19th century façades, apartment blocks and houses. At Grosvenor Square I turned right and then left until I found myself in Duke Street. For those of you who can take no more walking remember the London Guitar Studio beckons at the end of the street. Here you can admire quality guitars, flamenco costumes and shoes, and all sorts of other delights. Time your walk to arrive before the shop closes. Otherwise keep going and turn right into Oxford Street. Within a few minutes you will be at Oxford Circus, the cross-roads of the more elegant Regent Street and Oxford Street.

At this point, I for one had had enough for one day. You may decide to press on. Russell Square and the British Museum lie to the north-east, while Soho restaurants and other pleasures to the south-east.

I bet that by the time you have finished this walk you the visitor will love London, and you the Londoner will be reminded of the city's beauty.

By the way, after all that walking, and the next day’s too, my jet-lag disappeared. Already the Panama Canal of six days before had become an almost unreal memory.

In Duke Street visit The London Guitar Studio:
http://www.londonguitarstudio.com

January 2012

No excuses, this time they are really going to happen

1
To learn the pieces I keep putting off

2
To enjoy in a completely relaxed and patient manner all my practise and playing

3
To do as I preach to my students and not to put off to tomorrow what I can learn today

4
To always comply with my Five Time Test method of practising phrases i.e. to be able to play a phrase correctly five times in a row before moving onto the next one

5
To set myself a year's realistic programme of study and development, and stick to it

6
To finish composing those great pieces going round in my head which I never get to finishing or writing down

7
To set very high targets in the hope that I may reach one or two of them

8
To not waste a moment on indifferent music and to dedicate all my energies to only good music

9
To listen to more music of all styles from Rock to Baroque, for both my pleasure and education

And lastly, but not much to do with guitar playing….

10
To not get so easily depressed and annoyed by crowded streets, crowded shops and crowded airports. (Maybe this should be part of my fifth resolution!)

Watch this space for my progress report of how I get on. Have I missed out anything important?

By the way, what are yours'?

December 2011

Here are a few of my favourite moments and photos of 2011. I have done a lot of travelling, don’t even want to think how many miles!

In Lima, Peru on 22nd February

In February I had a wonderful time visiting Lima, Peru for the first time: a Baroque city with Inca memories.

Carlos in Germany on Sunday 27th February

Just a few days later I was in Homburg, Germany trying to keep warm for an excellent music festival directed by Wolfgang Weigel.

Carlos in Guanajuato restaurant, Mexico in April

In April I played Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in Guanajuato, Mexico. Here I am trying out a guitar in the restaurant after the concert.

Carlos with bus and crowds in London, July

By July I was back in London during a heat-wave which caught me by surprise.

Carlos in London, October 2011

October gave us a colourful Autumn.

Carlos and Martin Taylor at the Bolivar Hall, London, 21st October

My concert with Martin Taylor at the Bolivar Hall, London was an absolute delight.

Carlos at the Centro de Cultura, Barcelona, Spain, 4th November, photo by Enrique Ruiz-Tagle Pezoa

....And then there was Barcelona. I really like this black and white photo.

Look out for my next article next week: my New Year Guitar resolutions. Have a great time between now and then.

December 2011

After watching the TV debate between the USA Republican Party Presidential contenders I think that each of them playing to us on a musical instrument would be a better test

It has been frequently said with some authority that learning a musical instrument is good for a child's development, and at the other end of our lives, good for keeping our faculties intact into old age. It has even been suggested that musicians are less likely to get Alzheimers disease because of the skills they have acquired, coordinating as they do physical, intellectual and creative abilities.

Would not these features, if indeed they do help keep us at our peak, be the ones we should especially require from our politicians?
We could set them the task of learning to play a musical instrument and see how they get on in six months. They would all start from a level playing field. The result would be a musical measure of their ability to develop the qualities also required for political leadership.

Dazzling performances distract us from the crazy content

I watched the American Republican Party Presidential Candidates' debate on Fox TV last Thursday and thought it would be an excellent test. Without wishing to blacken names unfairly I would guess that some of the smooth talkers on display would probably make a hash of playing the guitar. They would be far too concerned with not making mistakes, stopping to search for the right notes every few seconds. In contrast one of the other candidates almost admitted to being impetuous. He appeared to improvise his declarations with flair through nicely varied rhythm and pitch. I wasn't surprised he received the greatest rounds of applause, although I think the audience was more swayed by the manner of his delivery rather than the crazy things he was saying, not unlike the effect caused by the dazzling performance of an indifferent piece of music.

Two of the candidates - OK, I will name them - Perry and Romney - look alike, smile a lot, have similar speaking voices and quite scarily, could be not only brothers but also resemble the late President Ronald Reagan. They even speak with a similar tone and inflexion. Could it be that President Reagan was their father? If only they had known, rather than call him "Mr President, sir" it could have been "hey dad, when you come back from talking to that Russian man with the funny mark on his forehead can we go to McDonald's?"

Our leaders would be required to periodically play us a piece of their choice to stay in office

Having seen TV interviews and debates in the UK, Spain, Italy, Venezuela and Mexico, I was impressed by the tough questions put to them on USA television, as opposed to the deferential approach taken towards politicians by interviewers in some Latin countries. In the UK such set-piece debates do not encourage direct interaction between the candidates, nor such tough and personal questions from the interviewers.

The more I think of it the more I like the idea of setting them the six month task of learning a musical instrument. Instead of us having to endure outrageous proclamations and banalities we would ask them to play us sixty seconds on their chosen instrument, more would be unnecessary and unbearable. Flow, technique, dedication, expression, rhythm, coordination, bluff and nerve would be on show or not in their displays. It would spare us the tedium of listening to carefully rehearsed half-truths and cut straight to the chase. Better still, it would all be over in a few minutes, and we would then have fun choosing between them while they fussed and fiddled back-stage, furiously declaiming only to each other in the absence of a larger audience - us the electorate.

Once in place our leaders would be required to periodically play us a solo of their choice, and participate in a chamber music piece or band. Any sign of decline would precipitate their demise.

Only politicians with pluck would survive. All the others would be left whistling in the dark and reduced to the ranks.

You know, I think it might work.

December 2011