Much has been written about the French writer Albert Camus (1913-1960). He was, during his short time on the planet, neither a Christian nor an Atheist not even an agnostic. Yet in the absence of a god, he devised a belief based on the contradiction which he referred to as 'the human need for meaning and the unreasonable silence of the world.' This condition drove him to the conclusion that life was certainly absurd and the only opposition to it was revolt, freedom and an unconditionally passion for life itself. This opposition expressed itself so well in his writings from his unwavering commitment to life and the celebration of the body in L'Etranger (1942) to the revolt and abhorrence of any political system without morality as in La Peste (19470) and The Rebel (1951), to his themes of exile in those wonderfully crafted short stories, L'exil et le Royaume.(1957) and his own story, written in the rawness of his voice in a search of self-discovery, a victim of the colonisation in Algeria as much as the Arabs themselves ,in the absence of a father, wealth and happiness , in Le Premier Homme (1994) . Camus' themes are parables for our present age with their searing analysis of exile, the destructive power of political ideologies and the commitment for authenticity and revolt in serving truth and freedom for future generations
Order and Harmony in the state is the natural reflection of a good ruler –a man wholly dedicated to the service of the state and in turn the state would have the benefit of his virtues both moral and intellectual. However if a ruler allows passion to dictate his actions then his own life is reduced to chaos and this will be reflected in political anarchy and social disorder. This then is the tragic flaw in the character of Macbeth who allows his passion for 'vaulting ambition' to override his 'single state of man' King Duncan and his loyal subjects on the other hand are the symbols of order and harmony in the kingdom. Duncan's reign is one of 'grace and measureless content' The witches symbolise the entry of evil and anarchy into a world that has been orderly and good. They recognise no moral law,'fair is foul and foul is fair' and they, with their hellish power, deceive Macbeth.
3 Main Areas
- Instrumental and musical Skills
- Improvisation
- Artistic development
Instrumental--- Virtuosity as goal; technique, finger dexterity, classical studies, transcription, harmony, repertoire (playing tunes, composition)
Musical ---
Improvisation--- study of chords, scales, harmonic cycles ,rules of tension and release, the analysis and ability to duplicate the legacy through playing and study of the great Jazz masters, saturated listening a special study, the playing in real situations, learning the customs, timing, feel and the repertoire of live improvisation
The Jazz guitar was one of the many-stringed instruments in the 19th century along with the banjo and mandolin. They could be heard in different orchestras which included Hawaiian groups, Mexican mariachi groups, Minstrel and Gypsy groups. Around 1890s the Jazz guitar emerged from two influential styles of music--- Ragtime and Blues.
The Ragtime Style was grounded in a duple rhythm—2/4. This rhythm was well suited to the 'boom-chick' or finger-picking of the guitar. The registral functions of the stride piano (the bass notes for harmonic support and the mid-range chords)lent itself well to the guitar, even the high notes for the melody could be played on the first two strings .Guitarists like Papa Charlie Jackson and Blind Blake are very good examples of this style of playing.
'Heard melodies are sweet
Those unheard are sweeter'—John Keats
The need to be creative runs through all art forms and jazz music is no exception.
Each great work of art brings with it an element of self-discovery, a certain kind of uncertainty where the artist/creator expresses his or her deepest feelings about life. In other words, the individual creator discovers himself through his creations. Thus in inner drive of the creative mind must be spontaneous or induced ,in the sense in which Coleridge uses it (Biographia Literaria) – in a more than usual state of mind, where the inspired moment is a species of creative intuition. We do of course have creative tuition in the great pantheon of jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Charlie Parker , Duke Ellington et al. But are the young jazz musicians of today developing their own individual voice enough or are they allowing mastery to replace creativity? They have today published mountains of books on how to play jazz—books on comping, on the melodic minor and many theory books. We also have over a hundred Jamey Aebersold –'Play-a-long theory books. Young jazz players use these books with the thought that they will arrive at improvisational fluidity. This jazz pedagogy is in essence a uniform system bent on providing young jazz players with the necessary tools for mastering harmonic substitutions, scales, licks or rhythmic phrasing. While this system is a well-tested method for jazz improvisation, however, we must acknowledge at the same time the need for a certain kind of uncertainty as a precondition for creativity. We must stress as well in this jazz pedagogy the central place of one's own individual voice, that ability to stand above the 'mastery' of the rules of jazz improvisation game and cultivate one's own originality. Those great jazz musicians mentioned above all managed to balance their individuality with the dictates of a vast tradition that they had inherited.