juheimbu
Junior Member
I've been thinking about this topic on and off for the last couple of years, and thought it would be interesting to see what folks here have to say about it. To be clear, I've had this thought on a number of occasions, but haven't really explored it in any depth.
This is what first got me started thinking in this direction:
Here in St. Louis, there's a group of musicians who put on various tribute shows throughout the years. The lineup changes from show to show, but the core stays generally the same, and there's LOTS of overlap. For example, they do a long run most years around Christmas of Pink Floyd tribute shows, called "El Monstero" which sell out most nights. They also do Led Zeppelin (Celebration Day) and The Rolling Stones (Street fighting Band).
About symphonic orchestras:
The traditional symphonic orchestra is dedicated to faithfully interpreting and recreating music written in the art music tradition. (I don't say "classical" here because it has a specific meaning, and doesn't correctly categorize all of the music performed by professional orchestras, whose repertoire does, indeed, include classical music, but also includes Baroque, Romantic, Impressionist, etc.) This music, in many cases, was written by someone who died many years ago, well before the advent of even primitive recording techniques could be brought to bear on their music. So, the orchestra performs the music as written, and the conductor helps shape the overall sound of the work, and imposes his or her own interpretation on the music.
About tribute bands:
Tribute bands, unlike the orchestra, focus on the music of one artist, exclusively, and from popular music, not art music. But, they are dedicated to the faithful recreation of music by this one artist, so much so that they will dress up to look like the artist, and even adopt the mannerisms of the artist on the stage. Tribute bands do not, generally, play from written music, but use recordings of the artist as their template for performance on stage.
So, what:
There are some clear differences, stylistically, and in the approach to perparation and performance, but I think tribute bands follow closely in the mold of the traditional orchestra in their outlook on music and how it should be performed or portrayed, in this way: they're both interested in faithfully recreating and interpreting music they did not write, and perhaps could not write.
I don't mean to say they're the same, by any means, but despite some of the stark differences I noted above, they have the same goal, and the goal is what drives them to practice, learn, and perform their various music.
It seems a bit half-baked as I read it through, but there it is. Thoughts?
This is what first got me started thinking in this direction:
Here in St. Louis, there's a group of musicians who put on various tribute shows throughout the years. The lineup changes from show to show, but the core stays generally the same, and there's LOTS of overlap. For example, they do a long run most years around Christmas of Pink Floyd tribute shows, called "El Monstero" which sell out most nights. They also do Led Zeppelin (Celebration Day) and The Rolling Stones (Street fighting Band).
About symphonic orchestras:
The traditional symphonic orchestra is dedicated to faithfully interpreting and recreating music written in the art music tradition. (I don't say "classical" here because it has a specific meaning, and doesn't correctly categorize all of the music performed by professional orchestras, whose repertoire does, indeed, include classical music, but also includes Baroque, Romantic, Impressionist, etc.) This music, in many cases, was written by someone who died many years ago, well before the advent of even primitive recording techniques could be brought to bear on their music. So, the orchestra performs the music as written, and the conductor helps shape the overall sound of the work, and imposes his or her own interpretation on the music.
About tribute bands:
Tribute bands, unlike the orchestra, focus on the music of one artist, exclusively, and from popular music, not art music. But, they are dedicated to the faithful recreation of music by this one artist, so much so that they will dress up to look like the artist, and even adopt the mannerisms of the artist on the stage. Tribute bands do not, generally, play from written music, but use recordings of the artist as their template for performance on stage.
So, what:
There are some clear differences, stylistically, and in the approach to perparation and performance, but I think tribute bands follow closely in the mold of the traditional orchestra in their outlook on music and how it should be performed or portrayed, in this way: they're both interested in faithfully recreating and interpreting music they did not write, and perhaps could not write.
I don't mean to say they're the same, by any means, but despite some of the stark differences I noted above, they have the same goal, and the goal is what drives them to practice, learn, and perform their various music.
It seems a bit half-baked as I read it through, but there it is. Thoughts?