Oh, Youtube.

[oloriel]

Okay, pointless, but this is what I found on my flist in two posts that directly followed each other.

The second linked (with a positive comment) to this.
There are a few things that bother me about this video.
For example that the text says "Mozart" while the music is very obviously (ob-audibly?) Pachelbel. Then again, this is doubtlessly an American family, and Americans occasionally give their kids very odd or downright cruel names.*
Second, that it is obviously a recorded version, and not something the little girl is playing, and third, that you can't hear what the little girl plays like.
Now I know next to nothing about playing the violin, but even I notice a gross discrepancy between what I hear and what I see when I see one. Hear one. Whatever. The girl's movements and their strength and coordination would never result in something sounding like that recording. Not even in that tune, certainly not in that soft, gentle, flowy, bouncy excecution (see me failing at musical terms and describing what it feels like!). 'sides, there's more than one instrument in that recording. I don't know what the kid is doing, but that's not it. And it drives me MAAAD.**
And I wonder why there isn't her real playing on the video, and of course there are a couple of possibilities (such as "you couldn't cut them together so they'd result in a harmonious whole", or "too much background noise") but somehow the one that strikes me first is "because she doesn't play all that great, duh".

Now that's fine. The girl is five going on six in the videos, apparently, so she doesn't have to be perfect. Although if, as the parents say, she's started learning at 23 months, she's been playing the violin for roughly four years, after which time even a very small child should have reached a certain level. Pretty much any child. If the child got there, it certainly is something it should be praised for, within the family, but nothing you have to show off on the webs (ok ok, the parents say it's "just to share with family, friends and readers". Yet, this is Youtube. More than just family, friends and readers are going to notice it.)

... and then I go back one entry on my flist, and the direct next entry by someone else goes here (with a negative comment).

Notice something? Same girl, same Pont du Gard but - different tune. This time it matches the movements. This time it's... well. Not actually bad. There's no grossly wrong notes (albeit some "off" ones), no brutal shrieking, the melody is recognisable although the performance sounds a bit crude to me (and is it just me or is that not nearly as sophisticated a piece as the parents say? Not, certainly, for someone who's been playing the violin for four years?). But hey, little six-year-old kid. No need to be perfect. At least this time what she does and what it sounds like fits.

But now imagine ickle Mozart (good grief!) growing up to actually be a violin genius some day, and then at some sold-out genius concert some people come and have that YouTube video on their cell phones of whatever people use for that purpose in ten or twenty years and simultaneously hit "play" and there'll be a thousand-fold playback of that - not exactly wrong, not altogether bad, but shall we say somewhat unsophisticated - performance? That can break a 16-year-old genius' heart, make a 26-year-old genius end their career in a huff, and annoy the hell out of a genius at any age.

If this had been my kid, no matter how proud I were of my imaginary six-year-old for taming a violin at that early age, I don't think I'd see fit to put videos of her on YouTube. Not unless he or she really were near-perfect and I really wanted all the world to fall over with envy for my genius child. If I had to upload it because I'm incapable of sending video files to friends and family, there are sufficient somewhat more quiet possibilities. (I think even YouTube has a "private, invitation-only, password" setting, no?) But done like this? DEFINITELY showing off a perceived child prodigy, no matter how much the info denies it.

You may all quote this back at me when in a coupla years time you find videos of "Elanor Mira performing Kanku Dai" or "Felix Gawain, Bergian Cello prodigy" on YouTube, of course. ;)

- - -
*No offense meant to all the Americans who wouldn't dream of naming their kids after the place of their conception or famous dead people. Germans, actually, can be just as cruel name-wise, but at least we're prevented by law from naming girls (and quite possibly boys, too) "Mozart".

**It's like that video of the guy where the sound says "Luck. Luck. Luck." but his mouth does the labio-dental fricative thing so if you only listen, you hear "Luck. Luck. Luck." but as soon as you look, you hear "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.". Because the eyes listen, too.

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Dies ist wieder ein Sinnloseintrag. Aber es amüsierte (...) mich halt, diese zwei links direkt hintereinander auf meiner Flist zu finden.

Der zweite Eintrag linkte, mit einem positiven Kommentar, hier hin.
An diesem Video stören mich ein paar Kleinigkeiten.
Beispielsweise, dass da "Mozart" steht, die Musik aber offenhörlich von Pachelbel ist. Gut, das ist bestimmt eine amerikanische Familie, und wir wissen ja alle, dass Amerikaner ihren Kindern schon mal komische Namen geben...
Zweitens ist es offenhörlich, dass das nichts ist, was das kleine Mädchen spielt.
Drittens hört man nicht, was das kleine Mädchen denn nun spielt.
Nun weiß ich relativ wenig über das Geigenspiel im Besonderen, aber sogar ich bemerke eine so große Diskrepanz zwischen dem, was ich sehe und dem, was ich höre. Die Bewegungen des Mädchens, ihre Kraft und Koordination würden sich nie im Leben in diesem Klang niederschlagen. Nicht mal in der Melodie, und definitiv nicht in dieser sanften, weichen, fließenden, hüpfenden Ausführung (mir fehlen die Fachbegriffe, also beschreibe ich, wie es sich anfühlt). Davon abgesehen hört man mehr als Instrument. Ich weiß nicht, was das kleine Mädchen spielt, aber das jedenfalls nicht. Und das macht mich schon mal waaaahnsinnig.*

Und natürlich fragt man sich, warum man nicht ihr echtes Spiel hört, und natürlich gibt es da diverse Möglichkeiten (so wie "das wäre zu aufwendig zu schneiden gewesen" oder "der Hintergrund war zu laut"), aber spontan denkt man erst mal "naja, wahrscheinlich spielt sie in Echt einfach nicht toll."

Und das ist ja auch völlig okay. Die Kleine ist in den Videos wohl erst Ende fünf und später Anfang sechs, da muss man nicht perfekt sein. Auch wenn - wie die Eltern sagen - sie mit dem Geigespielen angefangen hat, als sie 23 Monate alt war, was ihr vier Jahre Spielerfahrung gibt, und nach einer so langen Zeit sollte auch ein sehr junges Kind einen gewissen Stand erreicht haben. Und zwar potentiell so ziemlich jedes Kind. Und wenn das Kind diesen Stand erreicht hat, dann ist das zwar etwas, was in der Familie gelobt werden sollte, aber nicht zwingend etwas, was man in den Weiten des Internets ausstellen muss (ok ok, die Eltern schreiben, es sei "nur für Familie, Freunde und Leser". Aber wir reden hier von YouTube. Das werden nicht nur "Familie, Freunde und Leser" finden.)

Und dann schaue ich auf meine Flist und der Eintrag direkt vor diesem Link ist von jemand anderem und linkt hier hin, mit einem negativen Kommentar.

Na, gemerkt? Gleiches Mädchen, gleiches Aquädukt, aber - ein anderes Lied. Diesmal passt es besser zur Bewegung. Und diesmal ist es... naja. Nicht wirklich schlecht. Keine grob falschen Töne (wenn auch diverse, die nicht so richtige Volltreffer sind), kein Gekreische, man kann eine Melodie erkennen, auch wenn die Darbietung sich etwas plump anhört (und bin das nur ich, oder ist das Stück nun wirklich nicht so "sophisticated", wie die Eltern schreiben? Jedenfalls nicht nach vier Jahren Übung auf dem Instrument?). Aber hey, die Kleine ist immer noch sechs Jahre alt. Muss nicht perfekt sein. Immerhin stimmt diesmal das, was sie tut, mit dem, was man hört, überein.

Aber jetzt stellt euch vor, die kleine Mozart (Eru Grundgütiger!) wird erwachsen und ein gefragtes Geigengenie. Und bei irgendeinem ausverkauften Geniekonzert kommen Leute und haben dieses YouTube-Video auf ihren Handies oder was auch immer man in zehn oder zwanzig Jahren als solche benutzt, und dann spielen sie es simultan ab, und man hört eine tausendstimmige Version dieser - nicht wirklich falschen, nicht völlig schlechten, aber sagen wir mal kindlichen - Darbietung? Das kann einem 16-jährigen Genie das Herz brechen, ein 26-jähriges Genie dazu bringen, ihre Karriere voller Zorn und Frustration zu beenden, und einem Genie jeden Alters mächtig auf die Nerven gehen.

Wenn das jedenfalls mein Blag wäre, ganz gleich, wie stolz ich nun auf meine imaginäre sechs Jahre alte Tochter wäre, wenn sie eine Geige gezähmt kriegen würde, glaube ich nicht, dass ich es für nötig hielte, sie auf YouTube zu packen. Gerade YouTube. Höchtens, wenn sie wirklich nahezu perfekt wäre und ich der ganzen Welt diese perfekte Frucht meiner Lenden unter die Nase reiben wollte (... iih.). Wenn ich so ein Video unbedingt hochladen müsste, weil ich nicht in der Lage wäre, Freunden und Familie auf andere Weise ein Video zukommen zu lassen, dann gibt es durchaus auch Möglichkeiten mit wenigstens einem bisschen mehr Privatsphäre. (Hatte nicht sogar YouTube eine "privat, nur mit Einladung sichtbar, passwortgeschützt"-Option?) Aber SO? Definitiv Angabe mit einem Wunderkind, egal, wie sehr die Info das verleugnen mag.

Das dürft ihr mir natürlich alle ins Gesicht zitieren, wenn ihr in einer Handvoll Jahren Videos von "Elanor Mira zeigt Kanku Dai" oder "Felix Gawain, das bergische Cello-Genie" auf YouTube findet. ;)

- - -

*Wie dieses Video, wo die Tonspur "Luck. Luck. Luck." sagt, aber der Typ, den man dabei sieht, eindeutig etwas Labiodentales am Wortanfang macht, so dass man zwar "Luck. Luck. Luck" hört, wenn man nur zuhört, aber sobald man hinschaut, "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." versteht. Denn das Auge hört mit.


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Comments

[nimielle.livejournal.com]

It looks a bit like she's trying to saw the violin in half O.o

I know that song playing on the first video as well, would you mind telling me which exact piece and movement it is, since you seem to know it and it's just gorgeous.

You should watch this (http://youtube.com/watch?v=B-Wd-Q3F8KM) to make you feel better ;) It's sort of the opposite effect ;) making a video sort of more interesting, by adding sound ;)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Pachelbel's Canon in D? I have like a hundred different versions of it which I can upload for you this evening if you wish :)

[nimielle.livejournal.com]

Thanks :D

Yes, please please please do!! :D

Damn it, I just remembered I still owe you an email, I just went through my things, but I cannot find the piece of paper I wrote it down on. Could you maybe just give it to me again?

[yoodi.livejournal.com]

The contrast is certainly striking. *no pun intended*

[al-pha.livejournal.com]

Sorry... cute little girl and so on, but if she really were a musical genius, she would be much, much better by now. And she would not be playing in front of monuments, but in concert halls.

I fear also an intend from the parents to get some kind of profit out of this - why would they use such a worldwide and open plattform otherwise? Certainly, they got attention and posted also the link to their website where it is (oh, surprise!) possible to donate to them... of course just to keep their website going.

Well, klicking a bit on their side reveiled a deeply spiritual ideology behind all this travelling. The couple - of course soulmates - even had dreams about their child before actually getting pregnant. And -surprise!- the kid looks just as the one in the dreams...
The father's name is Davinci, the wifes Jeanne D'arc and they named their child Mozart...oh, come on!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Good grief. I didn't even click that far. I did figure out they were basically looking for some kind of profit - and you always find someone crazy enough to donate to some unimpressive wunderkind and its wonderful attentive supportive parents - but the esoteric background certainly doesn't make it better...

[eruannath.livejournal.com]

You have summarised my thoughts perfectly.

So the kid IS named Mozart? I thought it was just a... I don't know... word game/inspiration thing.

I am SO naming one of my kids with the Batman symbol XD

[(Anonymous)]

Völlig egal wie toll das kleine Mädchen wohl sein mag (und ehrlich gesagt seh ich da nur geschraddel was sich wohl... äähhh... "ähnlich" anhören wird wie das vom zweiten Link), für mich sieht das aus wie eine verquere Form von "Where the hell is Matt?" Wo der Typ an allen Ecken der Welt albern tanzt, bearbeitet das Blag seine Geige...
Irgendwie drängt sich da der Verdacht auf, die Eltern wollen sich profilieren und nutzen halt ihr ach so talentiertes Kind. Wie Du schon so richtig sagst, wenn sie wirklich mehr als 4 Jahre spielt, sollte sie besser sein.

LG
-Y-

[kazaera.livejournal.com]

Okay, I do play violin (13 years now - haven't had any lessons for the past four, but I /have/ played in orchestras for almost the whole period) and... uh.

The first link, I'd say they weren't trying to make people think she was actually playing that, just giving the /impression/ their daughter was a musical genius who'd been to all these places + soundtrack. I mean, there are several instruments, the videos keep cutting, it's clear she's not producing that. That saaiid...

who. The hell. Taught her.

Fingering is quite impressive for a five-year-old as she's playing quite fast, but somehow she's only using a tiny bit of the bow - bow is there to be used - buut that could just be habit and her not being all that good yet. (She's not. Good for a five-year-old, definitely, but yeeaah that is not exactly playing worthy of world tours.)

However, and this is the kicker, I do believe she's holding it wrong.

It's not quite clear to see on the video buut the palm of the left hand should not be touching the violin, it should not be anywhere near the violin. It's very tempting when you first start playing to hold the neck of the violin with your whole hand, but in fact your hand should be close to vertical and you're only holding the neck between the thumb and the index finger - if that makes sense (it'd be clearer if I could show you in RL, descriptions are never quite the same.) You're really supposed to be holding the violin with your /shoulder/ rather than your hand; this is important as it allows you to get notes easier and to change positions once you get to that level aand I shall stop being technical and just say. This is a very typical thing to want to do and something any teacher should have caught and stopped immediately. I don't... quite understand, because on the other hand her violin has the little tapes where to put your finger, which implies there was a teacher involved - or maybe they got it like that? But she must've had a teacher at /some/ point, and. Augh.

In general, I get the impression of a kid where the parents are so enamoured by the idea of having a progidy that they're pushing her, and because /they/ don't know enough about the violin or are blinded by her "genius" they are pushing her too far too fast and in the wrong direction. I said the fingering was impressive, but looking at the second video it seems as if she's rushing, playing faster than she should be at that level (which might explain the weird bowing.) Possibly she learned the song by rote and rehearsed it over and /over/; you can get a person to play something that's technically beyond their level that way but it's generally quite noticeable. Either that, or due to lack of a teacher or having a terrible teacher she's only learning to play faster, but not things like proper bowing (both length and not trying to saw through the string), getting the notes properly in tune, etc.

At any rate, I feel very, very sorry for the little girl.

...uh, and this is getting long. Standard disclaimer: I r amateur, I r not violin teacher, the hand thing just jumped out at me as a total WTF - any other violinists want to chime in here?

[kazaera.livejournal.com]

as a random aside: and let's not forget vibrato, the bread and butter of classical violin. Anyone want to explain to me how a violinist is supposed to manage vibrato with their hand like that? Anyone?