Albie Cabrera wrote:

>But when I said "the RC *is*," I mean it is still the surface/shell of
>CM that newcomers have to crack before getting to the heart...

If anyone is free from what you call the "RC", it's the newcomer.  They
don't have any preconceptions of what's "Great Music" to burden them and
discourage exploration.  And they haven't developed lazy listening habits
which lead some to listen to the same small list of CM compositions by the
same small list of CM composers over and over again - and call *that* the
"RC"

>I believe, on the other hand, that the "RC" *is* and applies to/affects
>the total CM newcomer...  the kid doing a one-time school "report on CM"

But there is no "RC" - just words in a book which represent the editor's
presentation of CM history.  In that history certain compositions and
composers are mentioned, but that doesn't create a "RC".

The biggest challenge a newcomer to any type of music faces is the sound of
the music - the sonic conventions that define it as a type of music.  After
that is the compositional traditions and innovations.  A new listener has
to retrain their ear - to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar.

The last thing they need is to have something called an "RC" hung around
their next like heavy rock.

Dave Harman
El Paso, TX