Global - It is the view of the public-at-large that
Panorama music today has become the judges' piece, and
does not have the sound and feel of arrangers' music of long ago. Recently I read a comment on
When Steel Talks in which the person spoke about the real panorama hit tunes of years gone by.
Pan Trinbago is conducting seminars in which arrangers meet with the judges who will guide the
arrangers in producing their work for the market. This is bordering on insanity since these very
judges are unqualified to guide any arranger as they are generally NOT arrangers. Judges are
usually selected from musicians whose specialties and certifications do not include arranging,
orchestration and composition. How then can these judges guide arrangers who are, more likely
than not, more skilled than they in the area of arranging?
Pelham Goddard at WST Studios
Arrangers are usually more knowledgeable and creative than the judges since they must know all
their chords, harmonic progressions, voicings in all keys, counter melodies, counterpoint,
modulations and so on. I will like to see or to hear or, as a matter of fact, go to where these
judges perform their work; at the least, they should provide examples to the arrangers.
In follow-up notes to When Steel Talks, Pelham expounds further on the situation by posing the following question and suggestion.
There are more than five hundred calypsos of which include soca and chutney; how many of those were arranged by these judges? Pan Trinbago needs to seek out people who are active in the art form. There are some big name musicians and pan people like Ron Berridge, Errol Ince, Leston Paul and Ray Holman...
(When this is done) Then they will improve the music.
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