Re: Kate ? Untrained ?

[Vickie Mapes <vickie@pilot.njin.net>]

> Fellow Love-hound Vickie,

> You still maintain that Kate was NOT classically trained before "The
> Kick Inside."  If not, why does she list her singing teacher in "The
> Kick Inside's" liner note thank yous  ?

> Roman, Flatland USA

First, you have a *very* different view of what constitues "classical"
training than I do.  You've used the terms "formal" and "classical"
training, and you maintain that Kate received such training from the
time she was a "wee lass" (your words) while I maintain that she had
no such training.  We're both wrong.
 
Kate did indeed receive some vocal training prior to the recording of
_The Kick Inside_.  The way Kate describes it though, they were sessions
designed to teach her how to breathe and not hurt her voice, which is
very different from receiving classical/formal singing lessons.

Anyway, I've culled through Cloudbusting (thanks to Ron Hill, IED and
Richard Caley!) and here are some pertinent bits, in Kate's own words.
As per usual, Kate contridicts herself, but I still think that this will
give enough info so that you'll stop saying she received formal/classical
training in voice all her life.  Any Love-Hounds who passes along
information (especially with a slightly condescending "hate to burst your
bubble, but..." intro) should be able to state exact sources and not
state things as absolute fact unless they're willing to back it up.

Vickie

*-------------------*


   KT Cloudbusting -- Kate Bush In Her Own Words 
     _________________________________________________________________
   
                                   1969-1974
                                       
  <much deletia throughout>
   
   But kate, I'm very curious. I know you grew up listening to artists
   like bowie, bolan, dave edmunds, roxy music, elton john, all that
   sort of stuff. Yet in my opinion you're so much more musically
   eloquent than people like that. Your music has a depth and
   complexity, also a certain opulence, which aren't easily attributable
   to pop music and which suggests to me that perhaps there are a quite
   different set of aesthetic values underlying it that you've
   assimilated somewhere along the way, perhaps even deriving from
   classical music or opera. 
   
          I think in a way that classical music is, if you like, a sort
          of superior form of music because it has so much space for the
          listener to move around in. I think as soon as you have words
          in a song, it's somewhat restricting for the listener. And I
          really love listening to classical music because, actually, I
          find it quite inspiring for my work. So maybe because I love
          those things so much, I suppose they do tend to rub off on
          me...
          
   
   
   I see, so you think they just rub off. It's not as if you are
   extrapolating classical formulae into your own music with any knowing
   intent? 
   
          Well, I do think that a lot of classical music is so good that
          it challenges you. When I hear something really beautiful, I
          think, wouldn't it be great if I could write something even
          just a little bit like that! So I'm sure that's what it's all
          about. It's not really copying but, rather, wanting to produce
          that same kind of, well - vibe. To try and get the same kind of
          atmosphere which that music creates when you listen to it.
          
   
   
   Did you have much of a formal education in music? Are you capable of
   comprehending your own work in terms of music theory? 
   
          Well, I do know what chords are, basically, but I've not really
          had any classical training at all. My knowledge of theory comes
          from when I learned the violin when I was little, and that's
          about it.
          
                                     --oOo--
   
   
      Music and words used to come together at the same time. There's
      something warm and friendly in music. (????,AVD)
   
   
          Actually, when I was in the school choir I couldn't sing the
          high notes at all. I taught myself as sort of an exercise.
          (????,SH)
          
                                     --oOo--

   
   
   * I wondered how the artiste of the early days differed from the
   current one. 
   
          I could sing in key but there was nothing there. It was awful
          noise, it was really something terrible. My tunes were more
          morbid and more negative. That was a lot of people's comment:
          they were too heavy. But then a lot of people are saying that
          about my current songs. The old ones were quite different
          musically, vocally, and lyrically. You're younger and you get
          into murders...
          
   
                                     --oOo--
   
   
          I was about fifteen. My family thought it would be interesting
          to see if we could get some of my songs published, I'd written
          loads of songs. I just used to write one every day or
          something. And through a friend of the family who knew Dave
          Gilmour, we made a contact for him to come and hear some of my
          songs. At that time, he was sort of scouting for talent,
          looking for bands that he could produce or become involved in
          or just encourage. And I became one of the people that he was
          visiting. I think he liked the songs sufficiently to feel that
          it was worth him actually putting up money for me to go in and
          professionally record the tracks, because all my demos were
          just piano vocals and I had, say like 50 songs that were all
          piano vocals. And he felt, quite rightly, that the record
          company would relate to the music much in a more real way if it
          was produced rather than being demoed. So he put up the money,
          we went into the studio, recorded three tracks, and I got a
          recording contract from that. (1985, MTV)
          
   
14-May-95 21:40:15-GMT,1600;000000000201

   KT Cloudbusting -- Kate Bush In Her Own Words 
     _________________________________________________________________
   
                                     1976
                                       

                                     --oOo--

   
   
          I have had no formal vocal training, though there was a guy
          that I used to see for half-an-hour once a week, and he would
          advise me on things like breathing properly, which is very
          important to voice control. He'd say things like ``Does that
          hurt? Well, then, sing more from here (MOTIONS TO DIAPHRAGM)
          than from your throat.'' I don't like the idea of ``formal''
          training, it has far too many rules and conventions that are
          later hard to break out of... (1978, The Blossoming Kate Bush)
          
   
   

                                     --oOo--

   
   
   Did you ever have singing lessons? 
   
          Yes.
          
   
   
   Did your teacher try to get you to sing in a lower voice? (stupid
   joke). [This was the interviewer's own comment.] 
   
          No, not at all. I used to go for about half-an-hour a week and
          the guy would get me to practice my scales and my breathing or
          something and then ask to hear my new songs. So I'd sing them
          for him and he helped me more that way. He was really good.
          (1981, RM)
          
   
   

                                     --oOo--

     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Cloudbusting / Somewhere / Something