#61 Jazz, Jazz Standards, and Open Source

“Well, sure, once you thought about it. And high school
chemistry teachers, too, I expect. It’s just that when they were
spread around so widely, it was not so obvious to us, and a whole
lot less remunerative for them. All of which brings us to the point
where we can consider this equally obvious analogical statement:
Standards are to classical music as open source is to jazz.

“Dig?

“No question about it. Classical music, like technical
standards, is complex and developed through a painstakingly exact
process. Needless to say, people wouldn’t pay a dime to hear a
musician implement a Beethoven sonata unless she did so with
precision and utter faithfulness to the score.

“Even “Pops” orchestras choose to “up” orchestrate popular music
rather than monkey with the presentation of classical material.
Instead, orchestras compete through the quality of their
implementations, the ingenuity of the programs of music they
assemble, and the talent of their ensembles and soloists.”

Complete
Story