hitting the right note

[Chinami]

I am working on a documentary on a British band (depeche mode) at the
moment.

It is basically about how hard the final World tour they did was
due to one of the members' serious illness found out during the tour
and also one of them lost his father when he was away.

After one song, a ticker (burned caption, テロップ) appears on the middle
of the screen:
"Most of people just worry about hitting the right note..."

"hitting the right note" means 大衆に受ける、大当たりする,
but I wonder if it is OK to translate it as ’大抵はファンの反応だけを気にするが…”.

Also after this (not right after this, a lot later), there is a
comment from one of the members
who used to get nervous for a lot of wrong reasons and he just hoped
not to be drop dead
in front of all the fans and he didn't care about hitting the right
note at all.

Any comments are welcome (it doesn't matter in English or Japanese)
Thanks!

Chinami Beak

[Richard Thieme]

I think you are thinking too euphemistically.

Hitting the right note in music means just what it says (i.e., not hitting
the wrong note (such as a li when it should be a la)

Regards,

Richard Thieme

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[Chinami]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your quick response : )

Yeah, I also thought about it as they are the musicians,
but also wondered if professional musicians would be worried about
that
playing their own songs.

Thanks!

Chinami Beak

[Nick Bennett]

I would second Richard's suggestion, adding that it refers to the
singer not to a musician.

Nick

[Doreen Simmons]

I'm not a pop star but I have decades of experience of being in
concerts of various kinds, and also doing folksongs and assorted small
percussion in public, and I would say that "hitting the right note" is
(of course) getting the music right, but it is also of connecting with
the audience.

FWIW, the last time I went to a Tokyo International Players show, in
the wine-drinking scrum beforehand, I was greeted by three different
sets of people who remembered me from three different performances in
the past two or three years: singing the Irish folksong "She moved
through the Fair"; playing a bedridden old lady in the Canadian play
"Vigil"; and playing Queen Margaret in a TIP version of Richard III
this year. All of them instantly homed in on the effect my performance
had had on them.

Hitting the right note is, of course, basic -- but connecting with the
audience at the same time is one of those things that either happens or
it doesn't.

Doreen who still hasn't got over the audience reaction to the end of
the Irish song; total silence for seconds, seconds, seconds -- and
finally, looong applause-- for the song, not the singer.

On 2010/01/04, at 18:48, Richard Thieme wrote:

> I think you are thinking too euphemistically.
>
> Hitting the right note in music means just what it says (i.e., not
> hitting
> the wrong note (such as a li when it should be a la)
>
> Regards,
>
> Richard Thieme

Doreen Simmons
jz8d...@asahi-net.or.jp

[Richard Thieme]

Well yes but when the original text reads

"Most of people just worry about hitting the right note..."

They are talking about a minimum standard, e.g., not hitting the wrong note.

IADOTC

Regards,

Richard Thieme

[Isshin]

Hi, Chinami,

I´m enjoying seeing this thread!

As a former professional musician, I can definitely tell you that,
depending on the instrument and the note we have to hit, we certainly
DO worry quite a bit about hitting the right note. Some instruments,
such as French horn, can be treacherous beasties and for singers,
voices can fail...

And this guy feels so crummy, he´s past caring about the notes - he
just wants to get through the show alive... Poor guy. Hope he made
it...

Gassho,
Isshin

[Mika Jarmusz]

> "Most of people just worry about hitting the right note..."

ちなみさん、この後にbut節が続きません？

「観客の心を動かす」方の解釈は、本人がjust worry aboutできるものではないような、
恵まれたものをありがたく授かるだけのもののように最初は思ったのですが、
パフォーマーのタイプによっては
「客ウケ」を狙うことで頭がいっぱいになる、という解釈もありかもしれませんね。
もちろん「下手な演奏にならないように」という単純な意味だけなのかもしれませんが。

複数の解釈があるとき、特に字数制限があるときは、
「結局、これでなにがいいたいのか？」
団子の串がどう通っているのかを見透して
一本だけに絞らざるを得ないかもしれませんね。

@ loved Doreen's account of her connecting with the audience :)

Mika Jarmusz 清水美香
       English to Japanese Translator
       http://inJapanese.us

[Tom Donahue]

I would say this calls for a little research into Depeche Mode's lyrics.
Obviously it could refer to music, since they're performing musicians.

It could also refer to the speaker's evaluation of "most people". I am
thinking of a club filled with beautiful and fashionable people, the
kind of place that you can't get into unless you're "in". These people
are talking with each other and worrying about what they need to
say to sound cool. What would be the fashionable, suitably cynical,
up to date with the latest whatever it is thing to say? The speaker
doesn't think much of this crowd -- they don't really have opinions
of their own and are just trying to hit the right note.

Just an impression from the general tone of the band.

--
Tom Donahue

[Tom Donahue]

I would add that this could also include the speaker about himself --
I don't have any answers either, I'm just trying to hit the right note.

Anyway, as the OP was suggesting, I think the implications
go beyond music. It's a metaphor for something.

--
Tom Donahue

[Isshin]

Hello, everyone,

I hate to be insistent, but I really think you are reading too much
into this.

At least as an American musician, I would never mix the meanings of
"hitting the right note" (literally) on my instrument and "hitting the
right note" with a crowd" - where I would say something like "hit it
off", "make a hit", "connect". If there is no additional information
(such as "with the crowd"), hit the right note usually means exactly
that.

And it is true that
"most people just worry about hitting the right note..."
Usually, the order of priority is: 1. hit the right notes, 2. musical
expression, 3. connect with the public.

And when a musician is feeling so bad (sick or nervous) that he´s
almost worried about dropping dead in front of the crowd, he can be
very, very worried simply about getting the right notes out of his
(instrument/mouth) and will be not have much energy left over for
worrying about his connection with the crowd. He simply feels too
lousy for such philosophical ruminations.

And regarding:

"there is a
comment from one of the members
who used to get nervous for a lot of wrong reasons and he just hoped
not to be drop dead
in front of all the fans and he didn't care about hitting the right
note at all. "

Having had my own bouts of stage fright, I can say that when a
musician is nervous and suffering from stage fright, the last thing he
needs is to focus on is the crowd out there (which only makes him more
nervous...). The best solution for stage fright is concentrating on
the music itself - the notes (hitting the right ones) and the
musicality.

I mean, when it´s show time, no one care how we feel inside or what
our physical or emotional condition is - the show must go on... And
sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Gassho,
Isshin

[Chinami]

Thank you very much for your comments, everyone!
(I know it is hard for you without watching the video clip)

After reading your comments and the script again,
I agree with the opinion that this guy is rather referring to
"hitting the right note" literally.
He used to get terrible stage fright and he didn't care
about hitting the right note as long as he didn't drop-dead.

美香さん, but の後は"I didn't care about it at all"ですね。
(テロップ部はこれだけですが）

Isshin-san,　your explanation helped me understand musician's feeling
well : )

I also thought about their lyrics, but nothing like this came up on
the Internet.

Thanks again : )

Chinami Beak