by Fred Moleck
Text Messaging for Musicians
After countless missed calls and misdialings with my cell phone over the past several years, I can now successfully dial out and answer the phone when it rings—if I can find it.
That in itself is a major accomplishment, especially for me, who thinks that Alexander Graham Bell’s invention did not further civilization.
Most of the time, I carry my miniscule contact with the outside world in my shirt or coat pocket when I leave home. Verizon is my companion.
Then, I learned about text messaging. I was floored. Not only could I talk on my phone, I now have the capability of writing a message and receiving a written response from whomever I dial up.
Note well the word choice—capability; it means I could if I wanted to and would know how to do it if I had the skills.
I tried. Nick, my cyberspatial coach, walked me through the process of pushing the right buttons on my phone to set up a text message.
It seemed easy enough until I tried to do it myself without his verbal commands.
Then he text messaged me. Miraculously, it appeared on my screen.
When that occurred, I could barely read it because of its small size. For me to respond, he had to coach me again.
My brain cried out, Retreat! I vowed to use my cell phone for calling out or receiving calls. Every so often, one must admit one’s shortcomings.
Mind you, I’m not condemning or even criticizing those whose communication lives depend on text messaging, but I’m not one of them.
There is, however, an amazement and breakthrough in the written word that I feel compelled to explore.
It is a solution developed to deal with the 160-character limitation of each message: acronyms and symbols for short phrases or commands.
(I realize that most of the readership probably uses text messaging and even knows the acronyms. I also realize that there may be a few of us who still hold Gutenberg in high reverence and haven’t the slightest understanding of “why” text messaging, let alone “how.”
For example, instead of writing, “I have a question,” the question mark is used: ?
To make the sentence more direct: ?4U—“I have a question for you.”
The system has become sufficiently sophisticated that it has its own site on the Web: Webopedia, the #1 online encyclopedia dedicated to computer technology*.
Entitled “Text Messaging Abbreviations, a Guide to Understanding Online Chat Acronyms and Smiley Faces,” it lists nine hundred entries, updated June 2008.
Here are some that amused me:
121 One to one ( private chat) 4COL For crying out loud 4EAE For ever and ever A3 Anytime, anywhere, anyplace AAMOF As a matter of fact AATK Always at the keyboard (familiar to organists and keyboardists at Christmas and Easter) AAK Asleep at the keyboard (also familiar to organists and keyboardists at Christmas and Easter) AYTMTB And you’re telling me this because . . . The concept is hardly new. Musicians already have another kind of shorthand in the abbreviations for some of our lingo:
sfz sforzando p piano f forte dim diminuendo You know the rest.
Using the text messaging principle, perhaps we could devise new ones for our art. How about:
CECTL cover ears, cantor too loud CBO cantor back off CEOTL cover ears, organ too loud SRPU silent reflection, preacher unprepared HUBU heads up, books up (for choir singers) WM watch me (spoken many times by directors) What can you devise? I welcome your suggestions and would like to start compiling a list of acronyms such as these.
I would devote a TableTalk column to such a list. I ask one consideration from you, please do not text message me. I would be confused and frustrated.
My e-mail address is fmoleck@comcast.net.
* http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp
You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@comcast.net