Schönberg
For some reason, when I was growing up, just about everyone spelled the composer Arnold Schönberg's name Schoenberg. There's really no reason to do that in a book or magazine. They've got all those extra letters and diacriticals. The only reason you would write Schoenberg is if you're on a typewriter, which doesn't have umlauts. But, anyway, for one reason or another, that's how it was done.
Ah! Just googled it. He changed it when he moved to America. Tryin' to fit in better. Though, if you were trying to fit in better, you might try changing the spelling of your chords.
I remember sitting in a class and hearing a professor, a Baylor professor with a strong Texas accent, referring to someone named "Shernberg." It took me until at least the next class to realize that this prof was talking about Schönberg. I became used to this in college. (In high school, no one referred to Schönberg.) Tons of people pronounced his name "Shernberg." I think the umlaut threw them off: if you were going to get a Texas person to try to pronounce the man's name correctly, albeit with a Texas accent, it would be far better to have them say something between "Shunberg" and "Shinberg."
I note in passing that no one said "Gerterdairmmerung." Only "Shernberg." (Of course, serious music majors at Baylor in the 80s didn't mention Götterdämmerung without embarrassment. Not about shameful German/Jewish stuff, though; more about greasepaint and tonality.)
Anyway. I just saw a CD that I burned with some Schönberg on it, and I'd written it the Austrian way. It suddenly occurred to me that the name meant something. And, fresh from a weekend in the Hill Country, I realized that if you wanted an English proper name equivalent, you could do a lot worse than ... Pleasanton.
Ah! Just googled it. He changed it when he moved to America. Tryin' to fit in better. Though, if you were trying to fit in better, you might try changing the spelling of your chords.
I remember sitting in a class and hearing a professor, a Baylor professor with a strong Texas accent, referring to someone named "Shernberg." It took me until at least the next class to realize that this prof was talking about Schönberg. I became used to this in college. (In high school, no one referred to Schönberg.) Tons of people pronounced his name "Shernberg." I think the umlaut threw them off: if you were going to get a Texas person to try to pronounce the man's name correctly, albeit with a Texas accent, it would be far better to have them say something between "Shunberg" and "Shinberg."
I note in passing that no one said "Gerterdairmmerung." Only "Shernberg." (Of course, serious music majors at Baylor in the 80s didn't mention Götterdämmerung without embarrassment. Not about shameful German/Jewish stuff, though; more about greasepaint and tonality.)
Anyway. I just saw a CD that I burned with some Schönberg on it, and I'd written it the Austrian way. It suddenly occurred to me that the name meant something. And, fresh from a weekend in the Hill Country, I realized that if you wanted an English proper name equivalent, you could do a lot worse than ... Pleasanton.
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