Posted by Anthony on February 02, 2001 at 13:22:14:
In Reply to: Re: Out of touch posted by Brass envy? on February 02, 2001 at 12:51:36:
Not meaning to sound pretentious, but I don't think there's any question as to which one sounds better. I believe Rick's point had more to do with appreciation factor than "which horn is better". I was head-over-appreciative when my band director first handed me a 3 valve Besson BBb that was larger than me. Compared to the plastic sousaphone(Read: Trash Can) that I was playing on before, this thing WAS an HB-21. To these kids who are "given" the HB21s, they want something more so that their 'brunner can be referred to as their "junk" horn that they "struggled" with in High School.
At the 2000 Army Conference in D.C. I talked to the young man who played in the Bobo Masterclass with his Hirshbrunner. Never, EVER before in my life had I ever been so infuriated with someone's attitude. How do you like your horn? "It's alright, I guess." Wasn't that amazing, having a lesson with Roger Bobo? "Yeah, he's alright, I guess... I got cheated, though, I was supposed to get a full 20 minutes." He then made a facetious comment about how the "kid" with the "Old junky miraphone" got almost twice as much time than he did. The day before, I had talked to the young man with the Miraphone, for a much longer time, too. He played a 50+ year old Miraphone 4 valve CC, and loved it to death, thought it was the Holy Grail of tubas... he also told me about how lucky he felt to live in that area, and be privileged enough to study with David Fedderly, and actually have the opportunity to even attend a masterclass with Roger Bobo, no less take part in it...
It's that kind of attitude, appreciation, and dedication that I love to see. It's that kind of attitude, appreciation, and dedication that yields a great pro-musician. I'm sure there are pros who might dismiss people because of their equipment, or background... some have even posted on this BBS... those aren't the pros you'll see conducting masterclasses of 1000 people, though. Nor are they the pros who are hailed as great teachers by people who've never met them, and have students who travel from around the world to study with them. A wise teacher of mine once left a note on my Jury review sheet after I had childishly thrown a temper: "Attitude is 99% of musicianship". I didn't understand it at the time, and these unappreciative kids don't understand it right now, but it will ring true eventually.
-Anthony