Posted by Doc on January 19, 2003 at 16:01:34:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Rotary vs Pistons in Germany(and Europe) posted by JoeS on January 19, 2003 at 15:22:00:
Well Joe,
Some people can't handle the truth or discuss matters in realistic terms. Politikal Korrektness vs. Reality? If people would just tell it like it is, we'd all be better off. If you get too consumed or overly-analytical with the small stuff, you lose focus on the big picture. The players that get the gigs get them because they have never lost focus. They have their eye on the brass ring and they are never distracted. They do everything possible to reach that brass ring. Who really cares (even in Europe) what instrument you play, as long as you meet their demands for excellence, be it sound, overall competency, etc. We all know that average players can be helped by great equipment (note countless threads on different types/keys of horns, which is best, etc.). What a few of us know (hopefully most of us) is that great players still sound great on junk. Of course they sound better on a primo axe, but the point is that you are judged by HOW YOU PLAY rather than what you play. Ever been to an audition where the panel is behind a curtain? Many are that way. They don't know if its a piston or rotary, CC or BBb, and they don't care. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the debates over rotary vs. piston, CC vs. BBb, etc. I, like many, am always dreaming about that ever-elusive "perfect horn" I also know it doesn't exist, and that I should be thankful I have any horns to play at all. All of that doesn't matter anyway, because it's all about HOW you play. That's a comforting thought for those of us who can't afford Yorkbrunners and Nirschls. Not all the professionals playing today won their gig on their current axe. Many years ago, Dave Kirk told me that he was playing on an old, worn-out Meinl Weston while at Julliard when he auditioned for Houston. I'm sure there are many others that started out just like him. As far as widespread incompetence, I think I would place it more along the lines of "head in a dark place sydrome". Very few have the ability to grasp what it really takes to make it, and even fewer can or will make that type of commitment. Many are fooling themselves. The ones who are making that commitment aren't standing around talking about it, they are doing it. Just ask anyone who has made it. (in the USA or Europe) They will tell you what really matters in the big scheme of things. I'll help you return the flames, Joe.
Doc