Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What ever happened to....


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Posted by Wade on May 20, 2003 at 23:58:02:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What ever happened to.... posted by Jeff Hicks on May 16, 2003 at 13:09:02:

Jeff,

I see what you are saying—I always have. What made me get involved in this thread is that you seem to be missing the point of all those other discussions that you dismiss as somehow "missing the point".

What point?

Are you trying to say that we are just not aware of how neat it is to play the tuba and euphonium, or to finally understand what out teacher means by the phrase "playing with direction"?

Few of us would haunt this site daily if that were the case.

Are you saying that we are putting too much emphasis on tubas, mouthpieces, and flight cases, or that we are too interested in solos and soloists, or the recordings that happen to combine those two categories?

Well, this is where we come to purge all of the stuff trapped inside of us that we can not share in any meaningful way with our colleagues and friends (or moms, or dads, or spouses).

You ask:

"I was basically trying find out if people were playing for more reasons than the bottom line."

So I ask you:

Who would go into this ridiculous career field if the bottom line were their primary concern? As a career field, classical music is usually poorly managed, under funded, and highly unstable.

You go on to say:

"It just really seems that the holy grail of tuba playing is finding that trick formula to become a pro."

Yes!! It is, if you are one of the "truly obsessed" that want to play so badly that you are willing to pass up a well-paid "day job" in order to practice for auditions, or if you work a "day job" that you despise in order to survive, sacrificing all of your free time towards practice and gig hustling. We love the instrument and the music that much.

It comes down to your definition of "Holy Grail" in the end.

When you decide to take the major social and financial risks necessary to win a gig, every little piece of unmusical minutia that you feel helps you come just a tiny bit closer becomes very important. At that point in one's career, talking about how much a really well turned and developed phrase makes you all melty inside is just a bit redundant. Being that much in love with what you do makes the path to getting a job DOING what you love your own personal Holy Grail. (Get it?)

The things that you list are indeed some of the primary concerns of those who are already professionals or who aspire to be. These things interest us so much because we LIVE for the thrill of music all day, every day. We, the very people that are not "getting it", are so totally obsessed with IT that we live in abject poverty for many years while trying to "make it". It is our lives, and for some it IS our bottom line. The bottom line is of paramount concern to people who pay for their homes, cars, underwear, soap, shoes, dental floss, Beefaroni, and postage stamps with their art. Obsessive talk about unmusical minutia is a big help to some, while an engaging hobby to others.

We discuss "it" with the people with which we work. We do that here, but we very often come here to talk shop. We all understand that art (and the expression of one's self through that art) is the reason that we choose to do this.

We do get it.

Wade "respectful of your opinion, but trying hard to change it" Rackley




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