Posted by Daryl on October 28, 1999 at 22:07:05:
In Reply to: Re: Life in tubadom posted by Jay Bertolet on October 27, 1999 at 22:23:45:
Hi Jay,
I'm glad you enjoyed the topic! I just wanted to clarify a couple of things;
1) I never said that I thought it would be easier to win a lower-tier job as opposed to a top position. My point in mentioning the different levels was to point out that it didn't matter if you're talking about the Podunk Falls Chamber Orchestra, the level of playing in the auditionees is always absurdly great, if you buy the stories that go around.
2) Really, the whole point of my question was kind of rhetorical. I'm not sure it means that I'm afraid of my chances of getting employment as much as it means that I'm concerned about the fact that we've inflated our perceptions of people's abilities so much that many just give up, figuring "Why even try?" And while the people we're talking about ARE great musicians, they're still human beings that just worked hard and long enough to get to the level of playing that they are currently at.
When I say "needlessly scaring" ourselves, I don't mean to the point that people delude themselves into thinking that it's easy to get work; it most certainly isn't. What I do mean is we may be needlessly scaring ourselves to the point that they don't even try to get jobs, even though it's what they really wanted to do. I think my post also begs the whole question of the true nature of talent - are some people born with some sort of natural ability to play the horn that if you ain't got, don't even bother? Or are the players that most people define as "naturally gifted" really just more focused and TRULY motivated than the rest of us?? Is it possible that they have just figured out how to achieve their results in an efficient way?
My philosophy is this - being a great musician is NOT a gift, it's a SKILL. The big difference is that skill can be acquired or LEARNED. Getting to the level of a world class player is a combination of hard work, dedication, intelligent choices, and committment. The talent portion of it, in my opinion, probably only makes up a very small percentage of it; and that talent is probably nothing more than just the innate ability to appreciate music on a different level than most folks. I always had good ears; I had to develop my natural ability to specialize it to my career, but I always had good ears and heard stuff that no one else around me did. I've always had to work very hard to get things that I wanted as a musician; in a lot of occasions, people have turned me down for things and told me that I didn't have the "talent" when in reality I didn't have the proper PREPARATION. Along the way I've been at least successful enough in my endeavours to keep me in the game even against the advice of just about everyone I can think of. I'll be able to comment more when I've achieved more of my goals (I'm sure my words will have a lot more gravity as a member of the Marine Band or something like that), but I can't help but think that the reason people succeed is partially because they're too dumb to quit when they should've. For example, was the Lee Hipp you heard at that audition 15 years ago the player that Lee Hipp is now? Are you the same player you wre when you won that audition 15 years ago? I would hallucinate that he wasn't and you weren't. Was he really REALLY good? Probably. Were you better?? I guess so...:) But seriously, you both obviously had developed your skills to a high level to win that audition. Were there times in the years leading up to that audition (perhaps when you began preparing those excerpts) when you said "Aw gee whiz, I'll never win this job; I'm just not talented enough!!"? I'm hallucinating there probably were. I'm sure you didn't just stick the horn on your face and viola: perfection!! But something pushed you through that, and you followed through and succeeded!!!
So I pose a question to the folks on the list currently in professional playing positions (Or previously); were you always a cut above everyone else, or were there times in your career when you were obviously and PAINFULLY human like the rest of us?? I'm sure you all could share some wonderful and comforting anecdotes with us.
Daryl Bean