Posted by Frank Language on August 13, 2001 at 23:27:13:
Today (Monday) I went over to visit Howard and I brought my horn (Cerveny oval euphonium, or as it used to be called, a Wagner tuba).
He told me to go ahead and play, we talked, and he told me I was making a lot of mistakes (yeah, I know; I've been pretty much on my own the past 20 years and have only had public-school lessons when I was a kid). He asked me, "Would you like to play better?" Of course I said, "Yes!" Although our time today was limited, he offered to give me pointers and started by telling me I should change a few of my fingerings so the intonation would be better.
I'm just totally amazed by my good fortune; I've only known Howard about a year, and although he's been a good friend, I would have never expected this generous offer. A post on this BBS a few months ago refers to him as a "god", and I'm inclined to second that.