Posted by Kenneth Sloan on September 02, 2002 at 18:33:50:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Willson Piston F Tuba posted by Karl H. on August 30, 2002 at 15:34:55:
"Of course you're qualified to discuss intonation!"
yes, but...
Professionals often allow others to believe that they can do things that they really can't. Never mind that the true professional must conform to an ethical code which requires him to be scrupulously honest about what he can do and what he can't.
Amateurs, on the other hand, bask in the luxury of pretending rank incompetence in all matters, even when they have specialty skills far beyond those of the average professional.
Rick, as a P.E., knows that certain professionals define their competence as those skills in which they have been *certified* - actual competence is often irrelevant compared to their certification.
So, on two counts, and from opposite directions, Rick is bound to be overly modest when describing his own musical skills. On the one hand, he's used to being careful to only claim what he's certified for (and he's not "certified" in music); on the other hand, there's the marvelous freedom that comes from being an amateur - when you are right, folk are amazed, and when you are wrong...well, it's not your day job, now is it?