Posted by Rick Denney on March 07, 2003 at 14:46:36:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Paper on an aspect of the tuba posted by Tabor on March 06, 2003 at 21:59:15:
Well, shucks, if you listen to Ray, I can type posts with one hand while playing etudes with the other, heh, heh. What he doesn't say is that my playing has improved more because of sitting next to him in various ensembles than he could ever learn from my ramblings, however well organized or however fast I type. Many of my ideas have been tempered by or abandoned because of his careful thinking.
The explanation is simple: I travel lots, and I do indeed write long and complex reports for a living. Many of the after-hours posts you see from me were typed in a hotel room somewhere, or I'm taking a break at home from a current book-writing assignment. My work is often solitary and frankly demanding, and I have to give my brain a break from time to time. Playing tuba would be a great way to do that, but my office mates really would complain. They don't care if I enter a few posts on Tubenet, however.
I'll tell you this: If I didn't produce the goods at the office, the time I spend around here would be unacceptable.
Matt is correct, except that I don't type 70-80 words a minute, I type about 120 words a minute, which is why you see so many errors in my typing, heh, heh. And I am quite accustomed to sorting out my thoughts on the fly--I daily respond to complex emails concerning professional topics that are somewhat more complicated than what we discuss here. It is a learned skill, and I've had the hours doing it that Jacobs had learning the tuba.
Talent is a factor. Jacobs played the Carnival of Venice on an Eb tuba with the fourth valve taped down to make it a Bb tuba, at age 15, to win a place at the Curtis Institute. He had only been playing for a few years and could not have played the tuba by that time as many hours as I've played it in my life. Yet, neither you nor anyone else will be hearing me play the Carnival of Venice, heh, heh. Ever. We each do with our various talents what we can.
Rick "who would give much to be able to play tuba anywhere near as well as he writes about it" Denney