Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tuba Tyrant


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Posted by Rick Denney on March 24, 2003 at 13:35:25:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tuba Tyrant posted by OK but on March 24, 2003 at 11:32:43:

The better players in any group will be frustrated by those who are not as good. Whatever standard you set for acceptable performance, be assured that the person sitting next to you will have a different standard. You may play in time and tune, but the player next to you may think your sound sucks and detracts from the sound of the group. You are at a disadvantage in this equation as a professionally trained musician on another instrument.

The only way I know to ensure you'll always be in the company of better players is to hire them. The only amateur bands that can consistently demand top quality are those that are owned by a conductor/administrator who does all the work. Those groups tend to die because the players never show enough gratitude, and the "owner" won't delegate any authority for fear of losing control. Instead, they often try to delegate work assignments without the authority, and that always fails in the long run.

The only way I've seen for a member-run group to get a good long-term musical experience is to hire the conductor. The groups I've played in that consistently keep the musical experience at a high level for many years are those where the conductor explicitly works for the members and not vice versa. But the leadership of such a group cannot be passive. Many conductors will fill a leadership void, and end up taking control of things they shouldn't have to, and their control over the group expands. Successful groups actively maintain a good balance between the authority of the members and of the conductor.

Good conductors select challenging music and encourage members to meet the challenge with good fundamentals. The group then gets better. The members who can't keep up either lay out on the tricky bits or find a more appropriate group. All who stay get better. It is really as simple as that. But they will never meet the standards of a professional group except in extremely rare cases.

If you still can't find a way to be musically satisfied, then form a quintet of pro players, or a tuba quartet--whatever--and do gigs.

Rick "who thinks Ken is right, too" Denney


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