Subscribed.
Formerly, potentially famous future trombonist.
Impossible. There are no famous bone players... ( and probably never will be)
Subscribed.
Formerly, potentially famous future trombonist.
Impossible. There are no famous bone players... ( and probably never will be)
There's such a thing as aspiring musicians being "paper trained". They can only play what's written in fromt of them. Some are pretty good, but it suppresses the joy in many ways.
Think about expressing yourself vocally, for example. You first learn to make sounds, then turn them into words, then learn more words. Only then do you learn to read words on paper.
The same paradigm holds true for music.
"Practicing" music is not "playing" - playing implies exploring, enjoying sharing the experience with friends, and often, joy. "Practicing" can bring improvement of skills and some satisfactions, but it misses a lot as well.
As a musician you have to figure that just about everything you play is comprised of combining a handful of basic techniques - it’s the ability to execute them that’s the key to making music. Ideally you get to the point where you no longer have to think about the physical act of playing the instrument, and that’s what allows you to be expressive musically.
This made me LOL! With that said, I tend to agree with it. If you really want to grind your gears, go to a forum for instrumentalists. I used to participate on a couple of trumpet player forums, but it wound up being the same garbage over and over again:I swear - this thread is a great example of why no one who is an actual expert in anything ever wants to contribute.
Dude asks a question about music, at least 3 full time music teachers chime in that collectively represent over 100 years of knowledge and experience; and people who know a guy, or once heard someone play an instrument, or who knows a pawn shop that has used instruments want that anecdotal advice to trump that experience.
Next time I have chest pains, I'll just tell my doc that a guy told me apple cider vinegar is better than an EKG or enzyme test to head off a heart attack.
People usually pay me $400+ a day for consulting work as a musician. Guess I'll just refer them to the real experts.
Me and another fellow trumpet player (Peabody bachelors, Towson masters) went to Towson on a recruiting thing to meet some of the trumpet players there. This one kid made an offhand comment about how he wasn't great at double tonguing. I told him, "Hey - I know a secret to cleaning up your multiple tonguing - want to hear it?" He was all eager - I had him hook, line and sinker.Totally agree.
I've found that it's only after more or less committing a piece to memory that you can sit back and listen to yourself play, and while in that detached state you think what sound you'd like to be hearing, and the magic fingers make it happen, somehow. (Not the best description of the process; I need more coffee).
i have to hire harp players a few times a year. They make bank.
Hell - lets all bow out, the experts have arrived!!
$400+ a day? Hell I could make $300 AN HOUR in high school playing trumpet. And that was 30 years ago!! Yep. Every easter sunday. For one freaking hour.
Seriously. Who gives a crap if you are an expert. If the only people who weighed in on this board were experts, there's be about six posts since MDshooters started. I'm not an expert, and most of those who have added their 2 Cents aren't either.
What defines an expert? A degree? The best advice I ever got in music was "You don't need a degree t play your horn. If your gonna get a degree in music, teach." Thankfully, I didn't. My sister did though, and she too can pull in $400 a day. And she lives just about at the poverty line. She's an 'expert'. She's truly gifted and teaches at the college level. A fantastic voice and a fantastic voice teacher. She also looks down at 'non-experts' that have phenomenal voices because that weren't classically trained. "That's not singing she says". But they sing songs people remember, not songs that someone wrote a hundred years ago.
Expert? What is that? i guess coltrane, hendrix, SRV, van halen, peart, atkins, kottke, and hundreds of others weren't experts either.
Music teacher? who cares? Where I went to school (granted, it wasn't a music school) the entire jazz ensemble was stacked with engineers. Music majors weren't good enough to get in. There were there to get teaching degrees, but most couldn't play their way out of a wet paper bag.
I thought about this post about an hour ago, while outside working, and thought, 'naaa, just keep your mouth shut". F it. Gripes my ass when a self proclaimed expert stakes out why other people's opinions are less valid. We have the same problem with scientists right now with the 'pandemic'.
Hell - lets all bow out, the experts have arrived!!
$400+ a day? Hell I could make $300 AN HOUR in high school playing trumpet. And that was 30 years ago!! Yep. Every easter sunday. For one freaking hour.
Seriously. Who gives a crap if you are an expert. If the only people who weighed in on this board were experts, there's be about six posts since MDshooters started. I'm not an expert, and most of those who have added their 2 Cents aren't either.
What defines an expert? A degree? The best advice I ever got in music was "You don't need a degree t play your horn. If your gonna get a degree in music, teach." Thankfully, I didn't. My sister did though, and she too can pull in $400 a day. And she lives just about at the poverty line. She's an 'expert'. She's truly gifted and teaches at the college level. A fantastic voice and a fantastic voice teacher. She also looks down at 'non-experts' that have phenomenal voices because that weren't classically trained. "That's not singing she says". But they sing songs people remember, not songs that someone wrote a hundred years ago.
Expert? What is that? i guess coltrane, hendrix, SRV, van halen, peart, atkins, kottke, and hundreds of others weren't experts either.
Music teacher? who cares? Where I went to school (granted, it wasn't a music school) the entire jazz ensemble was stacked with engineers. Music majors weren't good enough to get in. There were there to get teaching degrees, but most couldn't play their way out of a wet paper bag.
I thought about this post about an hour ago, while outside working, and thought, 'naaa, just keep your mouth shut". F it. Gripes my ass when a self proclaimed expert stakes out why other people's opinions are less valid. We have the same problem with scientists right now with the 'pandemic'.
I started playing Horn in 4th grade. My mom said that every day I practiced I didn't have to do the dishes. Stuck with it. Soloed with my HS band. Went to all Eastern, All State, and toured Europe with the School Band of America. Got a full Scholarship to Peabody Conservatory (not the Prep). Auditioned for and played in the Army band for 3 years (also worked in the Army recording studio). Went back to Peabody after the service on full scholarship again. Supported myself while playing around town (Mechanic, BSO sub, Circus, Ice Show, etc.) while I finished my degrees. Auditioned for the Philadelphia Orchestra and just missed out. Ended up changing careers into Audio Engineering, and taught at Peabody for the next 35 years.
My mother said "Keep practicing. Your music will take you places you've never imagined."
Damn if she wasn't right!
Holiday church services are always the exception, and they always pay well because the music directors know that if they want decent brass, they need to hire early and they need to pay well. I've made well over a grand on an Easter weekend by stacking jobs - vigil on Saturday night, sunrise service, and then the regular service.Hell - lets all bow out, the experts have arrived!!
$400+ a day? Hell I could make $300 AN HOUR in high school playing trumpet. And that was 30 years ago!! Yep. Every easter sunday. For one freaking hour.
Holiday church services are always the exception, and they always pay well because the music directors know that if they want decent brass, they need to hire early and they need to pay well. I've made well over a grand on an Easter weekend by stacking jobs - vigil on Saturday night, sunrise service, and then the regular service.
All of this talk because a guy asked if he should buy or rent a violin for his child. Then there's my thought - skip the violin and get an instrument their child has a solid chance of actually continuing to play after high school. (bass, guitar, drums, keys...)
The buy from pawn shop thing would require a parent who is both musical , And technically knowledgeable about the particular instrument in question .
Meanwhile at the Music Store , that is their bread and butter . Yeah , that means Viva La Capitalism , and they turn a profit . BUT the flipside is totally clueless parent can walk in , mutter 2,maybe 3 words , and walk out adequately equipped with everything their spawn needs to meet the expectations of school band director/ music program , and probably suffice for several years before becoming blatant limiting factor .
The value added part is the store's knowledge and customer service . They know if they make mistakes , or don't meet the requirements of the music program of any school in 40 mile radius , the word would spread among the band parent community faster than commie bs among sjw's .
I'll have to get Littlefoot44's observations , as until recently she worked a the proverbial Independent Music Store , in business for many decades , with good reputation , and did steady business in school instrument rentals , in addition to buying and selling new and used instruments of all types and flavors , including pianos and organs .
I'd give her / them a plug , but it only reopened long enough to get returns of school rental instruments , and have a going out of business sale .
To translate in firearms context . It's the equivalent of non shooting ( or mostly so) parents having a kid enter a youth shooting program/ league , and going to gun store instead of asking around the neighborhood , or Vito's Pawn Shop . ( Traditional Pawn shops that primarily pawn , not " Pawn Shops " that are 95 % gun stores , that once or twice a week do the odd pawn ).
And if their is still one near you please patronize the Independent Music Store w/ good reputation , instead of the evil chain stores .
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Those discussing here , come from the subsets centered around those who started in school music program , and successfully persued it , at least through school , and are then projecting their experience . The sad , but true reality is huge % of brand new aspiring players quit very quickly , usually before they reach the point of making sounds that noticeably resemble actual music .
For another comparison , think of rental instruments as hookers . The main advantage is being able to walk away afterwards , with only the modest , known fees negotiated and paid up front .
The real debate is IF the offspring does stick with it , do you exercise the purchase option on the rental instrument at the end of first school year , with eye to further upgrade once junior is actually out playing the entry instrument , or imeadately jump up to upper mid level instruments .
I think it's one of those things where if there isn't some natural ability, frustration can set in with a kid, and with many kids, if they can't do something well right away, they won't continue to do it.Those discussing here , come from the subsets centered around those who started in school music program , and successfully pursued it , at least through school , and are then projecting their experience . The sad , but true reality is huge % of brand new aspiring players quit very quickly , usually before they reach the point of making sounds that noticeably resemble actual music.