Klarinet Archive - Posting 000061.txt from 1995/02

From: Neil Leupold <Neil_Leupold@-----.COM>
Subj: Regarding "Substance" on Kl
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 1995 17:26:25 -0500

Reply to: Regarding "Substance" on Klarinet
"However, as to the contents of your note, while you certainly let us
know how you feel about the use of vibrato, you did not give any substantive
reasons why you felt that way, except for saying that you felt that way.
Without that "why" your note left an empty spot that needs to be filled with
some substance."

I'm becoming more than mildly incensed at this pompous attitude suggesting that
a person has to add some elaborative or pedagogical element to his/her posting
even if (s)he just wishes to state his/her feelings on a given subject. While
a person's opinion may very well not "enlighten" the reader with any sort of
academic or educational merit, I still feel that people stating their opinions,
without ANY need to justify it beyond the statement itself, has value to
readers on this list. A person's simple opinion does not detract from or
diminish the already sophisticated level of discourse at which this list
operates on average, and knowing simply how other people feel about something
is useful information - as a frame of reference, providing an indication of the
possible range of preferences on a given topic. A person should not have to
feel that they have to research the facts which pertain to the subject in order
to have feelings about it. And (s)he is certainly not beholden to anybody on
the list to JUSTIFY why (s)he feels the way (s)he does. If somebody feels a
lack of substance in a writer's statement, then don't respond to it. Make a
statement relative to the subject, pass it by, delete it from your hard drive,
whatever. But criticize the person for how they express themselves??

Personally, I subcribe to this list for one very general but important purpose:
to be in touch with other clarinet players. I see people expressing
themselves continuously via this forum, some with great depth of thought and
insight (like Dan Leeson, who is obviously extremely knowledgeable and has an
abundance of time to contribute and elaborate on what he writes), and some just
with quick comments or statements, dropping in the occasional helpful hint or
simple agreement or disagreement with somebody else's statement. As Roger
Shilcock wrote recently, not everybody has the time to go into detail on what
they write, but this doesn't mean they should censor themselves from
contributing at all in those situations. And they certainly don't deserve to
be scolded for failing to "back up" their statements, as if they were writing a
dissertation and were due a grade. Let's lighten up on this attitude. We are,
after all, human beings first. We're not epistemological automatons, and
expression for the sake of expression, which could probably be considered the
cardinal mission of music-making, should also be the same mission of this
forum, in addition to the exchange of useful and valuable information.

Neil Leupold

   
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