Klarinet Archive - Posting 000496.txt from 1996/03

From: Jacqueline G Eastwood <eastwooj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: To parrot or not to parrot. That is the question
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 13:19:54 -0500

On Mon, 18 Mar 1996, Daniel A. Paprocki wrote:

> By the way, since I have 3 parrot family birds (Indian Ringneck
> parrakeet, Quaker parrakeet, and a budgerigar) I'm sort of an expert on
> parroting. The parrot family has a greater ratio of brain to body weight
> than chimpanzees and porpoises.
>
> Dan
>
And probably lots of people I know, too.

I guess I draw the line on this issue at thoughtless imitation. Granted,
it takes YEARS for a student to arrive at the point where he is making
fully informed decisions on musical interpretation, but one should always
be able to explain where his ideas are coming from. "I heard someone do
this on a recording" can prompt a discussion of WHY and HOW. In my
experience at this humble institution, very little of that exploration
actually occurs. That is where my beef lies -- not in parrotting per se,
but in the absence of musical understanding; when no bridge is
constructed to connect the physical "doing" with the internalized
"being". Does that make ANY sense? I feel like I'm on the verge of a
conversation about Zen!! Sorry!

Jacqueline Eastwood
University of Arizona/Arizona Opera Orchestra
eastwooj@-----.edu