Klarinet Archive - Posting 001386.txt from 1998/03

From: Dodgshun family <dodgshun@-----.nz>
Subj: Musician/doubling
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 02:12:35 -0500

These are my ideas on doubling - unfortunately, in NZ, it doesn't always
work this way because of the smallish number of people available:

1. If you're going to double purely for the purposes of shows, then you
should be competent (but not necessarily at a professional level) on each
instrument you play. I mean, the last show I did, two of the reed players
had taken up the clarinet specifically for the show. I don't like that,
personally; it drops the standard of playing. I was playing Bb (my main
instrument which I hope I am proficient on!), bass (which I am happy playing
in the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra - a pro group - when asked) and
baritone sax, which I have been playing for a while now but mostly play for
fun. I would say my bari playing is competent - I'm certainly not an
expert, and as one of the other players was, I was happy to take any advice
he gave, which was quite a bit! - but I wouldn't have liked to take it up
purely for the show. It's not fair on other players. As it happened, in
this show, there was a general atmosphere of everybody giving tips about
their main instrument to others when needed among the reeds, and I think we
were all better players for it. I do enjoy playing more than one instrument
(as someone said, it looks good!!) but if I wasn't capable of playing the
part competently, I wouldn't try just for the sake of doing the show and
having loads of instruments. OK, I may play several instruments, but that
doesn't make me a musician. I do call myself a musician, but that has
nothing to do with the number of instruments; rather, how I play them. A
lot of doublers can't play any of their instruments competently, and aren't
fit to be called musicians (but there are some who play everything
brilliantly and are great musicians). But, it's not only doublers who
aren't good musicians; I've seen some technically amazing players (not only
clarinet) who play like robots. Yecch. I'd rather hear someone with limited
technique putting their heart and soul into the music. To me, it's the
interpretation and the way the music is put across to the audience rather
than how technically brilliant the piece is.

2. If you want to play professionally, you're best to stick to one
instrument. OK, most top orchestral players play either bass or eefer as
well as Bb, if not both, but you don't find professional orchestra players
playing all the woodwind instruments - at least, not here. All the top
players have one major instrument, and some do have bass or Eb as a
sideline, or cor anglais or piccolo or contrabassoon....you get the picture
- they stay in the same family.

I think I've taken a slightly different slant on things, but I wanted to put
my $0.02 in. In answer to the original question that Ryan asked, yes, I
think that you were justified in asking that player to practice. What show
is it - West Side Story? That has some pretty vicious doubling. But how
the hell can a clarinettist NOT be a musician??? Musicians can be
clarinettists, and clarinettists can be musicians. Musicianship has nothing
to do with how many instruments you can play, or what you play, as I said
above.

Enough said.
Anna