Klarinet Archive - Posting 001027.txt from 2000/04

From: David Blumberg <reedman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] re: Community Band
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 22:00:43 -0400

>Clarinet sections always sound better when there is at least one
strong >player in each section. I would rather see the 3 strongest players
sit first >chair on each part. This is equally true of clarinet sections in
high school bands. >Unfortunately, there is a prestige to playing first
and >a stigma attached to sitting in the seconds and thirds. Probably a
hangup >left over from high school band. > The hangup, as I see it, is
fostered by the view that we must have competition for everything - hence
the elaborate competitive seating system which seems to be in vogue for
school bands. IMHO, this does not produce either the best music for any
given performance, nor a healthy attitude toward the music. I believe that
the challenge should be to play as well as possible, not to play better
than your neighbor. Let the director assign seating according to the needs
and abilities - certainly in the usual band arrangement, the director can
quickly identify the problems in the clarinet section which is right under
his nose. I don't remember this pernicious competition from my youth (say
50 years ago). Was it present in some places, and I just missed it?

------------------

My personal challenge as a kid was to never drop a note.
It was a semi-frustrating challenge......

I always did, and do enjoy Band music. Hate the Musicals stuff, but the
real Band Classics - I love!

David Blumberg
music@-----.com
http://www.mp3.com/mytempo
http://www.mytempo.com
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