Klarinet Archive - Posting 000991.txt from 2000/11

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: Caveats emptor v. majister
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 19:31:18 -0500

I vascillate on whether to send this to the list, or to attempt
a dialogue with Tony alone, for fear that what is said below will
seem more like a post of the meta-"list" variety (as opposed to
the meta-"post" variety). Read on, you'll see what I mean, and
you may respond (or not) as you see fit.

--- Tony Pay <Tony@-----.uk> wrote:

> I think it's very important, though, to draw the distinction between
> what is appropriate in one-to-one teaching, and what is appropriate on
> the list. In one-to-one teaching, you have feedback, you know how what
> you are doing with the student is working out. So if one approach
> doesn't lead to the result, you can switch to another.
>
> Here, you have to give something like the complete picture, because
> what's a valid system for one person may actually, if taken seriously,
> be not a good thing for someone else to do.

No belligerence here -- just a genuine response to the issue. One doesn't
"have" to do anything of the sort on the list, with respect to providing a
complete and objective picture of a given subject. I'm not merely referring
to the technicality of Klarinet's "open forum" dynamic, although that also
applies. Rather, it is a noble ideal, yes, to attempt to provide a fully
rigorous exploration of a given subject and ensure that facts are clearly
stated, and that the indefinite areas are portrayed as such, lest a reader
be led to believe that their options are more severely limited than they may
truly be. You're certainly good at that Tony, and it's clear that you en-
deavor to take this comprehensive approach each time you make a statement
on an issue, be it musical, technical, or otherwise, relative to your own
understanding and experience. Those members of Klarinet who actually pos-
sess that breadth of knowledge in a given area, I suspect, do not typically
have sufficient time to sit down and "lay it all out." They're probably
too busy teaching and performing and making a living. I have no idea how
you personally find the time to submit so much verbiage to the list. Would
you suggest that the others at your level find the time to be complete, or
forever hold their piece?

Incompleteness, in and of itself, is not detrimental unless it is misap-
plied. This, of course, is where 'caveat emptor' enters the picture. I
believe 'caveat majister' can only be a positive element in the communi-
cative process on Klarinet -- in fact, I'm hard pressed to think of a man-
ner in which it could incur damage. But you have to (yes, I'm asserting it)
be realistic with respect to the context, much along the conceptual lines of
your statement, "...there isn't any 'correct', except relative to the music."
Relative to the context of Klarinet, what's 'correct' is that we have a very
broad range of knowledge and experience -- from the absolute beginner, to
the seasoned professional (800+, all told) -- and even those at the profes-
sional end of the spectrum are not generally disposed to perform a brain dump
in the name of objectivity and completeness.

Also part of the Klarinet context is the value of all *other* members of the
list -- the vast majority, in fact -- who compose the rest of that beginner-
to-professional spectrum. Most of them (of which I am part) do not always
possess a complete picture of the issues they're attempting to discuss, yet
they endeavor to express themselves and help their fellow players. Would you
suggest that they refrain from making such well-intended posts, for fear that
they might mislead another member, for lack of a global perspective on the sub-
ject in question? Such a mindset is positively subversive, for it contradicts
the core purpose of Klarinet: to make available an open forum of discussion of
clarinet-related topics, to enthusiasts at all levels. The operative expres-
sions here are "open" and "all levels." Hence, relative to the Klarinet world,
what is 'correct' is what upholds its core purpose at all times. I don't dis-
agree with you that contributors to the list would best serve the community by
carefully measuring their words in the context of prescriptive statements,
especially with respect to issues that do not lend themselves to concrete
answers, but they can only do so within their scope of knowledge. Not every-
body has the knowledge or experience of a seasoned professional player. In
fact, most of us do not. This does not rob what we say of value, subjective
or not.

Of great interest to me has been the phenomenon where those who approximate
each other's apparent level of knowledge and/or playing ability seem to be the
most productive and beneficial in communicating helpful ideas to each other:
beginners-to-beginners, advanced amateurs to same, and professionals to pro-
fessionals. You may disagree and say that there is so much misinformation
flying around that nothing productive is taking place, but that may not be
as important as you deem it to be. If I were a beginner, and somebody like
yourself (Tony) were to offer me one of your usual erudite and comprehensive
answers to my question, I'm as likely as not to be overwhelmed by the pro-
cess of being told how make a clock when I simply asked you for the time.

In the final analysis, I don't believe there is leeway relative to the nature
of the forum. We are compelled by its fundamental purpose to work with the less
academically rigorous environment of Klarinet, and accept that we can only truly
caution members to read everything with a grain of cybersalt. We need the pro-
fessionals to round out the list with their superior knowledge and experience,
but they can not be allowed to dictate the tenor of all discussion, nor purport
to leave the rest of the class behind, as it were. It is a community, one that
is non-exclusive by design. Any suggestion or prescriptive statement which has
the potential to jeopardize that non-exclusivity must, by definition of the list,
by courteously declined.

-- Neil

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