Klarinet Archive - Posting 000874.txt from 2002/03

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] on the subject of a player's sound...
Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 06:26:36 -0500

Kevin said,

> The first part of my post was to poke a little fun at Dan Leeson - I saw his
> pooh-poohing of Kelly's affection for the Selmer 10-G a little at odds with
> the shameless lust he showed us all this summer over his new Fox bassett
> horn. (An aside - I saw it at ClarinetFest; it is indeed a cutie. Wish I
> had had the gumption to try it out.)
>
The last person who tried to poke fun at me sits in a pit of guilt from
which he may never emerge.

Of course I got the most beautiful, well made, and gold plated basset
horn that I could buy because I think I play better when I have
something beautiful to play upon. But I do not delude myself that if
Steve had made the instrument out of plastic (but with the same care and
attention to detail as he did on my cocobolo wood model), that it would
have had any effect on how it sounds.

I like beautiful things solely because they are beautiful. And the
nature of the color of the wood, its grain, coupled with the gold of the
keys puts me into a better frame of mind psychologically when I play.
Whether I play better or not is arguable, but I THINK I play better.
The fact that I am the envy of the world's basset horn population
(though for the wrong reasons) doesn't hurt my ego either.

In the words of the immortal Max Bialastock, "When you got it, flaunt
it!"

You are looking for me to contradict myself in some way, an uncharitable
thing to do. As a result you may not marry my daughter either.

Dan

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*Dan Leeson *
*leeson0@-----.net*
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