Klarinet Archive - Posting 000579.txt from 2002/05

From: Jeremy A Schiffer <schiffer@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Perfect Pitch
Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 18:26:39 -0400

On Tue, 21 May 2002, Kenneth Wolman wrote:

> > On Tue, 21 May 2002, Kenneth Wolman wrote:
> >
> > > Who knows what on earth she was thinking.
> > > It's hard for me to laugh at this--I feel rather like I'm laughing at
> > > someone you'd see in the subway playing for coin.
> > >
> > > Ken
> >
> > Hey, *I* play in the subway [stations] for coin!
>
> My apologies, then, because as I've said here before, I've heard a tiny
> handful of people in the trains who are so good (I trust you're among
> them??)

No need to apologize. I was mostly looking for a segue into the latter
part of the post... As for my abilities, you can listen to my mp3's. I'm
good, but not quite professional strength.

>that I wonder what they're doing down there. I know, making money.

I know conservatory players who go down below ground to make money. If
you're good, and in the right place at the right time (ie, Times Square
at 5:30pm as opposed to 96th/B'way at 2am), you can make close
to $100/hr. If nothing else, it gets you used to playing in cramped,
smelly places with bad acoustics and a distracted crowd. If that's not
good preparation for playing clubs, i don't know what is. :-) And in all
honesty, the only time I've ever played in the subway tunnels was on the
way to another gig with the klezmer band. We were running early so we
stopped to warm up... There was an ancient man already there with an
accordian, and he let us set up next to him. We played one tune, for about
five minutes (this was at Columbus Circle) and brought in $11 for him.

> I rarely give money to
> subway musicians because frankly I think, pace what I said above, most of
> them suck, but this guy should have been playing the clubs...he was that
> good.

That's funny. I'm a lot more inclined to give to subway musicians than
any other form of street performance for money. But i'll only donate if
they're good; I agree, there's no shortage of bad musicians contributing
to the noise pollution in NYC.

-jeremy

1st Clarinet, Columbia Wind Ensemble
Clarinet, Columbia Klezmer Band
mp3's (of both groups) at http://www.columbia.edu/~schiffer/music.html

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