Klarinet Archive - Posting 000149.txt from 2002/10

From: "Gene Nibbelin" <gnibbelin@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Re: painted mouthpieces
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2002 00:20:57 -0400

Jeremy -

Your reply to Rebecca Brennan, reminded me of what I told my staff for 30
years as a Department Head:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION; JUST STUPID MISTAKES. ASK THE
QUESTION --AVOID THE MISTAKE!!!

Regards,

Gene N.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Yager [mailto:bomber@-----.com]
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: painted mouthpieces

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rebecca Brennan" <rjbrennan1221@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: painted mouthpieces

> How about nobody ever talk about the painted mouthpieces again. Sorry I
> brought it up! All I wanted to know was if the B45 mouthpiece was a
> VanDoren, not how stupid you can make me feel. Okay, so I kept rambling,
and
> rambling, and rambling, and ram... I shouldn't have been so stupid and
read
> over what I wrote. I learned my lesson about saying anything to people who
> are far superior to such a young student.

Rebecca,
Be careful of the lesson that you learn, it seems you are learning the
wrong one. Most of this community are quite nice folks. The one post was a
touch harsh, and then some folks came along aid so. I saw some discussion
afterward, but it all seemed at least fairly productive.

One of the 'risks' of presenting a problem before people who know much
more than you is the possibility of feeling stupid upon receiving an answer.
I know--as a (young) engineer, a computer technician, and an amateur
clarinetist, I've been on both sides of the coin. I often get questions on
things that seem to be common sense to me because I've been dealing those
issues. It takes real care to not approach the answer in a way that could
be construed as condescending. On the other hand, I've been blasted (not
really here, though) for not knowing something that the person that I asked
thought should be basic knowledge, and have misread the question more than
once. :-)

The lesson to be learned is this, in my humble opinion: If you do not
have the ability to figure out the answer, it is not a stupid question.

You have the resource of some of the finest clarinetists in the world
that you can throw a question to. That is a really cool thing. Think of a
room full of doctors, and you have a question about how to rehab a
reconstructed knee..

But this list is more than that, even. There are folks of all types
here--musicians, doctors, engineers, computer gurus, lawyers, secretaries,
name it. The common link is the clarinet.

If you feel like you have made an error by not reading over your post
(or someone elses'), join the ranks of people here who have done the same.
I think I am at the back of the line, so just form up behind me. *grin*

Seriously, it happens. Just don't beat yourself up over it.

> Now how do I unsubscribe........

Give it a week or two before you throw in the towel.

--Jeremy Yager

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