Klarinet Archive - Posting 000668.txt from 2003/07

From: Elgenubi@-----.com
Subj: [kl] tijuana bibles and basset horns
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 23:27:44 -0400

Rebecca, you're the one to combine these threads?? What is this world coming
to?

I hope Dan is still reading; I will take this opportunity to tell a
story and to again brag that I got to play Dan's basset horn at the beginning of
his trip.
I and my friend met with Dan in the lobby of his Bakersfield, California,
hotel, and in the lobby is where he suggested I play for my 15 minutes. I loved
it. I remarked that I was having particular trouble playing prettily in the
clarion, and he reminded me that the greatest value of the basset horn was the
lower register, though he made the clarion sound quite nice. So I played and
he chatted with my friend, and I was frankly pleased to sit in public with
such a beautiful horn, doing such an interesting thing. I believe that if I was
a passer-by, even a non musical passer-by, I would have stopped to admire and
wonder.
So the small punchline of this note is that a man came by and, barely
pausing on the way out the door, said, "That is the most awful noise......(or
some such comment)" and marched, head down, out the door. I don't think Dan
and my friend acted immediately bothered. But I said, "Oh my God, I think he
meant that!" Dan said something like, "I'm sure he did." and continued
talking. I was not making bad noises, I promise! And the man's comment did not
detract at all from my enjoyment of the evening. I think I was deeply
flabbergasted and probably amused by the guy. I loved that Dan seemed completely immune
to bad vibes from anyone who could be so ignorant as to not immediately love a
basset horn.

Thanks, again, Dan, for a very nice experience.

Wayne Thompson

PS Rebecca, good luck getting one for your birthday. If you accidently get
more than one, I'll take the extra!

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