Klarinet Archive - Posting 000339.txt from 2003/10

From: "Ted Casher" <tedcasher@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Inspiration
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 11:33:36 -0400

Hi! This is from Ted Casher, the jazz/klezmer clarinetist/tenorplayer.

Make no mistake! I love music! But I got into it for all the wrong
reasons. Take note, fellow members of the roundtable--the following
statements constitute a guy-thing!

When I was 15 years old (half a century ago!!!!) another tenorplayer told
me that if I got into the music business, I could sleep all morning, drink
beer all afternoon, and go to work at night and make so much money. In the
bargain, high visibility on the bandstand was a good way to meet attractive
members of the opposite gender.

I believed it! With this, all my parents' dreams of me having a career in
medicine went up the chimney!

Unfortunately, I only had a few years of that lifestyle. But it was great
fun! I still love music, and love to take my clarinet out of the case and
make music on it. I also love getting paid for it! I'm a lucky guy, I
guess---I am out there almost every night, and the phone keeps ringing.
Ain't enuff jazz clarinet players left!!!!

But this is a guy thing. Good luck, Chantelle. And---it's easy to get
into a state university. They need clarinet players to keep the program
viable. It's up to you to make of yourself a nudnick to some faculty
members to get the knowledge you need. Best wishes--------Ted Casher
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chantelle Edwards" <music_oft_hath_such_a_charm@-----.com>
Subject: [kl] Inspiration

>
> Hello everyone,
>
>
> In response to all of your replies(thank you so much, by the way), i
thought
> I should answer some questions and clarify a few points. Yes, it is true
> that I am grappling with two different issues altogether, though the main
> one that concerns me is the motivation. I mentioned both of them because
at
> the moment, (in my case) they seem to be very closely related (ie: how can
I
> make my passion a career if I'm not motivated to practice it right now?)
I
> think I may have just hit a rut and I'm confident that I will overcome it.
> I think I just need something, to hear something in performance or read
> something or hear something and it will just click and I will be reminded
of
> what I love about music. And, just to clarify, I don't intend to become a
> professional performer, I thought I had mentioned this, I intend to study
> music education and one day teach in a high school.
>
> >The reason why I asked you earlier "Why do you want to play music?
> >What's in it for you? Why not be a race car driver instead?" is
> >precisely that I was hoping you would look at your 'instinctual'
> >response to _MUSIC_ first, and then you would address the other issues
> >with a clearer mind. This is part-and-parcel of the question that
> >Christy Erickson and I were discussing in another thread. Can you
> >*learn* to love music? I believe not. Can you be *conditioned* to
> >hate it despite your inborn desire for it? Unfortunately, I believe
> >you can.
> >
> >Don't allow this to happen to you, Chantelle.
>
> My response to your above question is a little difficult. It's difficult
to
> put into words what I love about music. An interesting part of this story
> is that nearly 5 years ago, when I had absolutely no musical training and
> came from a rather non-musical family, I was forced into taking band in
> school. Let's jsut say it was my one, short-lived teenage rebellion. I
was
> convinced that I did not want to play music. Now, I can't imagine a day
of
> my life without it. I find it so difficult to believe that 5 years ago, I
> had never heard Miles Davis's soaring trumpet lines or Benny Goodman's
Sing
> Sing Sing, never mind Mozart's K622 or Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (some
> of my favorite music today). I have found an absolute passion in
something
> that once seemed so foreign to me, and my journey into loving music has
> proved to be both an inspiration and a challenge. My love and profound
> attachment to music can only be summed up in one word, and can only be
> explained by one thing: passion. Music itself can only explain exactly
what
> it is that I am drawn to, because my love for music goes beyond words.
>
> Thank you to everyone who replied and offered suggestions, hints and
advice.
> Your kind words and experiences are somewhat of the inspiration I was
> seeking!
>
> Chantelle Edwards
>
> STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
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>
>
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