Author: paul
Date: 1999-09-21 18:34
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I look at my pro tutor's 1970s era R-13 and cringe. It looks like he's taken a soldering iron and dropped solder on the tops of selected keys to "stretch out" the key's length a little. There are pieces of hand made and badly glued cork all over it. Some of the keys are bent almost beyond recognition. The inside of the lower joint and bell have obvious wood putty smeared in them. The mp has years worth of bite marks and crud on it. Reeds look like they are on their last gasp. No plating is left - anywhere. The wood is getting bare all over. Cracks on the surface abound, and I am pretty sure it's been pinned all over the place. I personally wouldn't pay $5 for the horn at a garage sale.
Now, put that beat up and old horn back into the senior and very arthritic hands that own it...
The skill of the player performing with his personally customized horn just makes me want to cry sometimes. What a pleasure to hear! Simply gorgeous tone, with absolutely perfect intonation. Power, accuracy. You name it. It's all there.
Don't get me wrong, he'd love to have one of the new, shiny and sexy horns that we all talk about on this board. I've caught him more than once gawking at my new Festival. However, I personally believe that there is more art and honor in having an old junker of a horn that you know better than your spouse, especially if you can get the horn to make the audience sing, cry, and feel the story with you. Now, that's the essence of music. In my opinion, there's the real value of a good horn.
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