Author: Rezzie
Date: 2013-11-28 16:12
I studied with Earl Bates in the mid-70s at Indiana.
I was clearly a better player when I left than when I went in. Earl was a pretty thorough teacher, but I think we interpreted a lot of what he said without actually hearing what he meant, in retrospect. He wasn't an easy guy to get an 'attaboy' from, at least not for me. He was always cordial, but never informally warm as an individual. In retrospect, I was basically 'just another guy' as a player, but I wasn't aware of that yet. He had some basic points to make about sound and overall musicianship that I hear violated all the time these days, and really mark the kind of things that are going to get you bumped off an audition list, even if you get a lot of harder to grasp things right. His viewpoint was one of an orchestral player, and that's the way he taught.
In preparing for my recital, I had one last run through with my accompanist at the church I was performing the recital in. Being later in the day, Earl dropped in after having had his traditional 'stop for a pop' at the local on the way home from campus. Best lesson I ever had with him - he loosened up from the character I was used to seeing in his studio. I didn't expect him to drop in, but he did, and we stayed and worked on the nuances of the Brahms Eb Sonata for a good hour. Even my accompanist said "wow' at the end of it.
As with any teacher, YMMV.
Post Edited (2013-11-28 19:04)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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