Hi Steve, Thanks for your reply - you take a very evenhanded and fair approach, and of course there is a lot of truth in what you write. We are all different. My point in writing was to pass along some of my thoughts as to what the consequences of certain choices are, since I've had a lot of experience along the way, in hopes that it will help someone make a better choice. Many times players choose equipment to rectify technical problems, a strategy which has no chance of success. There are no shortcuts. I also think that when we stray too far from our roots on the instruments, the results are not what we intend sometimes.
In the SFS we do not force people to play certain instruments. But at our auditions, we choose people who sound like we do, and more often than not, they are already on that path. It's pretty easy to hear, and we have chosen players that are terrific musicians and who fit in. Best of luck - and enjoy the rest of your summer. B Robert N. Ward Principal Horn San Francisco Symphony rnw...@comcast.net On Aug 12, 2011, at 2:56 PM, Steve Freides wrote: > I take a very simple approach to all these things - would you tell > your automobile mechanic, or the carpenter building your new kitchen > cabinets which tool to use? Of course not - both know it's their > responsibility to select the right tool for each part of the job and > that, in the end, it's the results that matter, not how they got > there. > > Same thing here, IMHO - find a horn that lets you play the music you > want or need to play and that's that. Some people will do best with a > triple, others won't, and some really smart horn players will bring > out the triple when they need it but use another horn when the other > horn is best suited to the job at hand. > > I realize that if you play in the horn section of a professional > orchestra, you often are required to make equipment choices along the > same lines are your colleagues, but for most of us, I think job one is > to play the music. If a triple helps you get there, then by all > means, use a triple. > > The harder question is whether or not someone who hasn't used a triple > ought to try one, and there's simply no answer to that question that > can be had - you won't know until you try it whether or not it's for > you. This is a great reason to purchase a used instrument, IMHO - you > can, if you're patient and if you don't overpay to begin with, sell it > a few months down the road for exactly what you paid for it, coming > away from the entire experience none the poorer but some the wiser. > > Me, I'd be happy to have such problems in my horn playing - I'm > thrilled when I play the right notes, in tune, at the right times. > But I think the principles here are pretty universal - the horn is a > tool, playing the music is the job, and one should use the best tools > one can afford to own that aid in getting the job done as well as > possible. > > Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. > > -S- _______________________________________________ post: horn@memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
