Posted by TubaRay on April 30, 2003 at 09:21:49:
In Reply to: Re: Re: suggested guidelines posted by Steve H. on April 29, 2003 at 22:19:08:
Just a word of further clarification: I truly believe in practicing scales. The 48 scale routine described in this thread, two octaves, in sixteenth notes, with tonic, subdominant, and dominant 7th arpeggios, was a required and TESTED part of my training. Although I hated doing it at the time(I had more "important" things to practice), I am now glad my instructor had the wisdom and perseverance to require it of me. The point here is that knowing those scales however well, being able to play them at whatever sprint pace, and understanding their application to my playing, does not necessarily qualify me to make worthwhile comments on this BBS. Many factors might go into that qualification. The most basic of these is probably that of maturity.
I believe Sean provides a really nice forum for the exchange of ideas. Just as society as a whole has a wide variety of types(and, dare I say, quality) of people, those who post here vary considerably in age, experience, maturity, etc. For the children who post here, I can only hope they are able to learn some things from other, more adult, posters. They can learn more about our wonderful instruments(both tuba & euphonium). They can learn more about the wonderful art of music. They can also learn more about how one should behave in professional and social circles. Perhaps, if the rest of us simply keep modeling the proper behavior on this board, the babies will eventually learn how things are done. If not, they aren't very perceptive and it is not our responsibility to train them. We are left to try to tolerate them. As I have stated several times on TubeNet, I refuse to let them ruin things for me.
I am on a quest. It is a quest that I don't expect to complete, but I am not ready to abandon it, either. Patrick, Sam, Roger, and others like them, have inspired me. They have challenged me. And, I'm trying my best to play well enough to be in their company. It is not very likely to happen, but I'm still trying. Information on this forum is often helpful in this quest.