Posted by P.C. on December 18, 2001 at 14:07:20:
In Reply to: What is it with playing LOUD ??? posted by Tim Cary on December 18, 2001 at 12:33:16:
Playing loud is fun, but it's often the equivalent of belching in public. And about as musical and welcome in a lot of situations. It's also obviously an ego thing.
Of course, an orchestral player who can't play both loudly and musically might as well not even be there, but a band or small ensemble player almost never needs that amount of volume.
Case in point: TubaChristmas in Atlanta. 54 sousaphones by my count, over 300 players by my best guess. One player in the back stood out above the entire group throughout the concert, and this clown not only didn't blend, but didn't follow the conductor. When he (or she) blasted away and rushed, a lot of the players around followed. This did not exactly do wonders for the rest of the ensemble.