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Re: Lurking

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Lurking
From: "Donna M. Lafferty" <donna_lafferty@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2000 07:39:24 -0800 (PST)
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dave Williams' recent post about apathy/hostility towards brass bands has got
me thinking. I'd like to make three points:

1) In America, brass bands are rare. That's been improving, but still, I
personally had never even heard of brass bands until I joined one (quite by
accident) when I was 34. Most of the media attention in the US seems to be
focused on mediocre "pop music"--stuff that ranges from rap to Tori Amos to
Yanni. Eww. My skin crawls just mentioning them, but they seem to predominate
in our culture. AND they seem to make all the money! (okay, a few symphony
orchestras do okay, too.) So, despite the fact that things look bleak for bands
in the UK, they are at least considered part of your culture. Here, they are
unheard of.

2) Dave says "I suppose they 'look down' snobbishly on brass band music."  Some
outsiders are going to have an attitude problem no matter what you do. That's a
shame but it's real life. Here's another American parallel; we had an
undergraduate from our local university (which has a world renowned brass
program) sit in for one rehearsal with our brass band. This young lady never
came back, and rumor has it that she thought we (and our music) were "beneath"
her. Too bad for her; I find brass band music to be the most engaging, fun, and
intellectually challenging music I play. In symphonies I count measures rest.
In community bands I listen to the blasted clarinets and saxophones for hours
on end. In brass band, I PLAY. A lot. Hard stuff, too. So I say "sucks boo" to
the snobs who think they're too good for this music. It's their loss.

3) Why do we play? For the absolute joy of it. Of course it would be nice to be
appreciated by the general public, but what really matters is that brass band
music enriches OUR lives. So, be happy about that, do what you can to promote
banding in general (and your own band, if you can), but don't let the apathy of
others keep you from loving what you do.

How's that for preaching?

Thanks for the lovely list. Dave, thanks for all your thought-provoking notes.
Glad you're still with us.





=====
Donna M. Lafferty
1st Trombone
Bloomington Brass Band
Bloomington, Indiana USA
donna_lafferty@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.geocities.com/bloomington_brass/
http://www.geocities.com/bquintet/



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