What's it like to play with a professional group?

[Lew]

MaryAnn, I have to agree that being an introvert on the MBTI would make it very difficult to be a performer, except for maybe a tuba player . On the other hand, Myers-Briggs is not destiny, it is merely an indicator. Each of us has the ability to make a choice as to how we approach life. MBTI can help one understand their tendencies and deal with those issues that might be inconsistent with their natural tendencies if that is needed to achieve a particular goal.

[Chuck Jackson]

bloke "but I suspect that amateur bands and orchestras are subject to equal-if-not-more of this same sort of stuff"

I would assume so, but for wildly different reasons.

Chuck"happemstance"Jackson

[Rev Rob]

This may be more important in terms of liking the career you chose as opposed to feeling like you never, ever fit in. In M-B terms, I'm an INFJ. The most highly recommended career for this type is Counselor. Not Performer.

Well Mary Ann I also fit into that category as well, and I am a pastor. In fact most pastors are INFJs. Guess what we have to do every Sunday before a congregation - perform. However, I am not a musical performer. I will never sing a solo in choir, but always be a member of the choir. I will never play a tuba solo, but I always want to be part of the band or ensemble. But I am happy being an "I".

[The Jackson]

bloke "but I suspect that amateur bands and orchestras are subject to equal-if-not-more of this same sort of stuff"

Geez, I WISH that happened for the same reason it happened to you. When a concert is around the corner (whether by a few days or by three months), rehearsals in a lot of groups I've played with ALWAYS go to the end or beyond because actual stuff needs to be taken care of. I wouldn't be p-o'd at that if it wasn't the same stuff every week.

I had the great opportunity to play with a dynamite group of college tuba/euph players the other day. Even though they were "just" college players, the difference was night-and-day between what I'm used to down here. I had an asbolutely fantastic time playing with those guys and girls.

[tubatooter1940]

There are great amateur groups as well as pros who get paid.
I think the original question was more like what is it like to play with the best players. Those guys will take you to wonderful places musically, you have never been before and have you playing stuff you didn't know you could play.
Players who can lift you up and carry you along with them and make you a memory you will never forget.
I can only hope all here can enjoy such a fullfilling experience many times.
It's about the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
toots

[MaryAnn]

Lew wrote:
>MaryAnn, I have to agree that being an introvert on the MBTI would make it very difficult to be a performer, except for maybe a tuba player.

That was when I was a violinist; by the time (30) I realized this was going to be a no-go in terms of enjoying it, it was too late to become pro on a different instrument, at least in terms of making a living. Later, when I took up horn, I absolutley loved sitting in the back in the horn section. That orchestra was a lot more rewarding than the pro orchestra, but frankly I had had enough after eight years when the dystonia hit, anyway.

MA

[cjk]

How did, "What's it like" turn into "do's and don'ts"...??

[sloan]

The horn player replied, "So-and-so would never work with us. They live an hour and a half away, and can't rehearse." I responded, "For $XXX, they'll show up and do the gig, but not the rehearsal, and it will be three times as good as it would be if you hired Thus-and-so to do the rehearsal and the concert". ...so I talked the horn player into hiring So-and-so. The out-of-town top-drawer trumpet player did a stunning job on a famous part from a Bach cantata, and sight-read the entire concert perfectly. Moreover, the other 2nd/3rd stringers in the quintet played BETTER with So-and-so playing with the group. THEY ALL HAD MORE FUN. (Isn't that they real point of it all?)

I have only one small quibble with this. Something that top-line pros sometimes forget. For most amateurs (and some 3rd-string pros), it is NOT FUN to rehearse with a short-handed group and then have the 1st-line folk show up to "sight read the concert perfectly".

For those people - it's preferable to hire a ringer who can attend (and is paid for) the rehearsals as well as the concert.

On the other hand, I suspect there are some pros who would charge more (per hour) for a rehearsal than a performance (with a "below-his-standard" group).

If I'm doing it for FUN, I'll take the hacker who shows up every week over the star who sight reads the concert.

As always - it depends on your goals. The most common mistake made by both amateurs and pros is to assume that the other guy has the same goals that you do. 'tain't so, McGee!

[MaryAnn]

Someone I know started a TE quartet a year ago.

A typical mistake was made, in selecting players. At one time and then another, both a college student and a pro level player were asked to be in the group. Neither worked out very well, and it wasn't playing ability, or personality, that was the problem. The college student kept forgetting rehearsals and lost some of the music. The pro player didn't stay very long since he needed to make more money and no one in the group was adept at getting gigs.

The advice that had been given up front by someone, was that in an amateur group, do not have either a student or a pro for the very reasons that were demonstrated above. Different topic, of course, than hiring a pro to play with an amateur group for "a" concert. Birds of a feather and all that....if the feathers don't match very well, the birds won't all be happy and some will fly south.

MA

[Lee Stofer]

Bloke,
That's right. And, one aspect I see in pro vs amateur groups is the "fight for 1st chair" mentality. In a professional group, you are there because you were hired to play that part, and if it weren't a necessary part, they wouldn't have hired you - period. So, if you are hired to play 5th trumpet, 3rd trombone, 19th clarinet, 6th string bass, or it is the rare tuba job you've managed to latch onto, you have a job and you're glad to have the gig. You treat everyone as respected colleagues, and realize that your performance and behavior at this rehearsal/performance will have a very direct impact on whether you get called again, or maybe get called sooner, because you are dependable and easy to work with. If a colleague is impressed by your performance and attitude, he may recommend you to someone else for a gig. If the conductor is impressed, you have done well indeed. You realize that, unless you were hired specifically to be the star of the show, you are not the star - not even close. And, you really don't care at which chair or part you sit - you're glad to have a chair and part.