profiles

[Dylan King]

Mellow Smoke Man is my alias in the "pop world." As a matter of fact, I just wrote and produced a song for Cheech and Chong's upcoming "comeback" stoner movie. I will do anything in my power to avoid becoming famous, because I do believe it is a curse. Rich is fine, just not famous.

A friend and I devised a list of varying degrees of fame and what is the best combination. Here it is in order of "best situation" to "worst situation."

1. Rich, but not famous.
2. Rich and famous.
3. Not rich and not famous
4. Rich and infamous. (at least you are still rich) O.J.
5. Not rich, but still famous. (at least fame may bring you cash someday)
6. Poor and infamous. (this must suck)

In my profile, you can easyily link to my website and see who i really am. Don't tell the world if MSM ever gets real popular.

[windshieldbug]

Poor and infamous

this does suck! (and I oughta know... )

[Rick Denney]

Poster A was a pro (high profile), would he get the same response from poster B?

What if the tuba player in the CSO was an amateur like me (low profile), would the comment from poster A draw less criticism from poster B?

I have seen several exchanges where high-profile pros who abused their position by stating, shall we say, unsubstantiated opinions about another person's character not let off the hook for being boors because they were top pros.

But part of being a top pro is having the confidence and class to avoid making such statements.

On the other hand, Mr. Pokorny is an established professional of thoroughly documented ability and also with a well-earned reputation for class and character. Because of his stature and personal characteristics, he has a large positive balance in his good-will account. That would draw people to his aid when attacked. I'm a second-rate amateur, but by virtue of having posted a lot and being lucky enough not to offend too many people, there are those who would come to my aid if someone expressed a similar opinion about me in a way likely to cause any real damage. Because, frankly, complaining about another person by name in public is just plain rude. Talk about what we need to do to play it well, and if examples of problems are necessary, the identities should be kept entirely anonymous. This is just being polite.

So, one can assume Player A is not a high-profile pro because a high-profile pro would not publicly complain about another high-profile pro's playing by name. It would be unprofessional, as it is in most professions (it certainly and specifically violates the canon of ethics for every engineering organization I know of). Thus, Player B is free to complain that Player A is being unprofessional and rude even regardless of the validity of A's assessment. So, even if we knew that Player A was a pro, it shouldn't have gotten him off the hook, because the issue wasn't his qualifications but rather his lack of courtesy. (I'm guessing--I didn't read the exchange--but I think my guessing address the issue even if I guessed wrong.)

Rick "who thinks one can't hide behind his profile for long" Denney

[windshieldbug]

Plus, ethics and courtesy aside, you've got ears! Use them! Despite the high (or low) experience of the poster, I'm thinking Emperor's New Clothes here...

[Joe Baker]

We have expertise in different areas. Being a top pro doesn't make you an expert in everything. If Mr. Pokorney and Rick Denney disagree about a matter of tuba performance, I will side with Pokorney. If they differ on a matter of engineering, with Rick.

Furthermore, expertise is relative, not absolute. Though you should take Mr. Pokorney's word over Rick's on tuba performance, if Rick disagrees with ME the smart money will be on Rick. Make the subject trombone, and the roles reverse.

Ultimately, when we ask a practical question -- say, for example, 'what's a good exercise to improve my low range' -- the reliability of the answer, as determined by the credentials of the person giving it, matters greatly.
____________________________
Joe Baker, steering this away from the hypothetical toward the practical.

[TexTuba]

I am a pro among sandwich makers!!! And that's the truth...








Ralph

[Ames0325]

I am a pro among sandwich makers!!! Laughing And that's the truth... Wink

Isn't every college student?

Amy

[Joe Baker]

Chris, of course that can happen. Mr. Pokorney (I hope he will forgive us for bandying about his name in hypotheticals, taking it as the profound compliment that it is) is not God, nor will every piece of his advice work for every person. But if I ask for suggestions, and I get many answers, which one should I try first? I think if I get two answers, one from a Jr. High student who just switched over from glockenspiel and one from a highly respected pro tuba player, my odds are BETTER if I go with the answer from the pro. The Jr. High kid may turn out to have the better answer 1 time out of 1000, but the percentages say to try the pro's advice first.

This applies particularly when the advice might cause irreparable harm. Just today there was a post from someone suggesting that muriatic acid might be just the thing to clean a tuba. If I see 'TubaFreaks7' suggest muriatic acid, and 'wes' suggest that muriatic acid could destroy my tuba and blind me, who do I believe? You can say play it safe (rest assured, I will!), but what if muriatic acid really WAS just the thing to clean a tuba -- playing it safe would mean missing out!

Credentials are not evidence of infallibility; they merely establish greater and lesser odds of being right. I'll settle for that, thank you!
__________________________________
Joe Baker, who knows it matters who you trust.

[oldbandnerd]

You mean on of those four valves is for the pinky? I was using my thumb.