Remember the story of the Little Red Hen?
So, “John Doe,” without even knowing you, I have given you a snapshot into a deeper level of my musical philosophy. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion as to what student should do or feel able to do. But your youth and inexperience (you called yourself uneducated – I wouldn’t say that) have perhaps caused you to look at my words and view them as too harsh. I don’t believe so, because I know from experience that they are true and have worked with many, many students. I’ve been doing this for a very long time. When students come into my studio, I ask them to trust me. I ask them to trust that I know a few things about the job market, about playing the trombone, about balancing a life, about allocating resources. My students know that I often give them mutes, recordings, free tickets to concerts. I care deeply about my students. I nurture them as best I can as if they were my own children. Be gentle, “John Doe.” What I’ve been talking about is based on my own real life experience
