Characters as traits
Mr. F, my clarinet teacher
Plays every woodwind instrument
Prefers oboe
Finds clarinet inferior to the oboe
Wears black frame glasses, and tuxedo with black bow tie when performing (I suspect this is his oboe persona)
I find him hard to please
Serious about his career as a musician, seems to prefer that over teaching
Laughs easily
Wears blue button up shirts and Argyle socks
My clarinet teacher Mr. F plays every instrument in the woodwind family. His true passion though is oboe.
He told me this during my first lesson with him, how he thought the clarinet was inferior to the oboe. He is a musician who takes his career very seriously. During two years of lessons with him, he never wore glasses, but when he performed, he wore thick black rimmed glasses, often accompanied by a tuxedo and black bow tie. The glasses held his persona as Nat the oboe player.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteBut what teacher tells you their personal and biased opinion about your instrument of choice? You're there to learn the clarinet and he basically tells you that your instrument is inferior? How does one learn in that environment? And what does it mean to have an "oboe persona"? Do you have or want to have a clarinet persona? And if so, what would that look like? What does he do when you're in a lesson with him? Look distractedly out the window? Caress his oboe case with longing? Ignore your efforts and whip out his iPhone?
Megan
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you listed out the characteristics that make up your teacher. It seems like its physical appearance shows a lot about his personality and what he likes to do. I agree with Megan that he shouldnt have said that the clarinet is inferior because he is in fact there to teach you that instrument. I was just wondering one thing, why does he wear glasses only when he is performing? Do you think that it is to give himself a new "look" to make himself "fit in" with that specific group? And how did you feel when he told you that the clarinet was inferior to the oboe? I think that if someone told me that violin was a crappy instrument I would be upset, I played for 14 years and I still love it.