Why So Few Pros Online?

Opinion on blogging and some blogs of note.

I am always on the hunt for new blogs, especially ones that are brass-related. There really seems to be a demand and interest for this kind of information. I read lots of interesting string and woodwind related blogs out there yet surprisingly, there are very few brass blogs out there – especially among professional players.

Doug Yeo – “brass pioneer” on the Internet – in “What Happened to the Internet?” makes a direct hit on this issue. In questioning why college professors contribute to trade journals and professional musicians do not, he writes that pros are either “too busy, don’t care, don’t like to write or have other things to do with their time.”

Why no pros?

A few years back I participated in online discussion groups. While many college professors would stick around and participate in the discussion, professional musicians would come and go on a regular basis.

Like myself they would leave discouraged for a variety of reasons, including:

rude behavior

an overwhelming amount of messages

unrealistic expectations

demands for free information in lieu of library research

hot button topics that inspire weeks of pointless debate

overbearing personalities

I would venture to say that this stigma has left many pros with a poor opinion of the Internet as a platform for sharing their experience. We can only hope that as the blogging platform becomes easier to use, more professionals will begin to catch on.

A new trend?

One trend (that I hope will continue) is retired and semi-retired professionals who are blogging. While our current American culture loves to worship all things young and new, there is so much more to be learned from people with years of experience.

At The Horn, Robert Berger writes daily on the Blogiversity platform on a wide array of topics. For the student or novice, his informative posts include the “hows” and “whys” of orchestration, what goes on at an orchestra rehearsal, opera and other topics.

He also sprinkles in the occasional op-ed piece, such as “We Need to Return Music Education to Our Public Schools” – a topic that I strongly identify with.

One of my favorite brass-related blogs of late has been Trumpet Matters, a blog by Phil Collins (no relation to the famous pop star!). I mentioned this blog last week and it is worth mentioning again.

Mr. Collins’ credentials include being a retired principal trumpet in Cincinnati and being a current adjunct professor at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He posts new articles on a semi-weekly basis.

What I like most about this blog is Collins’ use of metaphor and imagery for relating teaching concepts.