Is it just my impression.....

[oxleyk]

This is probably a main reason for losing valued members. I have nothing against new users asking pertinent questions but many questions can be answered by simply searching the forums. Instructions for using Google to search TH should be in a banner at the top of every page.

[AJCarter]

Seems to be quite a bit of baby-boomer/gen X soap-boxing here about how millennials are lazy. For the record: Millennials are the generation from approximately 1980 to 1993. I don't think a bunch of 25 year olds are asking about high school band unless they are woodwind primary band teachers asking for some guidance from us. I am considered a millennial and I have to tell you: I have worked to get to where I am. Most of my friends and colleagues have worked to get where they are. So it really pisses me off when gen X and baby boomers go off and crap all over us when it is the generation after us that is really gumming up the works. So before I address the real issue here let me end this rant by saying this: We did not create this age of convenience and instant gratification. We did not invent the internet. We did not invent the participation trophy. We did not invent sticking ourselves in front of a TV, Nintendo, cell-phone, iPad, whatever else you want to use here to keep us occupied or quiet. That was all adults that came before us. You reap what you sow, unfortunately.

Now. On to the real issue at hand.

I live in an area where the economy is such that not everyone can afford lessons, or their parents don't want to pay for lessons, or the band program cannot afford/won't pay for lessons. I have to drive to a few different schools to teach most of my lessons to help alleviate this problem. I have several students in the last five years here who have paid for lessons with their own money from jobs they work at. So. No, hard work isn't dead.

In my master's degree I was foolish enough to show up without some terms translated and was reamed out (very rightfully so, and thank you to my professor who kicked me in the butt) that I had no excuse not to know things because information is so easily accessed on the internet. So answer me this: when people cannot afford lessons or do not have the opportunity to receive them but DO have the internet what should they do? Struggle aimlessly on their own with their beginning band method book? Or use the internet to ask questions, watch videos and see/hear other things they do not normally see?
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(List horns here)

[JayKosta]

If a new post asks a basic question that has a simple 'FAQ answer', there will probably be someone who answers it in the first 12 hours - there's no need to feel that you need to immediately jump on it.

Jay
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Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[tptptp]

No trumpet teacher within 90 miles of where I live.
Search function on TH is frustrating.
If search actually yields a pertinent thread, posts are often off topic, lecturing, or argumentative.
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Craig Mitchell

[HERMOKIWI]

My father used to say, "There are no stupid questions. There are only stupid answers." That may have been an oversimplification but the gist of it was that the search for knowledge has merit and should be respected regardless of the form it takes.

I'm not offended by people asking questions on TH which have been previously thoroughly discussed here. People don't have an obligation to research the forums (assuming they even know how to do that effectively) and they're not burdening our time because we have no obligation to respond, responding is purely elective.

To the extent asking a question here is being used as a substitute for a teacher I don't have a problem with that either. The search for knowledge is the search for knowledge whether the question is posed to a teacher or is posed here. Keep in mind that there are a lot of teachers on TH, so questions here are being posed to teachers.

It's been mentioned that some people can't afford a teacher or are located in areas in which teachers are non-existent. For such people TH can be a valuable teaching tool they otherwise wouldn't have available to them, so more power to such inquisitive people.
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HERMOKIWI

[kehaulani]

[Richard III]

I frequently search google paired with trumpetherald to get answers. I love reading the old discussions from years ago. I learn a lot. I used to use the search function here but got frustrated. Then someone pointed out the google pairing and solved the problem. Thanks to that person.

We are all different. I hated school. I hated sitting in a classroom with someone talking at me. I wanted to just read the book and take the tests. The problem with private lessons is that you are getting just one person's opinion. What if it is wrong? You've just wasted a ton of time and money. What if what they are teaching at that moment doesn't address what you are needing? And you are not savvy enough to recognize that? There are so many factors that just saying get a teacher isn't enough. There is rarely just one answer for everyone. We are all so different.
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Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

[tptptp]

[bean_counter]

a useful way to search a specific site via Google; using this site as an example, enter

site:trumpetherald.com subject

where "subject" is what you're searching for; such as

229 vs 239 bell
what mouthpiece is best
how can I play double high C
are ebay Chinese horns as good as a Bach

ad nauseum
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Kevin Mc
Strad 180s37 (07 'True Bach'), Schilke 18 or 18B4
anon OTS Bb Saxhorn, Berliner valves c. 1860
Eclipse cornet (Yellow, Bauerfeind) DW 4B Heritage
Cousnon clairon Bb
'60s Besson tenor horn DW 3

[HERMOKIWI]

[Brad361]

Lots of thoughtful and valid responses!

One point I want to bring up, in relation to the following quote:

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room”.

That was by Socrates. My point is I realize that it’s common for an older generation to wring their hands over younger ones, and I was not making any blanket generalizations about “kids”, meaning in this case 21 and younger.
There definitely ARE differences in the world kids today have to navigate in, and certainly not every change is for the worse.

The absolute LAST thing I would want to do is discourage any student from asking a music related question here, even if it has been asked multiple times.
But I also would not want any kid or kid’s parents to believe that a forum like this is a substitute for a teacher, and I also realize that finding a QUALIFIED one isn’t easy either.

Brad
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When asked if he always sounds great:
"I always try, but not always, because the horn is merciless, unpredictable and traitorous." - Arturo Sandoval

[trumpetmandan]

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

Just a note to say that right now there's a new post up from a returning player after 40 years and another player has chimed in with a similar story... so maybe this is all the fault of the boomers, returning to trumpet in droves in retirement

I can actually imagine some other reasons. Many of us can't register at trumpetmaster so maybe more folk are coming here. It could also be that for oldtimers here the arrival of newbies is more irritating than it used to be. It may be that there's a bigger wave of students playing brass--which would be great. It may also be that today's digital natives are more willing to jump in with questions than even the ones ten years ago.

I would take it as a compliment... There's room here both for the venerable, deeply respected pros and also for people who aren't that good and are just trying to play a little better.

[veery715]

I have been told, "Take the best and leave the rest." This can be difficult as only experience can teach you to filter out what is nonsense from what is relevant. Newcomers, of any age, to this medium need to figure out the difference and must also face abrasive and sometimes abusive replies to their innocently oft-reposed questions.

Those with some internet time under their belts should try to remember what it was like for them at the beginning and bear it in mind when crafting responses. It's very easy to unintentionally appear to be critical so spending a little extra time trying to imagine how your post will be received is worth the effort if you want to be taken seriously and don't want to drive newcomers away.
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veery715
Hear me sing!: https://youtu.be/vtJ14MV64WY
Playing trumpet - the healthy way to blow your brains out.

[Rod Haney]