[Trombone-l] Tag Line

Tue Mar 25 14:28:02 CDT 2008

My wife is an incredibly high achiever. She practices flute 5 hours a day, works a half-time job at a university, and runs a chamber music series, managing the ensemble, programming all the concerts, writing grants, and doing essentially everything else. I help with some things, but it's really her show. She's a great musician, and she gets a tremendous amount done on a number of levels. 

She was required to go to a meeting for her half-time job where the topic of "how you know you've done a good job" was to be discussed. Her first thought was that she knew she was doing a good job when she didn't waste time in her life at meetings like that, but after a little reflection, we came to some  realizations about why she has become so effective. She always strives to be both efficient and thorough, and over the years she has learned which jobs need either efficiency or thoroughness to be first priority. She is still efficient when prioritizing thoroughness, and still thorough when prioritizing efficiency, but she is now quite clear about which attribute is more important, and goes about that task in that way.

This doesn't really translate into a tag line yet, but I think it's a powerful idea. 

Gabe

----- Original Message ----
From: sabutin <sabutin at mindspring.com>
To: Charles DePaolo <chuck at hickeys.com>
Cc: trombone-l at samford.edu
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:26:08 PM
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Tag Line

>Dan et al,
>
>I was preparing a clever reply after thinking about this for a moment and
>ultimately decided that the statement is somewhat illogical because the time
>variable is irrelevant.  Reworded, the statement certainly makes sense as
>"The difference between Mediocrity and Excellence is attention to detail."
>To which you may well say, "Duh!"  But adding the time element does not
>really make sense either.  What about intellect of the doer?  What about
>skill level for the assigned job, whether it be designing an axle assembly,
>learning to play the Grondahl* or replacing a toilet?  I think you are right
>to ponder this statement, it does seem cute and clever at first glance.  But
>once you think about it, it's reasoning is somewhat in doubt.  Can one not
>do a mediocre job in half the time?  Of course.  Indeed, I've known far too
>many who've proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt. Can one not be less
>skilled, take twice the time, and still produce a piece of crap?  Again, of
>course.
>
>My verdict:  The saying is cute but ultimately pointless.
>
>--Chuck

Yup.

You pinned it, Chuck.

>  "Mediocrity and excellence take about the same amount of time.  The
   difference is attention to detail!"

This is the line.

But...attention to detail DOES take time.

Lots of time.

For example...I was a very successful NYC freelancer and jazz soloist 
by the time I was in my late 20s. But I was way too busy and having 
too much fun (Too young? Too mediocre in terms of effort? Whatever.) 
to REALLY take care of the details.

The details of physically playing the instrument, the details of 
music itself, the details of the life one lives while doing these 
things...the works. I was lucky enough to run into a few people who 
had the patience and forbearance to teach me about "details"...the 
real stuff, not just nitpicking crap...and 30 or so years later I am 
ALL about the details.

However, that does not necessarily mean that the general run of 
people like my playing, my music, my teaching or indeed my own 
personal act more now than they did 30 years ago. On the contrary, 
really. My stuff was 'easier" then than it is now. Easier to 
apprehend, easier to enjoy, easier to understand.

So it goes.

The difference?

Time.

The time that I have put into getting down to the real nuts and bolts 
of things and the time that others must devote to what I am doing if 
they are to understand it.

Mediocrity and excellence do NOT take about the same amount of time. 
I don't care if you are speaking of Bird or Beethoven, Billie Holiday 
or Pierre Boulez; it is the total time that creative people put into 
their work that separates the mediocre from the excellent.

Day in and day out, 24/7.

That and innate talent. But time constraints hold true no matter what 
your native abilities might be. If Bird...one of the most naturally 
gifted musicians ever to walk this earth in my opnion...had okeydoked 
around and not totally dedicated himself on the deepest levels to 
what he did from about the age of 14, wild he have been able to 
change the entire face of American music on may levels in the short 
period of time that survived?

Of course not.

And  excellence in actually understanding what others have done 
requires time as well.

Bet on it.

Sure...you can listen quite casually and superficially to Charlie 
Parker and be moved on any number of levels. But transcribe his 
solos, begin to understand the real musical contexts from which he 
came, learn to actually live on that level musically? The details, 
the REAL details? That takes time, brother.

Time.

And only then can you really be "moved" by his music. Moved in a way 
that makes the other way look like child's play.

Ditto any other art, although once you have done this kind of detail 
work on one level the ability to understand on other levels 
progresses as well.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought 
as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish 
things. For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: 
now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was 
fully known." (I Corinthians, xiii)

Yup.

St. Paul knew.

Growing from childhood to adulthood takes time.

On all levels.

Bet on that as well.

S.

>
>* mandatory trombone content
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Dan Thornton
>   To: 'Trombone-L'
>   Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 8:26 PM
>   Subject: [Trombone-l] Tag Line
>
>
>   Speaking of tag lines, I received an email from our local high school
>choir
>   teacher. She included a tag line that I have been considering now for
>these
>   three weeks, and the jury is still out, but so far I like it.
>
>   What do you think? Does this line agree with your experience?
>
>   "Mediocrity and excellence take about the same amount of time.  The
>   difference is attention to detail!"  Renee C. Henderson
>
>   Dan
>
>
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