I agree with everything in this post except the conclusionGordon wrote:How long we've been playing - presumably the flute - is such a loaded question it really has no shelf life - the "off-topic" rambles are exactly what's kept this thread going. That we all progress at different speeds is one inherent flaw in the question, while another is that many of us play some, or many, instruments other than the flute.
How musically wired our brains are before the flute, how rhythmically aware, how well we listen to music in general - all this makes a difference when asked how long we've played - a groundwork before learning all the necessary techniques unique to the flute. This said, there are also gifted players who simply get it early on, and their few years on the flute will outshine many who have played far longer.
In other words, how long a person played tells us nothing.
,
you draw, which is a non-sequitur.
Consider this information:
I've been playing flute two
weeks, really like it.
It's false this tells us nothing about the posters degree
of proficiency.
Similarly that someone has been playing ITM on flute
for six years, while it's no guarantee, makes it pretty
likely that the individual knows how to play a number
of tunes on the flute, can hold it, and so on. Probably
this person has a fair amount of experience.
In both cases it's helpful information if you're wanting
some gross and very rough idea of where someone's
post is coming from, especially the level of experience
from which it flows. For our purposes here, that
can be useful.
For instance if someone gives detailed instructions
about holding the flute in response to a noobie's question,
it may be helpful for her to know whether he's been
playing for two months or ten years. She may welcome
the new player's advice, figuring he's closer to where
she's at; on the other hand, she may welcome the
more experienced player's advice, figuring that
people who have many years of experience may
actually know more about it.
Info that tells us nothing is worthless, but
I don't think this information is worthless.
It may actually be of some help to some people
in some situations that arise here.
We did this for awhile a few years ago. At the time several people
realized that people at the beginning of their
fluting were receiving advice that was stated
with great authority that often came from people
who had played much less that the questioner.
So we did adopt the practice of saying how long
we'd been playing, something anyone could
do instantly, and I thought it was
helpful in that circumstance.
We seemed, at the time I started this thread, to be
returning to that situation, which is why I suggested
we start saying again how long we'd been playing.
People didn't take up the suggestion, however, which is fine
with me. And the circumstances that prompted my
suggestion don't seem to exist any longer. So
I hope we'll let the thread die.
