CountryKitty wrote:The older I get, the more I find that it is a lot easier to pity such people than to be angry with them. After all, I only have to put up with them for a very short time--they have to live wwith themselves and their attitude 24/7.
Seriously, people who go out of their way to be rude and abrasive just wind up making life that much more difficult for themselves.
Our pet cat of the last 18 months has been missing for a couple of weeks. We've put up posters round the neighbourhood, and we've had a lot of nice calls from people who may have sighted him - some have even taken pictures, and followed up on their original calls to learn if we've recovered him yet.
We've also had several notices ripped down and thrown on the floor, or just graffitied.
There are two kinds of people; the ones who add joy to your life experience, and the ones who suck energy from those around them. This clerk was one of the latter.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that schwing
The Whistle Collector wrote:today i went to a music store to get a child a tin whistle to start learning to play. i didn't see any, so i asked the guy at the register if he had any. his reply was "we only sell real instruments here".
One can only laugh when one hears ignorant people! I´ve had the exact same discussion in a music store a couple of years ago. The real answer why they don´t sell whistles is probably that they dont´think that they make enough money selling them. And the part about the trangle is simply ridiculous - it takes years of practising to become a good percussionist in a symphony orchestra.
The Whistle Collector wrote:today i went to a music store to get a child a tin whistle to start learning to play. i didn't see any, so i asked the guy at the register if he had any. his reply was "we only sell real instruments here".
One can only laugh when one hears ignorant people! I´ve had the exact same discussion in a music store a couple of years ago. The real answer why they don´t sell whistles is probably that they dont´think that they make enough money selling them. And the part about the trangle is simply ridiculous - it takes years of practising to become a good percussionist in a symphony orchestra.
i do laugh at it now, i think i will bring him a Mary Bergin cd.
"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart." John Bunyan
walrii wrote:One idea that attracted me to the whistle was the "reverse snobbery" I saw on this board. Many musicians (indeed, many artisans and artists of any stripe) subscribe to the idea that as one's skills increase, one's instruments/tools should become more expensive, making expensive instruments/tools a de facto indicator of skill. Whistlers generally follow the opposite concept that the truly great whistlers are those who make the inexpensive whistles sing. If the music store clerk doesn't get it, that's his loss, not ours.
Interesting idea! You don´t need a Stradivarus to express your music! Ofcours singing is always cheaper! On the other hand a good Top-of-the-line whistle isn´t that inexpensive either...
The Whistle Collector wrote:today i went to a music store to get a child a tin whistle to start learning to play. i didn't see any, so i asked the guy at the register if he had any. his reply was "we only sell real instruments here".
One can only laugh when one hears ignorant people! I´ve had the exact same discussion in a music store a couple of years ago. The real answer why they don´t sell whistles is probably that they dont´think that they make enough money selling them. And the part about the trangle is simply ridiculous - it takes years of practising to become a good percussionist in a symphony orchestra.
i do laugh at it now, i think i will bring him a Mary Bergin cd.
Well, I mentioned to the clerk that the famous James Galway (with all that fansy classical connotations) actually do play the tin whistle on many of his most popular recordings. Reluctantly the clerk admitted that he knew this an that the tin whistle could´t be all that bad if Sir James played it!
About the recorder. I play the whistle, the recorder, ant the classical flute. Most people believe that the recorder is a child´s play to play. My opinion is that of these three instrument the hardest to play is the recorder. I find the fingering system much more logical on the flute and the whistle. And the key system makes the flute fingering very easy. The intonation on the recorder is also very much trickier on the recorder - the slightest difference in your breath and the tone will be sharp or flat. The flute is not that sensitive. My idea of hell is to be a recorder teacher to a class of kids, all blowing like maniacs. (very much like "The 5.000 fingers of Dr. T")
I´d say that playing the recorder well is in the same league as playing the violin!
CountryKitty wrote:The older I get, the more I find that it is a lot easier to pity such people than to be angry with them. After all, I only have to put up with them for a very short time--they have to live wwith themselves and their attitude 24/7.
Seriously, people who go out of their way to be rude and abrasive just wind up making life that much more difficult for themselves.
Our pet cat of the last 18 months has been missing for a couple of weeks. We've put up posters round the neighbourhood, and we've had a lot of nice calls from people who may have sighted him - some have even taken pictures, and followed up on their original calls to learn if we've recovered him yet.
We've also had several notices ripped down and thrown on the floor, or just graffitied.
There are two kinds of people; the ones who add joy to your life experience, and the ones who suck energy from those around them. This clerk was one of the latter.
falkbeer wrote:My idea of hell is to be a recorder teacher to a class of kids, all blowing like maniacs. (very much like "The 5.000 fingers of Dr. T")
I actually live your idea of hell (a very accurate description). I teach elementary general music to K-5 students. I do a recorder unit every year in 4 and 5. Because of budget cuts (thank you "No Child Left Behind") I now listen to 22 Dollar Store recorders -yes, two for a dollar - played by 22 students whose greatest goal in learning the recorder is to see who can get it the closest to sounding like a dog whistle. But believe it or not, though it severely taxes my bourbon budget, the end result is a pretty good musical experience, relatively speaking. However my opinion might not be completely reliable as I seem to have suffered some high end hearing loss and significant mental instability after this last school year.
Yeah, I guess it would be silly to go back to the store and play the whistle for the guy. But in your fantasies you can re-tell this story doing just that. Or maybe you can orchestrate going back with a penny whistle and playing a tune when the guy insults you for asking someday in the future.
If you can afford it, just dropping off a good CD of music that features the whistle most prominently ought to at least give him a chance to learn.
"Here, I thought you might want to expand your view of the whistle a bit. Enjoy it!"
anniemcu
--- "You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
--- "Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
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CountryKitty wrote:The older I get, the more I find that it is a lot easier to pity such people than to be angry with them. After all, I only have to put up with them for a very short time--they have to live wwith themselves and their attitude 24/7.
Seriously, people who go out of their way to be rude and abrasive just wind up making life that much more difficult for themselves.
Our pet cat of the last 18 months has been missing for a couple of weeks. We've put up posters round the neighbourhood, and we've had a lot of nice calls from people who may have sighted him - some have even taken pictures, and followed up on their original calls to learn if we've recovered him yet.
We've also had several notices ripped down and thrown on the floor, or just graffitied.
There are two kinds of people; the ones who add joy to your life experience, and the ones who suck energy from those around them. This clerk was one of the latter.
Did you find you cat?
Yes, did your pet ever return?
Don't give up hope if he hasn't...a couple months after my Father-in-law's Mom passed away her Rat Terrier Bud disappeared. My in-laws searched for him--being in the country there were only so many neighbors in a square mile from their place and I think they hit every house. 4 years later, hearing a scratching at the door, they discovered Bud--terribly overweight and wearing a pink collar--had come home. As heavy as he was he couldn't've come from far so one of the neighbors must've had him,and as the in-laws were about to move they kept him close til they got settled to keep whomever from retaking him.
As for those who tore down the notices--I think I would have to go ahead and get angry with them.Being unpleasant wasn't enough for them, they had to go and be hurtful.
The Whistle Collector wrote:today i went to a music store to get a child a tin whistle to start learning to play. i didn't see any, so i asked the guy at the register if he had any. his reply was "we only sell real instruments here". i got a little mad, but i asked him what he meant. then he said "only instruments that somewhat difficult to play, the only thing easier is a kazoo and triangle." i felt myself starting to turn red, and he had that smug little smile on his face. i said "well i see you sell recorders here, what do you think of those?" his reply was "only kids should play recorders, that is why we sell them in colors, tin whistles are easier than recorders. if you want a real woodwind instrument, try the flute." i started getting real mad, but then realized that i should be better than him and keep my cool. i just told him that he should consider them instruments, because he could offend a lot of people with especially Irish in them. i will not go back to that store ever again. i guess he is either a jerk, or was just having a bad day.
I haven't read the rest of the posts in this thread. So please forgive me if I am repeating an idea.
What I would do is talk to the owner of the store and relay to him or her what happened. Ring, visit or write.
If the prat that you dealt with is, in fact, the owner, I would discuss this with the local Chamber of Commerce.
The Whistle Collector wrote:today i went to a music store to get a child a tin whistle to start learning to play. .
I haven't read the rest of the posts in this thread. So please forgive me if I am repeating an idea.
What I would do is talk to the owner of the store and relay to him or her what happened. Ring, visit or write.
If the prat that you dealt with is, in fact, the owner, I would discuss this with the local Chamber of Commerce.
Just my penny whistle's worth .....
This is really a classical problem. Should one really bother so much? When I was younger (I´m 47 at present) I really got very upset of all the jerks in the world, but then I realized that it was really a futile quest blowing a lot of steam for some ignorant jerk in a store. At one point I felt like Don Quixote fighting all the wind mills, realizing that it was a fight I could not win in the long run - there ar simply to many ignorant malevolent people in the world. I look at it this way now - if someone is ignorant, malevolent or narrow minded it is his/hers problem not mine. It´s just as simple as that! And in the long run - there is the theory of carma - good things come to good people.
The Whistle Collector wrote:today i went to a music store to get a child a tin whistle to start learning to play. .
I haven't read the rest of the posts in this thread. So please forgive me if I am repeating an idea.
What I would do is talk to the owner of the store and relay to him or her what happened. Ring, visit or write.
If the prat that you dealt with is, in fact, the owner, I would discuss this with the local Chamber of Commerce.
Just my penny whistle's worth .....
This is really a classical problem. Should one really bother so much? When I was younger (I´m 47 at present) I really got very upset of all the jerks in the world, but then I realized that it was really a futile quest blowing a lot of steam for some ignorant jerk in a store. ...
It's like emptying the ocean with a pitchfork. Better to let em twist in their own little hell.
There's and old Irish saying that says pretty much anything you want it to.
I worked in the '"hospitality" industry most of my life (bars, restaurants, hotels) and I also travelled a lot which gave me the chance to meet lots of people of all nationalities... And with all of them I noticed the same thing : 50 % real good people, 30 % so so, 20 % not worth it. Well, maybe the percentages aren't totally right
So what do I do ? I have good conversations with the real good ones, I serve (but no more) the so so's and I try to ignore the not worth it's... Works for me.
But believe it or not, though it severely taxes my bourbon budget, the end result is a pretty good musical experience, relatively speaking. However my opinion might not be completely reliable as I seem to have suffered some high end hearing loss and significant mental instability after this last school year.
