Eddie Daniels did a woodwind clinic at Long Beach State. He is an amazing Sax, Flute and Clarinet player with CDs on each instrument.
At one point during the clinic he asked how many doublers were in the audience and most the room raised a hand.
He then said, “Do you know what a doubler is? It’s an excuse to sound bad on your Flute just because you are ‘really’ a Sax Player.”
He then explained, “Every time you put a Flute to your mouth in public, you are a Flute Player. You can not use your sax as an excuse to sound bad on your Flute or Clarinet! If you are bold enough to play Flute in front of an audience, you better be a Flute Player!”
Eddie then asked how many doublers were in the audience and no one raised a hand.
He asked how many Sax Players, Clarinet Players and Flute Players were and ˝ to 1/3 raised hands each time.
Eddie raised the bar. He made me realize I needed to be as good as anyone on every instrument I had listed on my Business card.
It was obvious that he had applied this truth to his arsenal of woodwinds and got every bodies attention real quick for a great clinic that day.
I don’t play Clarinet for folks anymore because I have not stayed up on it. I am told that my Flute is real Flute Playing and constantly am told I don’t sound like a doubler on Flute.
Thanks Eddie for laying it out and being an example.
