malik@galaxy.DEC (Karl Malik ZK1-1/D42 ) (04/10/84)
Subj; Funny article from April, '84 Omni magazine MUSICAL TYPES A fine-tuned orchestra can sound like a single musician playing a single instrument. But when it comes to assessing one another's personalities, musicians may be just as factionalized as any other large group. Psychologist, Jack Lipton of Union College, in Schenectady, New York - himself a bassist - recently completed a personality inventory of the members of 11 symphony orchestras, including Philharmonics in Los Angeles, Boston and Calgary. Musicians from each of the orchestra's four major sections (strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion) were first asked to rate themselves for such characteristics as security, competetiveness, and athleticism. They were then asked to describe musicians in other sections. In general, Lipton says, "people were positive in describing their own sections, particularly, the brass players, who saw themselves as 'confident' 'gregarious', and even 'hell-raising.'" Woodwinds tended to describe themselves as "sensitive individualists" with a "cool sense of humor," and the percus- sionists self-image was "reliable", "underrated" and "sexually active". The only group to describe itself negatively was the strings, who admit to being "competitive, neurotic and insecure". But. the real fun began when the musicians were asked to describe one another. Woodwinds, for example, saw percussionists as "unintelligent and immature, but fun at parties". Percussionists disdained woodwinds as "wimpish, introverted worriers." Strings seemed to like the percussionists well enough, calling them "fun, confident" and even "sexy". But the feeling was not mutual. As far as the drummers were concerned, string players were "stuffy, competitive prima donnas". Undoubtedly, the worst blood in the orchestra was between the strings and the brass. The horn players saw the violinists as "frustrated, snobbish, chicken-shit wimps". And the string players viewed all the horn players - from trumpet tooters to tuba puffers - as "brassholes". Bill Lawren Omni Magazine (apr '84) <I thought you might find this amusing, especially in view of the recent 'factionalism' here in net.music. - Karl>