And then, we have Ian, from Tull
Anyone who has passed through the mill of musical education will understand where I’m coming from. Yes, a teacher is a good thing. No, a teacher cannot take all the praise for someone who moves beyond the basics of study on a given instrument. You can’t teach everything. Now, what set that off?
Well, I’ve come across a number of YT channels given over to explaining the curious quality of Ian from Tull. Yes, that one. And there seems to be a pedantic notion that “because he doesn’t hold his pinky, just so, his education was inferior”. Some go so far as to punish the pupil with a tag of “self taught”. I’ve listened to a fair amount of Ian, over the last half century, and I’m going to rebut here: if you were only as good!
The channels I’ve found, so far, are from people that have high self-esteem, coupled with the label “professional”. Guess what? The Ian has made a boat load of cash, what with his anachronistic style. And the tone is one that brings a song to many, out here in the woods. I know, you saw what I did there.
Over a lifetime, on stage, he’s created a catalog of superlative sounds. Take that, YT pedagogues. And he’s still doing it. No “I was lead chair in my high school band” for this man. In fact, he’s a reformed guitar player that traded in one of his instruments in a pawn shop, a lifetime ago. And the only deal offered was for a flute. Fortunately, he accepted what probably seemed like a Faustian bargain.
