Fun_People Archive
8 Apr
HOW TO BE EFFICIENT WITH FEWER VIOLINS

Date: Thu,  8 Apr 93 02:04:05 PDT
To: Fun_People
Subject: HOW TO BE EFFICIENT WITH FEWER VIOLINS

 From: <pep@research.att.com>
 From: casey@gauss.llnl.gov (Casey Leedom)
 From the AT&T electronic news:
 
   HOW TO BE EFFICIENT WITH FEWER VIOLINS
(How a Literal-Minded Efficiency Expert Reported on a Symphony Concert)

    For considerable periods the four oboe players had nothing to do.
The number should be reduced and the work spread more evenly over the
whole concert, thus eliminating peaks and valleys of activity.
    All the 12 violins were playing identical notes; this seems
unnecessary duplication.  The staff of this section should be
drastically cut.  If a larger volume of sound is required, it could
be obtained by means of electronic apparatus.
    Much effort was absorbed in the playing of demi-semi-quavers; this
seems to be an unnecessary refinement.  It is recommended that all
notes be rounded up to the nearest semi-quaver.  If this were done,
it would be possible to use trainees and lower-grade operatives more
extensively.
    There seems to be too much repetition of some musical passages.
Scores should be drastically pruned.  No useful purpose is served by
repeating on the horns something which has already been handled by
the strings.  It is estimated that if all redundant passages were
eliminated, the whole concert time of two hours could be reduced to
20 minutes, and there would be no need for an intermission.
    In many cases the operators were using one hand for holding the
instrument, whereas the introduction of a fixture would have rendered
the idle hand available for other work.  Also, it was noted that
excessive effort was being used occasionally by the players of wind
instruments, whereas one compressor could supply adequate air for all
instruments under more accurately controlled conditions.
    Finally, obsolescence of equipment is another matter into which
it is suggested further investigation could be made, as it was
reported in the program that the leading violinist's instrument was
already several hundred years old.  If normal depreciation schedules
had been applied, the value of this instrument would have been reduced
to zero and purchase of more modern equipment could then have been
considered.


This apparently from:
"How to be efficient, with fewer violins" (Harper's Magazine, June 1955)
http://www.harpers.org/archive/1955/06

© 1993 Peter Langston