|
* * *
    Forwarding Address 28 years-old human... Pancreatitis Depressed
|
April 27, 2004 - 11:03 am Symphonic Engineering God help me I have never been so bored and unfulfilled in all my life. Not since I had to dress in mouse ears and bobby socks whilst serving tourists at the Disney Store have I been so mind numbingly bored. But it�s not like I have nothing to do either � there�s plenty to be getting on with, finishing off etc. but I just can�t be arsed. That�s the long and the short of it. I can no longer be arsed. Two more weeks left though and I�m gone, and there�s only three days remaining of this week already � and next week is a bank holiday! But that only serves to remind me that I have much to do in a short space of time and no motivation to do it. Life can be cruel. Anyway, I read the following passage whilst at university and I found it today whilst clearing out some personal files on my computer. I like it, but then again I am a nerd. From R.M.Fulmer and T.T.Herbet, Exploring the New Management, Macmillan, New York, 1974, p.27. Here is the way in which a literal minded industrial engineer 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 twelve 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 2 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 tendered 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. |
www.diaryland.com
