User talk:JTalcott

Saxophone article

You wrote on the talk page that mutes should be mentioned in the article. While I think they are extremely rare (have you ever seen a single saxophonist actually perform with one? I have attended dozens of saxophone recitals, over 100 performances altogether, and have never seen one used, nor actually known anyone who owned one), you are welcome to add text on saxophone mutes to the article. Go ahead and add what you think it should say... —SaxTeacher (talk) 21:19, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Concerns about Saxophone embouchure article

SaxTeacher, Please see my comments at Talk:Saxophone#Embouchure_Description_Concerns. I would like to hear your response to my concerns. JTalcott 04:48, 12 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for letting me know about this article. I had a look at it and responded at the Talk:Saxophone and Talk:Saxophone embouchure pages. I also made edits to the article to try and improve it.

While it is certainly a good idea to discuss the article with other editors, keep in mind that the person who first added the article is not its "author" and doesn't "own" the article, so you can go ahead and make edits/corrections to articles concurrent with your discussion on the talk pages. Best —SaxTeacher (talk) 09:59, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

16 March

I saw the note you left for Egrabczewski at Talk:Saxophone embouchure and I wanted to leave you a comment. Please keep in mind that most Wikipedia contributors are in fact amateurs. There's nothing wrong with an amateur saxophonist contributing to articles; in fact it is encouraged. It's true that people do sometimes contribute inaccurate information by mistake, but the answer to that is not to scold them, but simply to correct the article.

Wikipedia has thousands of amateur enthusiasts with varying levels of expertise and they are all welcome, and encouraged, to contribute. There is no requirement for people to have professional training in order to contribute. (I, for one, don't have any degrees in music - I took many years of lessons, and have accumulated a lot of teaching experience, but have no formal education in music ed.) So if an amateur user wants to write an article, or contribute to an article, it is not presumptuous of him to do so. It would be improper to say "step aside and leave this to the professionals." See Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers.

The misinformation that is sometimes contributed by amateurs can be frustrating to experts. But I think kindly guidance and factual correction is the answer - not taking the contributor to task for his or her lack of credentials. For further discussion of "amateur vs. expert" issues on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Expert_retention.

Your expertise is valued, particularly if you roll up your sleeves and start to improve articles! I'm looking forward to your contributions. Best —SaxTeacher (talk) 14:52, 16 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]