Who are these guys, anyway?

Last week, one of my students was quoting information he had found in various discussion groups on the internet as "source authority" for a discussion we were having about saxophone history. It troubled me greatly. Here's why:

Many people will believe anything they see written down. The source, or qualifications of the source, is rarey considered or investigated. I am forever amused (and disturbed) by the fact that many posters on the various discussion groups around the internet seemed to have just popped up on their own and are strictly self appointed in their expertise. They are experts and authorities simply because they say they are experts and authorities. They give not resume or background on themselves because it would expose them as the pathetic liars that they are. They sit in judgement of and pontificate at length on horns and equipment they have never played and about people they don't know anything about. Often, they fabricate stories out of thin air.

There's not a whole lot you can do about this sort of thing if you're the victim. Invariably,the expert in question will give themselves a cute internet name to conceal their real identity and lack of actual knowlege and experience. In my world, that's the first red flag. I like to know exactly and specifically who is providing me with information and opinions, and a little bit about their background and saxophone experience. I always hate it when I find out that one of these "experts" is actually thirteen years old and lives in a little town in Montana (no offense to the Big Sky Country, just a convenient example) and plays a thirty year old Bundy they inherited from their uncle Joe.

The only protection you have, if you desire to be protected, is to know a bit about who you are listening to. A real authority is published (not self published), has a recording history (sorry, self produced and distributed CD's not allowed here), and has an association with instrument manufacturers. Yes, the guys who make the horns do have a tendency to seek out people who actually know what they are talking about. Real experts almost always have a web site where they tell you a bit about themselves, and freely share a bit of their knowlege. Chances are they sell products or services with their name on them, and have been doing it for a while. Real deal guys tend to be chosen as endorsing artists and spokesmen for products you know. Yes, the makers of those products do have a tendency to check out their endorsers and usually use only people who can actually play and people who have made some contribution of note to the industry.

I guess it all gets down to what my momma told me: know who you are dealing with.