Klarinet Archive - Posting 000288.txt from 1994/02

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: An age old problem
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 1994 03:26:22 -0500

Cary and I are having a discussion about a problem as old as time,
namely the freedom of a student to deviate from his/her teacher's
guidance (and sometimes even a teacher's musical prejudice). And
equally important is how the student comes by the knowledge to be
able to take such action.

It is one thing for a student to say that a teacher is wrong because
s/he is "old-fashioned" and quite another for a student to say
that a teacher is technically or musically misguided. The former
is simply an opinion that is arrogant. But the latter, in order to be
correct requires some substantive thinking.

I always respect Cary's views on these problems because he is
able to articulate his position so well while, at the same time,
admit that there may be no easy answers to such questions.

I don't think there is a single answer to the rebellious student.
But if I had my 'druthers, I would rather have a rebellious
student that an overly-compliant one. The most important thing
that a student can learn is critical thinking. Anybody with half
a brain and some time on their hands can learn to play clarinet
reasonably well. But few develop a capacity to think out the
solution to a complicated musical, historic, or musicological
problem.

Lets face it: most people want answers, they don't want questions.
So when a student says, "How do I play this grace note" s/he does
not want to be told, "There are five different perspectives on
how that note should be played and here are 10 lengthy articles
on the various alternatives." No, the student wants to be told,
"You play it this way, and that is the only way it can be played.
Any other way is anarchy and a sign of a rotten upbringing."

And this is true in almost all intellectual disciplines. It is not
a clarinet problem. It is a problem of maturation and the development
of great talent. I see this in the math classes I teach at the local
college. It is another thing I do to keep busy. Students don't
want to learn the principles of mathemtics. They want answers to
their problems and are unwilling to admit that intense study is
required to achieve a level of understanding.

Ultimately, I think each of us develops an artistic vision. That may
simply a carbon copy of the vision of our teacher, or it may have been
independently arrived at and at full opposition with that of our
teacher. Most often I suspect that our vision is a blend of these two
things. That's one of the reasons why it is advantageous to study with
many, many teachers. Each adds to our soup pot our ideas become
amalgamated from the views of many great players, not just one.

But I am convinced that anyone who goes to their grave with no new
ideas on how to play the clarinet hasn't really done very much in
the long run. I suspect that that is one of the reasons why I get
so disappointed when I hear the views on this board about playing
Mozart on the clarinet. I see it (even though it may not be) as
a state of no progress in this arena for at least 50 years.

But in other areas, I see wonderful deviation from accepted ways of
doing things and I do sense an intellectual appetite in more
contemporary music. It is almost as if new things need to have
a tradition built around them and people are doing that, but old things
are seen to be fully formed and don't need to be rethought or requestioned.
Old is equated with stability and tradition. But tradition is simply
measured by the last bad performance of a work.

Shut up Leeson. You are sounding like a god-damned philosopher.
Instead I should be practicing basset horn.

Cary, thank you for making me be more precise in my thinking in
this area.

Dan

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Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
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