Klarinet Archive - Posting 000356.txt from 1996/02

From: "Lorne G. Buick" <mcheramy@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: Switching Instruments
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 09:55:28 -0500

>On Mon, 12 Feb 1996, SHELLEY A BARABASH wrote:
>
>> I don't think I caught the whole thing, but I caught something about
>> teachers not letting students choose their own instrument!!? In high
>> school, our teacher moved students around to other instruments that
>> he felt he needed more of (usually trombones) from instruments he
>> felt he had too many of (usually clarinets). I didn't agree with
>> that practice then, and I still don't now. Just because the teacher
>> wants an evenly balanced band is a reason to switch instruments?

[snip]

and Dr Edwin Lacy replied
>
>It's not that the teacher needs a balanced instrumentation - it's the
>_students_ who _deserve_ to play in a group with balanced
>instrumentation. I'm not sure that you are really advocating a system
>where the instrumentation of school bands and orchestras would be
>determined on a haphazard basis of just letting every student play the
>instrument they think (as 10 to 12 year olds) that they want to play.
>But, if you really have had the experience of playing in a band with a
>gigantic clarinet section and no trombones, or very few trombones, you
>may not have learned as much about music as you thought you were
>learning.
>
[and more]

I have to agree with Dr. Lacy here. Having taught at a summer music school
for twelve years and had lots of discussion with regular band teachers,
I've seen lots of instances where the beginner band would have ended up
with 6 flutes, 13 saxes, and 12 drummers. What is a band director supposed
to do with such a group? When it comes to senior band, the director has to
balance sections so that they can perform something. This means that
sometimes weaker players get in because they play instruments that are
needed, and stronger players end up in intermediate because there are too
many of their instrument.

There's a kind of chicken-and-egg problem here. There are lots of good
arrangements for bands with a certain balance of instruments, because they
sound good. If there were more and better arrangements for flute, alto sax
and drum bands, there would be more bands to play them. If there were more
f.as.&d. bands, more people would do arrangements for them.

It would be irresponsible for teachers to give their students the
impression that they can choose whichever instrument they feel most
comfortable with and the opportunities for them will somehow appear. It is
possible for a band director to arrange music for an unbalanced (sorry,
"differently balanced") ensemble, if they have the talent and/or training
(which many do) _and the time_ (which they don't). And then they should do
it all again the next year, and the year after? Sure.

Lorne G. Buick

   
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