Klarinet Archive - Posting 000304.txt from 1997/02

From: Linda Shockey <L.Shockey%reading.ac.uk@-----.BITNET>
Subj: Re: Musical literacy
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 05:31:13 -0500

in reply to stan geidel's comments about musical illiteracy:

when i started playing the clarinet in third grade, we were taught in big
groups. each week, we learned to play another note until we had worked up
a small bag of tricks. after that, it was up to us as individuals. we
never had any theory to tie it together, and in fact i never even learned
the names of the notes, as it was easier to associate a particular blob
with a particular fingering.

i reckon this is not everyone's experience, but if it's still happening to
ANYONE, it explains a lot about why these people are musically illiterate:
a good start is important.

when i got to England, I was astonished that everyone knew not only how
many sharps and flats were in each key, but also knew their relative
minors and terms like "tonic, dominant, theme, development."

i've managed to learn some theory now, but it still takes me a while to
work out who is playing in what key and why. my English counterparts do
it naturally, like breathing, because it's now second nature to them.

Linda Shockey
Department of Linguistic Science
University of Reading
Whiteknights, RG6 6AA
0118 - 987 5123, ext. 7459