Klarinet Archive - Posting 000192.txt from 1997/08

From: hlandry@-----.com (Harvey G Landry)
Subj: Re: Kids Today
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 14:20:17 -0400

After hearing some pretty insulting messages about the band teacher in
question, I feel that I must defend him. When he told the story, it was
one of many about one of his pet peeves: kids who don't know about
cleaning their own instruments! He is a high school teacher. It is
tradition where I live to start in middle school (6th grade) and to
continue until graduation. So if someone has been playing for three
years, he would expect them to know how to treat an instrument when he
gets them as freshmen. Here are some of the things he mentioned in this
very long lecture:

Sitting on cases, not covering up the mouthpiece when not in use, leaving
the reed on the mouthpiece after playing ("You turn the reed around and
it looks like a garden," he said) drinking ANYTHING before playing, and
chewing gum before/while playing.

He reminded students constantly to use a swab, pad savers, use bore oil
often, and to polish the instrument every time after playing. I was
taught all of this in sixth grade, and that clarinet is still in
excellent condition. That "What's a matter with kids these days?" should
have been rephrased as "Either they weren't taught when they should have;
or, if they simply don't care about their instrument, they should not be
playing, period."

By the way, the man can play almost every instrument, has been teaching
for over 25 years, and routinely fixes his students' instruments for free
quite expertly, no questions asked.

Mel
hlandry@-----.com

   
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