Klarinet Archive - Posting 000479.txt from 1997/10

From: Nicholas Yuk Sing Yip <nyip@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: music ed questions
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 1997 16:20:03 -0400

Too add to the school administration, out there, the lack of a good
teacher also. What rudiments do they teach them there in the fifth grade?
If they are not preparing them for the intermediate level bands then what
they should do is give them lessons and help them prepare for the bands.
If they do not prepare them for the bands, then the bands will sound
horrible, which leads to a bad reputation and eventually, an unsuccessful
band which will lead to elimination of the whole program. I do find it
nuts they way it is being run in Fresno.
And about reeds, I would ask a professional clarinet instructor.

On Sun, 12 Oct 1997, Bill Edinger,Anna Gilman, and Grace Edinger >
> 1) My daughter just began lessons (11 years old, sixth grade, in her
> third year of playing) and while I'm pleased with the teacher (even
> though she is a die-hard Rubank advocate), I have run into the old dogma
> that my daughter's previous school instructor embraced: the harder the
> reed, the better, and the sooner the student works up to a 3-1/2, the
> better. No mention of mouthpiece design or personal variances, just
> straight-out harder-is-better. Any suggestions on how to argue against
> this without jeopardizing a good relation with the teacher? Or should I
> just keep my mouth shut? By the way, she (my daughter) uses a Clark
> Fobes Debut mouthpiece, which we (my daughter and I, and apparently the
> new teacher) feel is wonderful.
>
> 2) We just moved from a small middle-class town in Upstate New York to
> Fresno and a very affluent school system, supposedly one of the best in
> California. Here they don't begin music instruction until fifth grade,
> not fourth, and for the sixth grade, there are no group instrument
> lessons, only full band lessons twice a week. That's right, they teach
> them the rudiments in fifth grade, and just leave them hanging the next
> year and presumably pick them up in intermediate school the next year,
> assuming that they are still playing. Is this nuts or what? With the
> sports mania here, I can see absolutely no explanation for this bizarre
> attitude. Is this occurring elsewhere, or is California leading the
> nation in trashing music programs along with public education in
> general?
>
> Bill E.