Klarinet Archive - Posting 000092.txt from 1998/03

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Music in schools, was Marching Band
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 19:30:10 -0500

On Mon, 2 Mar 1998, Martin Pergler wrote:
> A couple of the posts mention such a requirement. What's the rationale
> behind it?

The rationale is an easy one of one does not spend every weekend at a
competition. Here it goes.....the band has, traditionally, served as a
musical vehicle of service to the athletic teams (unfortunate, but there
are some advantages). Many schools only have one or two bands in a high
school setting, and the marching program is incorporated into the regular
band class. It would be MUCH harder to rationalize and defend a
requirement in which there was a symphonic band separate from the marching
band. In this case, there would have to be a very strong precedent set
with a successful band teacher who had been there many years. Even then,
a student could find a way to circumvent the requirement.

Kind of like - if you want to be in the jazz band, the prerequisite for
the course is that you are in the symphonic band.

Roger Garrett
IWU