Klarinet Archive - Posting 000109.txt from 1998/03

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Marching Band (was alto mpcs)
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 21:17:20 -0500

At 11:41 AM 3/2/98 -0600, Roger Garrett wrote:
>Bill's points are well taken.....yet they do not speak to what my initial
>posting was discussing (although I enjoy the way the thread has invoked
>some opinions.....keep it up guys!).....that is....that marching band is
>not the measure of a music program. It is a public relations event that
>can, if done correctly, contribute to the overall musical education of the
>student. It cannot however, be the single, or even predominant influence
>of a person's musical development.
>
No argument here. We were well aware of our public relations function, and
revelled in it. And one's musical education would be extremely deficient
if it consisted of marching band alone.

>I agree.....basketball and football are different, and so are marching
>band and concert band. However, we could not defend the "better" sport in
>the first case. In the case of Marching Band and Concert Band, it is wise
>to remember why we have music in the curriculum before putting the
>marching band on the same educational plane as the concert band (by the
>way, there are many flaws with the way we run concert bands too.......all
>geared toward the performance instead of the musical achievement of the
>individual......o boy....another thread!).
>
Again, different organizations, different goals. You don't join marching
band to learn music, and you don't join concert band to get your legs in
shape. They compliment each other, but neither replaces the other.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.