Klarinet Archive - Posting 000299.txt from 1998/03

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Band Policies (was Marching Band)
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 14:42:42 -0500

At 10:38 PM 3/4/98 -0600, Dee Hays wrote:
>Bill Hausmann wrote:

>> This is considerably more fair than the system I have seen where the
>> challenges are played in class and the students vote! Turns it into a
>> popularity contest, even with the director having veto power. You can lose
>> the challenge AND be humiliated in front of all your peers in one easy
step!
>
>That's not a challenge system. That's an instructor afraid to do his job.
>
Both of my daughters quit band under this director within 2 years (one had
even started on clarinet) and bolted to choir (I had personally seen how
his classroom was run and felt I could not in good conscience talk them out
of their decisions). They both did well there, eventually touring Europe
with Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp exchange programs, and both (ages 22 and 18)
are still actively involved in singing. But, as someone who has played and
sung, and definitely prefers playing, I was disappointed that, in effect,
my daughters were denied the band experience by luck of the draw (and the
arbitrary whim and caprice of the Air Force that landed me in that small town).

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.