Klarinet Archive - Posting 000603.txt from 1998/06

From: <GTGallant@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Beginner students
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 14:00:44 -0400

In a message dated 98-06-18 12:50:21 EDT, you write:

<< Having a group lesson is a great opportunity to learn through ensemble
> music rather than the traditional method of going straight through the
> lesson book. You just have to stop teaching like a traditional teacher.
>>

This sums up the attitude among most school music programs nowadays. I feel
that this approach - as opposed to private instrument study - eventually
destroys a child's ambition to study music on a higher level. Lets face it,
how many music "educators" on the 1-12 grade levels can actually play their
OWN instrument, nevertheless teach ALL instruments? Most school music
teachers I've run across can't play their way out of a wet paper bag! This is
a real upsetting topic for me because the students will probably never
understand or realize what levels of technique and musicianship are available
in the world (without the proper instruction). The level of playing by the
music education majors at the local university (and other top conservatories
I've been around) is a horrendous joke. The level of mediocrity schools are
willing to accept is amazing and befuddles me.

IMHO, music is not a career one can just "do" like teaching math or shop,
accounting, etc. There are many underacheivers is all areas of life, but art
is more personal. Group lessons at a low level do nothing to address
individual issues on a given instrument. If a child gets serious about music
later on, the new teacher will have a hard time reprogramming him/her and may
never succeed in alleviating bad, ingrained habbits. Be part of the solution,
not the problem.

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