Klarinet Archive - Posting 000760.txt from 1999/03

From: James.P.Reed@-----.net (James P Reed)
Subj: Re: [kl] Intonation questions
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 21:26:41 -0500

Gary Truesdail said:

> Psychologist have known for a long time and recent studies confirm
> that the human mind has much difficulty keeping track of over 3
> things at a time.

My two-bits worth

IMNSHO, I suppose I'm nit-picking but the psychological literature I've
been exposed to over the past 38 years and teach from indicates when
exploring short term memory, most people can focus on 5-7 items at one
time. This has also been known for quite a long time. Maybe you should
check the presuppositions and underlying assumptions of the research you
are reading and see it they are ultimate truths or just the usual
limitations that allow researchers to prove what they set out to prove.
All research is biased by the assumptions the researchers make (I
believe this was covered in the Tao of Physics).

This idea of being able to handle 5-7 items at one time is certainly the
psychological theory used in designing menus for software and it
certainly holds true for rock and jazz band drummers. Does this mean
that drummers are truly the most intelligent and talented musicians? I
hope not!

I realize there is sufficient research on this topic to prove or
disprove just about anything a person wants to believe. However, since
considerable research indicates people can focus on 5-7 items at one
time, I don't try to cast my psychology students into a perspective
which appears to limit their memory capacities. Then, of course, I
teach psychology to college students as a social scientist, and am not
actively involved in conducting research any more.

And, maybe more to the point, what I find usually happens in education
is that some people who teach focus on the more limiting or negative
sides of research literature rather than working to encourage and expand
and strengthen the capacities of students. How can students ever be
expected to reach their potential, if they are told their intellectual
capacities are limited? I pose this as a question concerning clarinet
students and players, not just students in general. If I can only focus
on three things at a time as a clarinetist does this restrict me to
reading notes, keeping the beat and thinking about what to finger next?
Gosh, I'll never be able to handle intonation or much of anything else
if those are the constraints placed upon me. For no other reason than
even if only for a brief moment, I must think about the note, its
fingering, and keeping the rhythm. Therefore, I'll probably just never
be any good as a musician. What a bummer!

Food for thought and flames.

Jim

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