Klarinet Archive - Posting 000941.txt from 1999/07

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] school music programs(kinda defending corps too)
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 13:14:41 -0400

On Sun, 25 Jul 1999, Patricia Smith wrote:
> Again, Roger, you have voiced my opinions concerning marching band pretty
> much to a "t". However, I feel I need to clarify and qualify myself in
> relation to one thing. I personally hated marching band. I have nothing
> against those students who truly enjoy it; however, when I was in school the
> thing we kids enjoyed about it was the chance to travel and the opportunity
> (such as it was) to get away from home; that was what I liked about it.

Hence Revelli's statement: Kids join band to ride a bus!

LOL

> I will re-iterate what others here have said about balance - our children
> need to know how to make and keep commitments; however they also need to
> learn how to say "enough is enough" when ANY teacher (music or other)
> forgets the real purpose of schooling, which is to educate, not entertain
> adults (or each other!)or win trophies.

You and I believe that, but others feel the schools are for teaching
values, teaching beliefs, instilling the kinds of things that parents
still have a responsibility to do. School is not a fix-all institution.
It is a resource for which students attend and become educated. It is
important that they have fun and enjoy their studies, but not at the
expense of the learning that was intended.

An interesting observation:

When I taught public school, we had district wide Student Learning
Objectives (SLO). In fact, each school that I taught at had a specific
set - and this was not unique to Washington - the state of Montana and
Michigan schools I taught in had them too. No where in the SLO's was a
description of marching band competition as a way to enhance musical
development, learning, skills. Basic SLO's included matching pitch,
understanding complex rhythms, etc.......nowhere was there a mention of
marching band.

Historically, music was put in the public schools to educate people
musically - to make them musically literate. The criteria for literacy is
quite specific and clear - and even 100 years later we use most of the
same criteria. We've come a long ways from singing horribly out of tune
in church (Colonial times) to better musical development in America.
Unfortuantely, compared to European countries, in comparison, the average
American child/citizen is horribly uneducated musically. We're not
talking about enjoyment of popular music or music arrangements, I'm
talking about literacty - the ability to read music, understand notation,
match pitches, understand form, function, tonality. The Europeans are way
ahead of us - and why? They teach and incorporate musical literacy from
birth - and continue it formally in the schools their children attend.
(there are exceptions in Europe BTW).

I am discussing musical learning as it relates to literacy amongst the
masses - and it isn't going to get any better until music teachers in the
public schools focus on musical literacy instead of tropies to prove
athletic ability and the ability to move people around on a football
field.

I'm all for what you have said Jill - but when you have people who take a
simple form of public relations such as a marching band and turn it into
the thing that the entire program depends upon, aside from a few
successful programs, you have, primarily, musical illiteracy.

> Teacher of the Year, yet his attitude was balanced. We practiced marching,
> but we had the very best concert band in our district; his career here
> spanned 36 years, and he always had award winning bands, concert and
> marching. BUT his focus was ALWAYS teaching music...we knew what a
> transcription was, and from the way he taught these (he always conveyed the
> idea of opera as telling a story, and told us what part of the original
> piece the transcription was from), many of us first became aware of great
> music, such as opera and symphonic music. He always played any part people
> needed to hear on his horn (a clarinet, of course), and we all had to learn
> that music was to be
> played with feeling, and expression. I learned not only "lessons of life"
> but I had a good enough background,
> thanks to him and two very fine private teachers, that I chose music as a
> career because I loved (and still love) it. In fact, I have tried to quit
> so many times, and never could, for some reason.

And this is the way it should be done! I wish I had had your experience
in HS.

> They hold an invitational exhibition each fall where
> bands perform for stands full of people (not a football in sight!) and
> receive critiques from judges, but no grades."

Is the critique in marching, movement, and charting? Or - is it in pitch,
tone, precision, blend, balance, etc.? You can see where I might think
the concept is good but that the end result is the same.

Why must this kind of even take place on a football field if there is no
team playing? Why can't they do it in a concert hall where people can
hear better - where students can hear each other better, and where
spontanity is a possibility? Just asking questions - I'm not putting it
down.

> What is wrong with attempting to raise the standard for musical
> skills? As I mentioned above, the more tools of music making a student has,
> the more he or she can continue to enjoy music years after s/he has
> graduated from high school or college. Also, one does not create any type of
> player - students make these choices for themselves.

MB can do that - and as a tool within the scopes of what it was designed
to do (entertainment at a football game), it can be very effectively used.
But the trophy got in the way. No longer a musical demonstration - it is
now a pre-planned, non-spontaneous coreography with some interesting
musical arrangements. Somewhere the tail began to wag the dog.

> In closing (finally) I agree with Roger, again, enough on Marching
> band...and you do have my applause.

I will try to shut up now - I'm getting tired of seing my posts - geez.
That's bad.

How bout that Aris??? :)
Roger Garrett
Professor of Clarinet
Director - Concert Band, Symphonic Winds & Titan Band
Advisor - Recording Studio
Illinois Wesleyan University

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