Klarinet Archive - Posting 000135.txt from 2001/01

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Community bands and clarinets
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 21:57:33 -0500

on 1/2/01 11:55 PM, Bilwright@-----.net wrote:

>In previous discussions, some Klarineters have supported a
>mandatory music policy. For example, how s it different from excusing
>a kid from math if he or she doesn't like it or never manages to get it
>right? Somehow art is a different thing, imo. Especially since music
>frequently doesn't pay a living wage even if you do it well. A person
>can survive financially without art, but not without math.... but even
>this isn't true. There are a lot of adults who can't do math, but they
>survive.....
>
But IMO we're talking about basic education here, and not vocational
training! (see your "doesn't pay a living wage" and "survive
financially") So Music and Art are "necessary" to become a well rounded,
well educated human being. And there's no guarantee that everyone will
rise to the same level of competency in all areas. Some are good at math,
some are good at music, etc. But it's the exposure to the subject, and
the student effort *toward* mastery that are necessary.

I've seen in my teaching that learning to perform on an instrument is
vastly different and more difficult than just exposure to music that a
general music class provides. I taught students at two different private
schools here in Richmond, both of whom cater to very intelligent
children. Most of them have never had to commit time and energy to any
subject the way they had to commit the effort to learning an instrument.
Some of them just gave up, because it demanded more than they were
willing to give. My point is that teaching kids to persevere in order to
accomplish a worthwhile result is a valuable lesson for a school to
present. Sometimes it's the brightest, most advantaged kids who need that
lesson the most, if everything else about their life has been "easy".
Whether the teachers in these schools recognize the value of this lesson
and teach to it is a different matter.

> I'm sure that some of my personal bias is showing here, because I
>was kicked out of mandatory chorus when I was a kid, and I never
>recovered from my 'hate' because of it. So I'm sure that my thinking
>on this point is twisted.

Bill, were you a pain in the *** in mandatory chorus?!?! ;-) Or, are
you that rarest of voice types (like me) - the monotone?

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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