Klarinet Archive - Posting 000786.txt from 2001/05

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Requirements for grade
Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 17:08:09 -0400

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Hausmann" <bhausmann1@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] School Board

> At 09:12 AM 5/27/2001 -0400, Dee Hays wrote:
> >No one
> >should be required to march, play in pep band, or go to contest to get a
> >grade.
>
> I've been getting a little irritated at Roger for playing debater instead
> of engaging you on the issues, but I have to take exception here. Music
is
> a performance based art, which occurs in time and at specific places

First of all let me say that I personally enjoyed marching band and so on
but I really don't believe that for a credit course it is appropriate to
require any student to attend so many functions outside of class hours. No
other credit course requires this kind of commitment. These additional
activities should be optional.

Actual performing can be satisfied by quarterly concerts, a perfectly
reasonable expectation. Even the class practice can be counted towards
performing. The band could give concerts in school during school hours.
Individuals and small ensembles could perform for the rest of the band.
School band should be for the development of the students abilities not to
treat them like developed musicians. What is their primary function at this
point in time? Is it to study music or to provide entertainment,
performances, status etc for the school system? How this question is
answered will have a major impact on how schools shape the content of their
programs. Do you want students who can "guide right" with perfection but
have no idea what the "Circle of Fifths" is?

Marching bands and pep bands are really more geared for "rallying the
troops" rather than providing a venue for musical expression although of
course music is played. However, go to a high school basket ball game. The
music keeps everyone pumped up but the audience only hears it as a
background to the game rather than as music.

You might lump this in with their "homework" but that puts a greater burden
on the band student than any other class they take if that student takes
his/her music seriously and practices daily. Let's add it up. 1 hour per
day practice at home is 7 hours per week. Then add on the 2 to 3 hours per
week required for participating in the marching/pep band activities. That's
9 to 10 hours. If all their classes required that much homework, the kids
wouldn't get any sleep. Even if they practice only half hour per day, that
is still 5.5 to 6.5 hours per week. If they are taking a total of 5
classes and all the teachers gave that much work, the student would be
putting in 26.5 to 31.5 hours per week outside of classes. Add that to the
30 hours per week that they spend in school for all classes and it gets
unreasonable. Yes, I know that most teachers don't assign that much but why
should we make an exception of band and allow them to place excessive
requirements on the students in comparison to other classes get their grade.

Besides that, there is far more to music than actual performance. People
need to be trained to include the support functions. Theory and composition
should be included. Some one has to know how to write the stuff. I've
written extensively on other aspects of music in a response to William
Wright. Bands and choruses are music classes so the students should be
taught something more than just how to hoot their horns and march 8 steps to
5 yards. Every time I have someone who has been through 7+ years of public
school system band/chorus/music ask me what's a Cb and how to play it, I
cringe inside. And naturally they follow it up with why the composer wrote
a Cb instead of writing a B. They haven't a clue. They should know this.
Any piano student probably would.

Given the extreme amounts of time that some bands seem to be required to put
in, some of them ought to get music credit, physical education credit, and a
school letter.

Let me also address contest. Once again I personally loved going to
contest, All State and the whole bit. But again what other credit course
requires a student to compete? None that I know of. When you take Physical
Education, you don't have to go out for a sports team or compete against
other schools. When you are in English Composition classes, the teacher
requires you to write but submitting them to writing contests is seldom
required. The teacher grades the compositions and gives the students an
appropriate grade. Entering composition contests is optional just as music
contests ought to be.

Then there is another question to be asked. What is wrong with a person
wanting to play just for their own pleasure? They don't want to perform for
an audience but simply want to be able to sit down and produce beautiful
music themselves for their own relaxation. This is a valid function of
music.

Dee Hays
Michigan

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