Klarinet Archive - Posting 000084.txt from 2001/06

From: "Jim Hobby" <jhobby@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Music education goals
Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2001 19:51:45 -0400

>>As far as public performances, that's sort of the reason for the existence
>>of performance organizations. I suppose one could take private lessons
>>and simply learn the instrument, w/o performance. I think that's a waste,
>>personally. To me, much of the enjoyment of learning the clarinet was the
>>performances.

>I have had several students take only clarinet lessons and drop out of the
>local high school band programs. They got tired of the after-school
>activities taking the time away from their school work, but they wanted to
>keep playing. Two of them were valedictorians, and both received major
>scholarships to universities at which they played in the top wind ensembles
>all four years.

>Roger Garrett

Roger, if that's what they want, that's great. I've known good musicians
who -- for a variety of reasons -- don't want to perform.

My real problem with this argument, as well as the band/marching band
argument, is the attitude of people that, 'It's my way or the highway."
There's never any allowance for other people's ideas or wishes. One person
recently wrote something to the effect of, 'My point is you don't have to be
in band. There are other things to do.' That is, of course, true.
However, if a person wants to be in band -- and it seems a lot of people do,
from that I've been able to observe -- that's what's right for them. Beyond
that, we have a fairly useless repetition of "... and that's my opinion and
that's the way it should be," of course accompanied by "that's the way I did
it," or "that's the way it should be done because I say so." The personal
opinions of even the greatest world-recognized authorities can be only
repeated so often before they become a one octave F major scale. (Of
course, the oft-repeated personal opinions of the less-than-greatest
world-nonrecognized authorities simply become a poorly played F.)

Jim Hobby

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org