Klarinet Archive - Posting 000230.txt from 2002/09

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Music/Academics studies?
Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2002 09:53:02 -0400

Forest,

You've made two quite negative posts
about music education in your neck of
the woods. I live far away from Texas in
Utah, and over a period of many years
have heard the same thing about bands in
Texas. I have also seen poorly balanced
band programs where stage band consumed
an inordinate amount of directors'
energy, time and the music program
budget at the expense of concert band,
solo and small ensemble participation as
it relates to festivals for these kinds
of things.

In both situations, marching band and
stage band, instrumentation imbalances
occur in both numbers and in quality.
Deficiencies are most noticed with
clarinet, double reeds and French horn.
Excess numbers are usually generated
with percussion, trumpets and saxophone.

I've seen concert bands where there were
up to fifteen saxophones, no French
horns, no oboes, no bassoons and only
six or seven clarinets.

The flashy drum and bugle groups (aka
DCI) has been a very strong influence in
distorting and redirecting the missions
of many band programs.

Probably the only way to bring about
change is to have parents complain about
it. Unfortunately, not everyone feels as
you and I do. Let's face it, many
students and their parents totally dig
the brass band w/flags thing.

Please, don't anyone get me wrong. I
have nothing against marching bands or
stage bands. I also play sax and have
been very much involved in jazz for most
of my life. I've also been doing other
things as well.

A healthy, yet balanced program is what
is lacking in so many places.

Forest E. Aten Jr. wrote:

> Perhaps the cart before the horse.....as more recent studies indicate.
>
> I find that smart kids are attracted to music. My local (Texas) observations
> have been.....that the image generated by smart students performing well,
> may help music education appear to more beneficial than public school music
> educators play it up to be. (survival) We have a lot of time abuse (marching
> band) in Texas and the music education that many kids suffer through is not
> even remotely close to mandated or even reasonable curricular objectives.
>
> Statistics are often twisted and/or misinterpreted in an effort to support
> political agenda.
>
> F. Aten
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael Moors" <mdmoors@-----.net>
> To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 13, 2002 11:11 PM
> Subject: Re: [kl] Music/Academics studies?
>
>
>
>>Studies on Music and Academic Achievement
>>There have been a number of studies done on the effect of music on
>>
> academic
>
>>Development. It has been shown that high school music students have higher
>>grade point averages than non-music students in the same school. At
>>
> Mission
>
>>Viejo High School in Southern California in 1981, the overall grade point
>>average of music students was 3.59 and for non-music students the overall
>>grade point average was 2.91. This same study also found that 16% of the
>>music students had a 4.0 overall grade point average and only 5% of the
>>non-music students had a 4.0 overall grade point average.3 A study of
>>graduates of the New York City School of Performing Arts found that 90% of
>>them go on to college. Rees feels that involvement in high school music
>>programs helps students develop the skills necessary for a variety of
>>occupations. She states: "Successful music students tend to possess the
>>qualities and skills that are generally considered essential to employers
>>in business, education and service organizations."5 She also recognizes
>>that music education assists students in improving their writing,
>>communication skills and DOES improve analytical skills. Rees further
>>states that to be successful in music, takes a great deal of
>>self-discipline and notes that "music majors have the highest SAT scores
>>
> in
>
>>all areas."
>>Fred Hargadon, former Dean of Admissions for Stanford University, in a
>>
> 1983
>
>>interview with Stauffer said, "We look for students who have taken part in
>>orchestra, symphonic band, chorus and drama. It shows a level of energy
>>
> and
>
>>an ability to organize time that we are after here. It shows that they can
>>carry a full academic load and learn something else. It means that these
>>particular students already know how to get involved and that's the kind
>>
> of
>
>>campus we want to have." Christensen (Biernat) has found that research
>>studies have consistently shown that participation in student activities
>>
> is
>
>>beneficial to students.6 Success in college can be more accurately
>>predicted by levels of individual achievements in student activities
>>(drama, debate, music etc.) than it can from SAT scores, class rank and
>>grades in school. Conversely, studies of dropout students show that these
>>students have had the least amount of participation in school activities.
>>The Mode of American Youth (Biernat) reported that the most frequent
>>co-curricular activity in American high schools was participation in a
>>musical group. They reported that 38.3% of all high school students say
>>that they belonged to a band, orchestra or choir.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>At 10:24 PM 9/13/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>>
>>>As background, our superintendent has decided that to provide more time
>>>
> for
>
>>>academics, they're going to phase out the instrumental music program in
>>>
> the
>
>>>middle schools. (This is one more hairbrained scheme that has proven
>>>
> this
>
>>>man is an idiot, IMO.) They're only going to allow beginning band in the
>>>9th grade, by the end of the phase out, and the band will essentially
>>>function only as a football pep band.
>>>
>>>One of our top family physicians told the board that they were making a
>>>serious mistake; that they were trying to dump the one program that
>>>
> actually
>
>>>was statistically proven to improve academic scores.
>>>
>>>Does anyone know where such a (legitimate) study is that we could show to
>>>the school board? Any help is appreciated. They've already dropped the
>>>
> 6th
>
>>>grade program this year.
>>>
>>>Jim Hobby
>>>
>>>
>>>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>
>>
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>>
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