Klarinet Archive - Posting 000244.txt from 2002/10

From: "Jonathan" <jdvn100@-----.fm>
Subj: Re: [kl] Marching band --- not what I expected
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 17:00:42 -0400

>Neil said:
>> DCI is all
>> about show, entertainment and visual
>> effects.
>
>If you've never participated in a similar program yourself, or asked
>the members -- the kids -- to describe their experiences of what DCI is
>"all about", a superficial attitude such as yours is not a surprise to
>encounter.

I'd say that if the kids involved in DCI say it's "all about" show,
entertainment, and visual effects, that says a lot about DCI.

Neil said:
>Nobody said it was. And "music education" isn't just about music.
>The benefit of the doubt suggests that you already know this. Most of
>the kids in a band program are not going to major in music in college,
>much less pursue it as a career. An unbalanced band program is far
>less insidious in its impact on society than is an unbalanced life.

Much disagreement here. A music education should focus on music. Little
else. Marching, I think, is a waste of time and possibly detrimental to
a music program. Regardless of how many kids in a band program are going
to major in music in college, the idea is that they're in the program for
a reason. They're there to learn music. Taking time away from that
takes away how much music the student can learn. If parents want a
different kind of experience for their children, they should pay for
extra activities like marching.

I see a few problems with marching bands. I think the biggest one,
though, does not only apply to marching bands. Music should be kept
music. Any visual effects or 'showy' visuals are frivolous and takes
attention away from music as an aesthetic art. People tend to spend too
much time worrying about what sort of visual presentation a marching band
or even a symphonic orchestra is going to make. Marching bands have
uniforms and steps while orchestras have tuxedoes. It's all about a
visual impression. But music isn't visual. Why worry about visual when
performing music? Worry about the music itself. Keep the music about
the music.

--Jonathan
--
Jonathan
jdvn100@-----.fm

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