Klarinet Archive - Posting 000203.txt from 2003/01

From: "Patricia A. Smith" <patricia@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Poor Qlty. Instruments/education/educators
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 10:52:01 -0500

Forest E. Aten Jr. wrote:

> I recently had a new student come to me with a situation like the one you
> describe.
> The entire first year of study in her band program was horrible. The teacher
> screamed at her daily about how worthless she was.....
> Her Mom was outraged....yea!
<snipped for space on the list>
> The educator is now doing something far from kids. The child is doing very
> well......with a repaired clarinet!
>
as I wrote earlier, it would seem to me that the least a decent
beginning band director should be able to do is be able to play one
scale on EVERY instrument or tighten/loosen snares on a drum and play
several basic rudiments with sticks held in proper position. I remember
working for a wonderful master chief, who I might add was ALSO a
fabulous clarinetist AND is now the band director at Mission Bay High
School in San Diego CA. I will never forget how our Band Master, a
lieutenant back then, marveled at how the master chief could pick up
EVERY single instrument we had in inventory, and play a scale or two on
it, to see whether or not it was in working order!

Thing is, that is REQUIRED in the job he ended up doing after
retirement! ;-)

I'm glad that your neighbor's daughter got that situation remedied. I'm
even happier that that teacher is now no longer teaching children. It
would seem that we are so focused on learning how to "control behavior"
in the classroom that we make teaching intellectual content, or in our
case, musical content, take a back seat when we teach future music
educators in our universities the basics of how to teach (or at least
help them to discover this "how")! I'll never forget class instruments.
The really odd thing - class instrument classes were all ONE CREDIT
courses! What is that all about? About the most important classes
there are for a beginning band directors and string orchestra teachers -
and only ONE credit hour per class, and you have to learn four or five
instruments a semester? Ridiculous!

I remember taking conducting and really suffering through it, because it
was REALLY difficult for me. It would also seem that there was no real
understanding of exactly what conducting and score reading was - it was
just waving a stick around and trying to figure out why I couldn't
coordinate my hands to do two different things at one time...it never
seemed to relate much to what was on the page - and I always felt like I
never really REHEARSED the groups - or even learned any REAL rehearsal
techniques. It ALWAYS sounded like a TERRIBLE band to me! (And that was
the university groups we had :O)

Anyway, this is getting a bit off topic, but, sometimes, I think the
biggest reason that music in the public schools has gotten to the point
it's gotten to - marching bands as support for the football money
machine! - is because of how we've taught our future music educators.
Not to say there isn't good done by marching band, or anything like
that. It has its place, as does football - at least one of my twin boys
will play that sport because he wants to - I doubt I'll be able to stop
him since I won't have a cage large enough. (j/k) It just would seem
that we have become much more interested in following the latest trendy
notions instead of teaching people how music can serve them and help
them enjoy their daily lives. I don't really understand this.

It is, at least gratifying to see people on this list and elsewhere who
have taken the clarinet or other instruments up and really enjoy
playing, either as young folks, or after a long period away; it's
wonderful to see pro's who still LOVE what they do, as well as amateurs
who squirrel away a few hours here and there in the woodshed because
it's a worthwhile hobby for them. That to me is the psychological
satisfaction of being a music teacher - to see people enjoying music in
their daily lives.

</me gets off soapbox and slinks back under rock>

Patricia Smith

---------------------------------------------------------------------