Klarinet Archive - Posting 000254.txt from 2003/01

From: "James Hobby" <jhobby@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Poor Qlty. Instruments/education/educators
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 10:52:52 -0500

That's because what they're teaching is the most basic of conducting.
Actually, I usually refer to the conducting class that most music programs
have as Stick Waving 101. The teacher in our conducting class at university
was actually a choral conductor. (Not necessarily a completely bad thing,
but not the most desirable, IMO.) I had the luck, I guess, that a lot of
band directors didn't. I went to summer music camp from the age of 14
through high school, and each summer was able to get real conducting
training -- all the extras, besides down, left, right, up for 4/4, and so
forth. (I found my well-worn Wagner on Conducting a couple of months ago in
a box of college stuff I hadn't seen in years.) The extra training served
me well. I was the first regular student conductor for the university
symphony my senior year.

>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)

On a similar subject, we have a serious problem with our middle school
instrumental program. Last summer, they moved the band director's wife to a
lower-paid job in a school miles away. They both left. He was a very good
band director, plus taught the high school jazz/stage band. (It was a
political/personal decision, made by the superintendent who is an ex-jock
who has no use for the arts programs. The chorusmaster quit at the semester
break.)

They waited 'til the last minute, and hired a woman -- again, with political
connections with the board -- who is simply incompetent. As far as I can
tell, she can't play any instrument -- except possibly trumpet, very poorly.
I'm not sure what degree she has. The superintendent also killed the 5th
grade beginning band. The curriculum committee later met and ordered it to
be returned to the program, but it was too late to start them this year,
because everyone's schedule was set.

My granddaughter is an 8th grade french hornist. Director doesn't know any
horn fingerings. I, at least, provided her fingering charts. (They
apparently only play 2-3 partial periods a week. She likes to show movies
in class.) At the Christmas concert, several students didn't show up.
They said they were embarassed to play in public. The eighth grade band
sounded like they had been playing about 3 months instead of three years.
At the end, we asked Sarah why she didn't play two of the numbers. One,
they had lost all the horn parts, and the teacher didn't provide any
replacements. The other she was given an Eb horn part, but the teacher
didn't know how to teach her to transpose to read it on F (single) horn. I
knew we had some sort of problem when she provided Sarah a part for the Star
Spangled Banner for marching on 11x14" paper during one of the ball games
they had to "march" in. (Sarah has a very different personality from her
brothers. They don't mind coming to me to ask how do you do "x", but for
some reason she won't.)

The second clarinet is brother to a HS flutist with whom I've spent some
time on special problems. After the concert, his mother came and begged me
to help the younger brother, because he showed so much potential during his
first two years, practing seven days a week. (Last year, the 7th grade band
concerts were as good as some high school concerts I've heard. Several 7th
& 8th graders made All County Band.) This year, he says he doesn't have
anything to practice and she can't or won't do anything to help him. I've
given him scales & exercises I used in teaching years ago and an old copy of
Vol 1 of Klose, and taken him on as an irregular student. (My work in court
has irregular hours and doesn't allow for me to have a reliable studio day.)

They've already traded in his clarinet. (It was what I suspect was one of
the Chinese clarinets we've been talking about. They bought it from a base
exchange in Germany. No name on the clarinet. The mother remembered
something-sonic or sonic-something. Here on the list, we discussed how to
fix some of the problems with it a while back when the older brother brought
it to me.) His parents bought a reconditioned, guaranteed clarinet, Selmer
USA, and is already back to daily practicing the material I've given him.
(Got a good deal from a trombone player who I went to university with -- and
didn't know he ran a music store. Sent me a "hello", gave the kid a
discount, and offered to take the old one in or give them instructions for
turning it into a table lamp!)

I told his mother that if all the clarinets wanted to get together once a
week in a group lesson, I'd be glad to try to help. I don't expect the
teacher will recommend it, though -- and certainly not at the school. I
understand one of the board members overheard me commenting after the
Christmas concert that, in her case, it's a pity that public stocks and
caning aren't allowed any more. I hope we can get rid of her at the end of
the year, if not before, or the program will go to hell in a handbasket!

Jim Hobby

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