Klarinet Archive - Posting 001174.txt from 2003/04

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Final Report on the Legere
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:48:30 -0400

Nancy Buckman wrote,
>I also have old instruments and a box like a printers box.
>It is large and each square has a drawing of a clarinet key
>in it. they can take instruments apart and lay the keys in
>the corresponding place in the box and line the screws up
>as they come off the instrument.

What a terrific teaching tool!

>I don't know of anyone in my area who teaches this way.
>In fact, I have had a band directors call me and tell me
>that their students shouldn't be taking instruments apart.
>Apparently, one of my students was helping to hook a
>wayward spring on another student's instrument and the
>band director though he was out of line.

I'm glad you're using common sense instead of listening to such bad advice.
Does the band director expect a student to go running to the repair shop
every time a spring needs re-hooking? Ridiculous! What's the kid supposed
to do if a spring goes sprong in the middle of a concert? Better to own
the right tool and know how to use it than stab away with a pocket knife in
desperation and do some damage.

> The more these kids know about their instruments and
>how they work, the better they can care for their instruments.

I'll bet your students *care* more about how to care for their instruments,
too. It helps kids grow up to be competent adults when they learn how to
do things, instead of feeling helpless. Active participation in
maintenance gives kids a sense of pride in a job done well. I'm definitely
a fan of excellent professional repair people, when professional repair is
needed, but it seems to me that kids who can't even cope with the basics,
such as a spring that slips off the hook, are likely to feel alienated from
their instruments and intimidated by them. I'll bet your students wash out
their mouthpieces, swab their clarinets more and use them as baseball bats
less than the kids whose teachers encourage them to stay ignorant. I
wouldn't be surprised if kids who know how to do simple maintenance also
practice more, the same way kids who work on their own cars make the most
successful drag racers -- oops, maybe not such a great example!
;-)

Lelia Loban
lelialoban@-----.net

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