Klarinet Archive - Posting 000268.txt from 2003/10

From: "Christy Erickson" <perickso@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Learning to love (was: reeds for beginners?)
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 10:57:18 -0400

Ormond said,

Especially something as physical as music, I wonder whether a person can =
be
taught to love it
(if it isn't instinctually pleasurable)?

Ormond, That is really a good question. The one thing I'm certain of =
is
that kids who love music can be discouraged or "conditioned" to not =
enjoy
playing an instrument or singing, for example in a group with a leader =
that
does not encourage them. Quite often, in a different environment with a
different teacher or different tools, they flourish. However, that =
choice
of environments is unfortunately not available to most kids. We have an
elementary band director in our community that has a gift for persuading
kids to quit the band program before they ever get to the next
teacher/environment. Many of the kids are very musical and they love to
play piano, for example, but they quit band because they simply can't =
stand
the band director at the elementary level.=20
I know that I would probably not have advanced as far as I did in
playing the clarinet or the piano had I not been supported and =
encouraged in
every way possible, but the basic love of playing music was there to =
begin
with. I suppose it's impossible to tell with beginners whether that =
basic
interest and love of making music is there, but I wouldn't take the risk =
of
making a judgment too early on that this quality was absent. =
Unfortunately,
I think there are music teachers out there that do this and they =
sometimes
miss out on a great opportunity with a child. =20
I have piano students who don't practice much and who aren't =
advancing
as fast as I might like, but I hang in there. When that spark appears =
in a
child who loves to play a certain piece of music or who finally =
overcomes a
technical problem, I become inspired myself and I think we end up =
feeding
off of each other sometimes. So, maybe, just maybe, it is possible to
foster a love of music-at least to some degree. Does anyone out there =
have
an answer to this queston? Christy

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