Klarinet Archive - Posting 000389.txt from 2004/04

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Music exams in U.S.
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 13:27:18 -0400

Tony W. says:

<<To me it`s nonsense. One could say that it 'sorts the
men from the boys'; ultimately the colleges want the best talent, but if
America can produce fine players with not quite so much emphasis on theory
as in UK, then there is a case to rethink what value theory really is to an
instrumentalist.>>

I have been doing a fair amount of teaching lately - I inherited some 18
students from a colleague who went on maternity leave. Most of these kids are
smart and talented. Several show real promise on their instruments.

I was really shocked however, by how little they understand the "building
blocks" of music. None of them really knew what a melodic minor scale was,
how it
evolved, or how it is used. None of them understand intervals enough to see
what a diminished seventh cord is and recognize it at a glance.

None of them understand simple harmonic structures, of even more scary,
actually realize what KEY they are playing in.

Well, you might say, what does that matter?

The biggest lack I find in their collective playing is that they have no idea
how to phrase. They don't know which notes are important, they don't see or
understand where a phrase is going. Sometimes they are baffled, or even
angry,
with accidentals. The attitude is sometimes "Why or HOW CAN there be Eb and
an
F# in the same measure?"

In the "American" system, promising instrumentalists finally get their theory
when they get to college. I'd say that's about ten years late.

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetXpress.com
World-class clarinet and bass clarinet mouthpieces

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