Klarinet Archive - Posting 000157.txt from 2007/02

From: kurtheisig@-----.net
Subj: Re: [kl] Band Directors-Help needed
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:36:39 -0500

STORY # 1

In one of the districts near one of our stores, the poor deprived people live in $1-4,000,000 homes and the Fathers are typically big executives in the top Silicon Valley companies.

These people are quite capable of firing and hiring to arrive at good programs????

In 1972 when I was offered the band job at the high school they had about 800 kids in the 5-12 grade programs. There was a monster interfering mother and I declined to be abused. Such dignity for a 24 year old! I taught at 2 colleges part time and concentrated on my music store.

The monster marching mother was also one of the 6 full-time music teachers at the Middle School.

After studiously ignoring me they managed to grow this program to 85 kids from 800, then realized something was wrong.

In the beginning band they had less than 20% retention in the first year.

They approached one of the students that I was mentoring through college. A program a lot like home-schooling. AT the local University, classes for training teachers in woodwinds or brasses would be taught 4 days a week for an hour each day for 13 weeks. In my program the young teacher was taught the teaching of woodwinds and brasses together for 40 hours a week for one calendar year. She studied saxophone, clarinet and flute with me, and took Dr Claude Gordon's course on the correct teaching of brasses at my store. That was a once a month lecture for 2 hours for 12 months. Caude's brass material was reviewed extensively in the 40 hours of weekly study

As a 19 year old 2nd year freshman, she was hired by the band boosters to do a before school program for 5th graders. It was 2, or 3 days a week as I remember it. Her boss saddled her with a brass assistant, whom she would assign a problem student or two, and send off to another room to lose him. She had 75 students her first year and had a 93% retention rate. Her very FIRST day of lectures in her course of study had been classroom management and you could hear a pin drop in her band(with 75 students!). The band method used was EASY STEPS TO THE BAND by MAURICE TAYLOR. She had all instruments except percussion (Her boss made this rule. Her boss, though the Middle School band director was a choir director NOT a band director and.........!!!!)

Within 3 years the band program 5-12 was up to 300 members again in the district.

When asked what her secret was she would point out that she merely did what her teachers, Claude and myself, had taught her. NOW the instruments the kids were getting were mostly from my store and were very high quality. The sax and clarinet players were almost all on Morgan Protone Mouthpieces, and the trumpets & cornets were on Claude Gordon Mouthpieces--- the CG PERSONAL, not the earlier Benge models. The trombones were on Schilke 52, Euphoniums on 52D in gold, French horns on Schilke 32, and tubas on Conn Hellebergs.

Because she was hired by the band boosters she was not bound by conflict of interest silliness and had a number of the kids in private lessons in my store.

Example of one instrument:

6 of her 17 alto saxes studied privately with her in the store. All six were playing Jupiter saxes hot-rodded by me (No--Jupiters do NOT usually work at dealers---but they work VERY WELL from MY store!) (Now, of course we have the new HEISIG SAX which is MUCH BETTER!!). (One, my doctors daughter, later got a PRISTINE MK VI Selmer from me that had once been in the Kenton Band!!!) All had Morgan Protone Mouthpieces, though some moved up to HEISIG CLASSICAL MOUTHPIECES. All used Vandoren Reeds(or aged Buffet Reeds that we have thousands of) and a custom made strap we have in our stores.

IN 5 1/2 MONTHS ALL SIX WERE PLAYING THE FIRST - 3 PAGE- ETUDE IN BASSI'S 27 VIRTUOSI STUDIES. This is a college level etude book similar to the Rose studies. Some were working on the second etude by then. All were working on the Eccles Sonata or the Handel Sonata #3.

FIVE AND ONE HALF MONTHS................

ALL six of these 10-11 year old fifth grade kids were playing the first etude WELL or PERFECTLY in FIVE AND ONE HALF MONTHS.

(This, by the way, is NORMAL teaching if you know how.)

THEN CAME THE EXPLORATORY!!!!!

Having to rent horns out for 6 weeks for this program over-whelmed my business.

We ONLY rent quality instruments, like the Buffet B-12, that have been set-up and modified by me. Standard practice is that all instruments turned in come back to the shop and get a thorough going over by me before they go back on the shelf.

The bookkeeping time required to process all of those instruments back into the store and back on the shelf was over-whelming for my staff. Chasing instruments that parents forgot to get around to returning was a nightmare. The arguments- "But you said it was $xxx for 6 wEEEEeeeeeks!" "Yes, but you have had the instrument for FOURTEEN Months!" etc.

My repair bench was over-whelmed with several dozen instruments at all times. Instruments that were normally done in July or August, were now keeping me from doing Buffet Clarinet and (vintage) Selmer Sax over-hauls.

All of this for what? So, we could lose money??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I saw no evidence of significant numbers added to the band.

Finally I had to decline to participate in this madness as it totally over-whelmed my business. Then the kids had to rely on school issue junk, and the same old pitiful rentals that had been going to the beginners when they had a less than 20% retention rate.

MADNESS NUMBER ONE!!!!

Kurt Heisig

Yes, I will be GLAD to discuss the teaching program I have for teachers. I train new teachers, and re-train old ones.

(831) 425-5658

In her oral finals with me in June the first question was:

"Justify in detail each kid that quit."

"You mean, I'm RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM??"

"In the name of God----YES!"

She got an A+ in the course.

-----Original Message-----
>From: Bob and Deborah Shaw <theshaws10@-----.net>
>Sent: Feb 19, 2007 2:33 PM
>To: Trombone-L <trombone-l@-----.org>
>Subject: [kl] Band Directors-Help needed
>
>Our school district is currently going through some major changes (not good
>I am afraid!) and replacing 6th grade band, choir and orchestra with
>exploratory band, choir and orchestra. We will have 30 days of instruction
>to introduce all of the instruments in the subject that we teach, along with
>music theory, etc. Each teacher (band, choir, orchestra) will have the same
>class in a rotational exploratory wheel.
>
>Who out there has something similiar that we can use as a model? We need
>some good information as to what has been done, and what works? Has it
>worked, what was the outcome, etc.
>
>We have fought long and hard to keep our programs, but, it seems that our
>expertise is not being honored. The middle school concept is more important
>to our district than what is best for our music programs and what we think
>is best for our students.
>
>If you have participated in a program like this, please respond and tell me
>what your experience has been and what the outcome has been.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Deborah Shaw
>Band Director
>901 N.13th St.
>Lingle Middle School
>Rogers, Arkansas 72756
>
>
>
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