Klarinet Archive - Posting 000226.txt from 2007/09

From: "catkeel" <catkeel@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Military Bands
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:23:46 -0400

My teacher has a masters in clarinet performance but their day job is as a
teller in a bank.

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Fay" <kevin.fay.home@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 12:25 AM
Subject: RE: [kl] Military Bands

> Vincent Horrillo asked:
>
> <<<Would it be more beneficial to start of [sic] my Performance degree
> instead of my current choice of Music Education?>>>
>
> Sigh. Vincent, I'm going to pick on you a bit; apologies in advance. I'm
> going to pontificate a bit, based on experience and envy (you're young,
> I'm
> not).
>
> Why do you want to get a performance degree? If you want to play clarinet
> for a living, you should - that's a good way to get a whole lot better in
> a
> hurry.
>
> . . . which you'll need to do, since there are about as many people in the
> United States who play clarinet for a living as play professional
> basketball. It's very, very, very, very hard to make a living doing what
> most people consider recreational activity. Amongst other things, you
> have
> to be really, really, really, really good. Are you?
>
> Are you good enough to play the Nielsen concerto by the end of your
> *freshman* year? (That's what Sean Osborne appears to require. Sean is
> out
> of his mind, but OTOH *his* first gig out of college was at the Met, so I
> can't quibble - apparently that's the level of playing you need these
> days!)
>
>
> The dedication needed to perform at the level you need to be to make a
> decent living playing clarinet is about 50% more than you'll need to
> graduate cum laude from Harvard Law School. It's a long story, but I know
> this from personal experience. Are you ready to make that commitment?
>
> There are lots and lots and lots of very talented young people who want to
> play clarinet for a living - you have to beat out all of them to make a
> dime. I suspect that if you have to ask what you "should" do, you're not
> into it enough to warrant dedicating five years of your life and a lot of
> your parents' money to the endeavor.
>
> Why do you want to be a music educator? If you have a burning desire to
> teach high school band and *really* like kids, well go for it. If you
> want
> to be a professional clarinet player but don' think you're good enough,
> why
> not study something useful like accounting or car repair instead? You'll
> make a fair bit more money, and both you and your future students will be
> much better off.
>
> Sorry to be so negative, but I know a number of wannabe performers who
> turned to teaching as a "backstop" and failed miserably, making everyone
> miserable. The skill set for performance and teaching is entirely
> different, but the consequences more severe. If you're a performer who
> doesn't make it, you ruin your life - if you're a lousy teacher, you get
> to
> pollute the lives of oh so many young people.
>
> Bottom line - if you're really jazzed to be a teacher, by all means go
> learn
> how to teach. We need more and better teachers, at least until we run out
> of kids. But don't go into it because you cant' get a playing gig.
>
> Sorry for the rant, but I've seen too many unhappy folks on both sides of
> this dilemma.
>
> Keep your reeds wet and your pants dry,
>
> kjf
>
>
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