 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: EbClarinet
Date: 2023-07-20 20:58
I was talking to a professor of clarinet some years ago. He told me that music doesn't change. Me being a composer, I didn't believe him. So then watch high school bands and marching, I realized that, for public school, kids r still being taught what I played 35 years ago. I know there's curriculum in TX public schools but I'm wondering for TX universities, is there a set curriculum for the schools f music?
Perhaps those of u that still teach college and are director of bands could shed some insight to me about this. My college alma mater is doing the same things as teaching/playing songs I played 30 years ago.
I'm also wondering is there a set of college songs that colleges pull from? I don't hear great hs bans playing from this list.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/mbtldsongministry/
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Author: kdk
Date: 2023-07-20 23:25
If the core curriculum followed by a high school or college band is rooted in important "classic," basic repertoire, it may be important to keep using it through the years. One thing that many teachers lose sight of, because they've played certain pieces a zillion times and want to explore new music, is that for many, if not most, of their students, this time through a piece of standard repertoire may be their *first* time. That doesn't mean that newer music should be totally excluded, but "golden oldies," if they're good music, shouldn't be abandoned, either.
Karl
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2023-07-21 00:43
Also music parents who put up the cash for instruments want to hear songs at school concerts that are familiar, like the ones they played at school in the 60's or 70's.
edit: I thought you were focused on high school bands with your comment. University bands are less beholden to their audience likes and dislikes.
Post Edited (2023-07-21 00:45)
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2023-07-21 19:17
This seems like a bot post asking the question. Let's try this:
Hey Eb clarinet,
Are you a bot? What university did you attend?
HRL
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Author: kdk
Date: 2023-07-21 20:52
Hank Lehrer wrote:
> This seems like a bot post asking the question.
Not a bot. EbClarinet has been posting here for many years.
Karl
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Author: Michael E. Shultz
Date: 2023-07-22 14:44
Some years ago, my college Alma mater had a get together in my city. The music department chair and I had a nice conversation. One of the things he mentioned was he introduced his students to current composers that they could email and get a reply. He said there was a reluctance among some of his students to play pieces from current composers. Perhaps this is why you tend not to hear new music.
On another note, I spent yesterday afternoon waiting on my car to be serviced. The background music was hard rock. Nothing so new that I did not recognize it. One of the songs they played was (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction from the Rolling Stones. This song was from 1965, 58 years ago. Can you imagine a rock station in 1980 playing something from 1922?
The classical music station I listen to is no longer associated with Kent State University. I have noticed that they play the occasional elevator music selection now, such as an instrumental version of a Beatles song. Musically, we seem to be stuck in the past.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
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Author: kdk
Date: 2023-07-23 01:29
Michael E. Shultz wrote:
> Some years ago, my college Alma mater had a get together in my
> city. The music department chair and I had a nice conversation.
> One of the things he mentioned was he introduced his students
> to current composers that they could email and get a reply.
That's a terrific idea, assuming he has the composers' permission to share email addresses.
> He
> said there was a reluctance among some of his students to play
> pieces from current composers.
I'm not sure why students' reluctance really matters. What matters more is the proportion of new music to more standard music in familiar idioms. I've never heard of a student mutiny over new programming. But it may be stressful if the preponderance of a school (university or high school) ensemble's (orchestra or band) repertoire is totally unfamiliar.
> On another note, I spent yesterday afternoon waiting on my car
> to be serviced. The background music was hard rock. Nothing
> so new that I did not recognize it. One of the songs they
> played was (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction from the Rolling
> Stones. This song was from 1965, 58 years ago. Can you
> imagine a rock station in 1980 playing something from 1922?
>
A rock station of any year couldn't have played rock from 1922 - it hadn't evolved yet. But classical stations and symphony orchestras still present The Rite of Spring as if it were "modern" music that listeners may find difficult to listen to. It was composed in 1913. If music in any genre is good, its age shouldn't disqualify it from continuing to be performed and heard.
> The classical music station I listen to is no longer associated
> with Kent State University. I have noticed that they play the
> occasional elevator music selection now, such as an
> instrumental version of a Beatles song. Musically, we seem to
> be stuck in the past.
Some Beatles songs are quite good music and, IMO, deserve to last. To an extent that's a matter of taste. What else does the station play? A mix or mostly "pops?" Do they play nothing composed in the last 20 years?
Karl
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Author: donald
Date: 2023-07-23 08:01
I sort of "get" why Hank wondered if it was a bot post- the music that HS and/or Uni Bands play isn't a "Curriculum" per se (even if the students get credit for it). It is the music that the directors have chosen as worthwhile, educational, entertaining and/or appropriate to the level of musicianship available.
Here in NZ I'd LOVE a group to play Harbison "4 city Blocks" (or is it 3?), but no group here has the resources/talent (2 Eb clarinets that duet in the stratosphere?). Music is chosen for many different reasons.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2023-07-23 18:19
donald wrote:
> I sort of "get" why Hank wondered if it was a bot post- the
> music that HS and/or Uni Bands play isn't a "Curriculum" per se
> (even if the students get credit for it). It is the music that
> the directors have chosen as worthwhile, educational,
> entertaining and/or appropriate to the level of musicianship
> available.
Exactly. And "worthwhile" and "educational" include the notion that students who have never been exposed to classic standard pieces in their ensemble's repertoire should be. No matter how many times the director has played or conducted the Holst Suites or even Sousa marches for band or Brahms, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky symphonies for orchestra, they need to be included in the repertoire of any university or high school (if they're technically capable) ensemble as basic foundations. Newer material, including 21st century compositions, should also be included.
That's incidentally, easier to do with band music, which is by and large published for purchase. Most up-to-date orchestra literature is tied up by rental agencies, which in my experience (as a music librarian renting for a professional orchestra) charge a good deal more than many (most?) school budgets will allow.
Karl
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