 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: grenadilla428
Date: 2013-05-07 18:45
The script for a presentation I was asked to give at a music faculty meeting a some months ago. I've continued the experiment, and now that it's been done several times, the kids often respond with "yay," and tell ME about "new" stuff THEY find. I am sometimes floored by what they say. :-)
Thanks for the invitation. I want to briefly talk with you about incorporating listening into your private lessons. This is something that I would do on occasion, but not with purposeful intent… until this past semester. It seems like over the summer, we got a clearer look at the state of classical music here in the U.S. - Atlanta, Minnesota, the NY and Philadelphia Phil's financial problems, Chicago missing a concert because the musicians went on strike, and here at home, the ISO. But it's not just orchestral - 60 Minutes aired an article on how more and more pianos are ending up in landfills. And we know that piano sales overall have been down. 60 Minutes concluded it was because fewer and fewer people play anymore. It really bothered me - Hillary can probably recall a few weeks where I, an aspiring orchestral musician, was visibly down about it. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, about the why's and the what to do's.
I'm not going to take the time to go over all of what I came up with, but I would like to bring to you one facet of my overall conclusion. And that is, that people don't listen as much anymore. It all boils down to the audience, which over the past couple of decades, we have not been developing. Even among students in terrific music programs like here in Carmel, the students don't listen. They play, but they don't listen to music made on their chosen instrument. So, I made it my job to supply the opportunity for my students to listen, and began a little experiment that ran from September through December. I started scheduling "Listening Days" into my lessons. Every few weeks, I took out my phone and played a song. The same song in every lesson, every day, all week long. (demo)
And after we got into it a bit, we started talking about it. I asked open questions like, "How does this sound to you? What does it sound like?" and more focused ones like, "What instruments do you hear?" And we had a discussion. A few weeks later, I chose another piece and we did it again. And then again. And then again.
And I'm very pleased with the results I've had so far. I don't tell the students ahead of time, and most students, when I pull out my phone and say, "it's a listening day" respond with enthusiasm. Some seem indifferent. I've had NONE so far respond negatively. One of my little ones even got out of her chair and started dancing around the room along with the music - and that's ok. Maybe not for your teenagers, but… We then pepper in some discussion on how to find music like this, where to look for it. I'm surprised that students seem to genuinely not know how to look this stuff up - and most of them have a music-playing device connected to iTunes, Pandora, Rdio, or Spotify in their pocket!
Please, please give this a try. Choose short pieces, and yes, it will take 5-7 minutes of one lesson every few weeks. But, you are more than an instructor of technique - you are a window that can broaden their perspective on the musical world.
A few tips for you:
1. Do choose pieces that are short. Listening is important, but we do only see them once a week. Plus, the longer the piece, the more difficult it will be for them to talk with you about it, especially the younger students.
2. Choose a variety of pieces. So far, I've used a piece for full orchestra, one for woodwind quintet, jazz… Make sure to include pieces that feature the student's instrument, but go don't limit it to just that instrument or family or instruments.
3. Ask what THEY think before you give any insight, explanation, or opinion. I was amazed at some of the things my students had to say. Let them tell you what they hear before you tell them what you think they should hear.
4. Ask if they liked the piece, and tell them it's ok if the answer was "no." Ask what they like about it, and if they don't seem to like it, ask what they don't like about it. You don't like every piece you hear, and they shouldn't think they have to, either. Which leads into my next point:
5. Make it clear that you are not telling them they should ONLY listen to that kind of music. My students know that I listen to lots of different kinds of music, including punk… (demo)
… I like it. And that's ok. But do encourage them to work classical, jazz, opera into their musical diet.
Please try this. You have uninterrupted, one-on-one time with them, and this seems like such a basic, trivial thing, but it's already making a difference with my students. They're talking with me about music and musicians without me always being the one to bring it up. We need them for our own jobs, we need them for the future of classical music. Please try adding "listening days" to your private lessons. Thank you.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-05-07 23:59
Yes, I like this idea a great deal.
Nothing describes what a clarinet should sound like in the room more than a clarinet in the room.
None of my teachers played for me, and I was floored by the sheer power of it all when I got a chance to sit next to Paul Schaller of Detroit back when I was in High School.
.............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2013-05-08 10:47)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Nessie1
Date: 2013-05-08 10:49
I couldn't agree more. I've been wondering for years how you teach a child to play Mozart (or Brahms or Schubert) etc who has never heard any or how you get a youngster to achieve a good clarinet sound who may have never heard a good clarinettist. So many parents think it would be nice if their little darling played an instrument but neither they nor the child know what they are aiming at.
Here in the UK with much debated anticipated decline in arts teaching in schools owing to the advent of what is being called the English Baccalaureate (which does not include music or art) this situation can only increase. One would hope that parents who are keen for their children to learn an instrument might put listening opportunities their way from very early childhood (my mother found that playing a record would stop me crying as a baby (I believe the Brandenburg concertos were popular!) but I don't think this happens. Therefore instrumental teachers will need to take some kind of action to fill the gap.
Vanessa.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: MSK
Date: 2013-05-08 12:58
My parents routinely listened to a classical music radio station as background music in my childhood home and I do the same as an adult. I wonder how much it shaped me as a musician, and how much it is helping my own child. I like the idea of intentional listening days in music lessons. What pieces have you used?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: grenadilla428
Date: 2013-05-08 21:56
I've used several. Not going to list them all, but:
Orchestral includes Rimsky-Korsakov the Dance of the Tumblers; Shosty 5 last mvt (more of them liked it than you might think!); Beethoven 9 mvt 1
Chamber includes the Black Bottom Stomp; Bel Époque... mvt 1
Jazz includes Dave Brubeck I Got Rhythm; Chris Botti Moondance
Next up is going to be from Disney's The Rescuers Down Under. :-)
Pick music that you find interesting, and that you know well enough to skip through. Playing "highlights," if you will.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
