thoughts on music education
I believe all youths w/ an interest in music should be encouraged to explore that interest & follow that dream if it goes that far. HOWEVER...
I think that they should be discouraged from trying to make it big too quickly. Sometimes I wonder if these teens & young adults that are performers but not musicians (or are barely musicians) are what's really undermining music education. Don't get me wrong. There are some incredibly talented youths that are rightly famous already. But they are few & far between. There are also some that maybe shouldn't have made their debuts just yet. They sound like they could be great if they gave their voices some time to mature, or had enough life experience to put a little feeling into their technique.
But in a society where one can make it big by only knowing 3 chords/not knowing how to read music/not being able to carry a tune without the help of Pro-Tools, who needs music education?
Now, some people don't know how to read music, but have excellent relative pitch, or even perfect pitch, but that doesn't describe most of the people I'm whining about. Though I still think learning to read music is important, perfect pitch or not.
And I think by supporting these performers (most of whom I don't even want to call artists), we are supporting the idea that it doesn't matter if your career lasts a couple years & you never produce anything substantial. If you can shake your booty, sleep with a producer & have an engineer manipulate your noise into something that sort of passes for music, that's all that counts.
Supporting that is the reason singers still aren't called musicians, even when they are. It's the reason decent drummers are so hard to find. Supporting that is telling people w/ true talent that they don't count. That music of substance & quality - music that will last & bring joy for decades & possibly centuries to come isn't important. And I think that's the opposite of what music education is about.
Music ed. is about giving students a well rounded foundation in theory, performance, ear training, composing & conducting. It's learning that it isn't enough just to be a bassist or harpist or singer, or flautist. That you need to be familiar w/ other instruments, even if it's just knowing the difference between a violin & viola, etc. It's about learning to be at least passable at the piano, cos aside from being a wonderful instrument, it's a valuable tool. It's about having a sense of where we've come from & where we're going, or where we could go. Music education is about being aware of all the possibilities that are open to us on this path, & then forging our own.
And sometimes music education is about ego deflation. It's learning that whatever instrument you play or whatever range you sing, we're in this together. A violinist is no more valuable than a mandolin player. A soprano is no more valuable than a baritone. The singer who doesn't appreciate her/his accompanist better have a really good ear, cos s/he'll be singing a capella. It's also about ego deflation cos no matter how talented you are, there's always room for improvement. Confidence is important, but if you even *think* that you are the best, there is a music teacher who will see right through you. And s/he will put you in your place.
I admit that I myself am no great shakes. I'm not spotlight material & that's okay. I don't have to be. But I'm learning & working anyway, cos even though I don't want to go into show business, I still want a career in music.
But is it any wonder music ed. is fighting for it's life? It is incredibly important to individuals within it, & there is no question in our minds of it being as important as other subjects. But certain performers are making it obnoxiously clear that this fight doesn't concern them. They never used it in the first place, so what's it to them if the system folds? They've got their careers. Doesn't matter if they won't be around ten years from now.
Well, my soap box is starting to give. I think I'm done now.
*HUGS*