HSSRAIL

Find the closest teacher who is the best you can find New Hampshire has some fine universities if Boston is the closest get a teacher from Boston to come up once a week and do group lessons. It is the only way the travel expenses will not eat you alive. If you can find 5 students to divide the bill this might be doable.

Howard

ckallmyer

Hi All-

I'd like to clarify some of my prior points, and discuss current band programs and the challenges that teachers are having when trying to engage kids.

1. I don't find band music inherently engaging to a student raised in a family of non-musicians, (and those who don't listen to classical/jazz/brass music.) The music is not in the student's vernacular (within their realm of appreciation).

2. This came up last night in a discussion with two friends of mine(a trumpet player and a trombonist)--the trombonist thought that if you let the local culture decide the genera of music taught in the schools. You take the music directly from the student's lives and interests and look at it from an analytical and appreciative stance.

IN PRACTICE ----if students are listening to Justin Timberlake, then 1) listen with the class. 2) discuss the song--and the aspects of the song we want to analyze(form, rhythm, harmony/or lack of, etc. . . ) THEN do it with the class. When you are done, the students have taken the time to appreciate something for its musical merits--and now that they have done that (maybe for the first time). When you move to Band music, Mahler, or Coltrane they can apply the same concepts to that music and better identify with it.

Problems with what I say--there are SO MANY micro-cultures amongst our classrooms, that the teachers need to make an effort to approach each of these micro-cultures.

When I was studying education in my undergrad-I wrote a lot about the "Cultural Relevancy" of lesson plans, and our nations inability to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. Maybe, our Band music isn't relevant to anyone(lacking a cultural reference point), therefore making most all music students trying to learn music outside of their cultural vernacular. We have to make a move towards kids---kids are not going to come to us.

-chris

PS-do I need to say something bad about Wynton to get a response? He's got a bad haircut, and his trumpet looks funny. How bout that? What makes you guys so fiery?

“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will therefore transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living.”
--- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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TrentAustin

I did that for a while, actually teaching Ed's two children (both excellent talents... no surprise there!) and a few others at either their homes or at Dartmouth College. I'm sure I could have kept doing it but when I actually make more money teaching in my home studio (and walk downstairs for lessons) it's hard to commit to a 5 1/2 hour round trip commute. You're spending 30-40 bucks on gas and food alone probably.


Let's keep the thread running. I'm working on a few other ideas here.

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ckallmyer

Without a tradition of familial, multi-generational, European-style Brass Bands, maybe we need to be looking for different means to involve/motivate kids in brass instruments. As a student myself, I never practiced much because I made my own music in bands as a bass player. Trumpet wasn't applicable to these genres--and I wasn't interested in band music, so my horn fell by the wayside. My motivation/work ethic went elsewhere.

There has been a small resurgence of trumpet/brass in indie rock music. Groups like The Arcade Fire, Beruit, Neurtral Milk Hotel, and The Beauty Pill(who I'm working with), are looking to broaden their color pallet and work with musicians from different backgrounds.

My point, if students were encouraged to play ANY music (especially self-directed popular music), brass playing would benefit.

Students could feel motivated to capture the music they want to play--not the music they have to play.

thoughts?

-chris

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ecarroll

Chris,

You've been making some very interesting points on this thread. Thank you and keep 'em coming...

One of the leading conductors in the British brass band world told me a story once about how he was placed into his local band as a very young boy (seated next to his grandfather, who was very good and could act as his mentor), after learning only a handful of notes on his hand-me-down tenor trombone. Whenever he could he would add his voice.

What made the band attractive to him wasn't sitting with his family or even the nature of the compositions played -- it was the massive, dense, powerful, and sweet sound of the band itself, and the exhilaration of being seated amongst it.

He couldn't wait to practice after each rehearsal in order to take a more active role in producing that sound.

Nice, don't you think?

Best,
EC

rowuk

The 24x7 diet of pre-digested musak reduces the appetite for doing anything yourself (including interaction with other people). One has to question the sense of hundreds of TV channels for any other purpose except appeasing the masses.

I have a couple of gigs coming up with Dave Tasa. He is also an ex-patriate American in Germany and there is always interesting things to talk about. Playing is also a joy. Our sounds and intonation fit together very well. I get goosebumps when just about everything resonates. I had a similar situation with my high school music teacher and that was for sure a key motivational factor in keeping me interested - the sheer power of 2 trumpets in-tune with one another.

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ecarroll

Robin,

Say hello to Dave for me. We're both from Illinois and met when I was a pup.

Best,
EC

ckallmyer

Very Nice Ed, and Robin-

I really agree---however,

maybe it is fair to say (for some) in our current generation that the "glory of sound" may be secondary to the "phatness of beat" or other characteristics of the music. I think applicability breeds enjoyment---but I also really agree that the unique, sonorous magic of an ensemble can also breed great pleasure.

never gonna fake the funk,
-c

PS-I play brass music because of the glory of sound---the richness and vibrancy in our tone is what I love. (but a fat beat, or fresh idea sometimes trumps my trumpet)

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Vulgano Brother

Maybe, just maybe, if we had better performance halls and practice facilities--there is something magical and addictive about hearing that wall of sound bouncing off the back wall or filling a church to just below the pain threshold, we would get more people involved in playing and listening. It would certainly be more fun for us.

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ecarroll

Amen, brother