I am a trumpet performance major. However, I am transferring and changing my major. Countless others from my school, ed. and performance are changing as well. Just last week two fellow trumpet players changed their majors to things unrelated to music. One of these players was very talented and was deciding between transferring to rice or Indiana for trumpet performance. Both these players both knew how to play the trumpet, they had been exposed to all kinds of music (soloing, orchestral trumpet excerpts, etc.). Why they quit, I don't know. But it is a rising trend. When I was in 7th grade, we had 13 trumpets in the advanced band. When I was a freshman in High school, we had 5 freshman come in. My sister was in 8th grade last year and they had 4 trumpets. Anyway, I never really was taught to play the trumpet. I picked it up in middle school (band or choir and I didnt want to sing) and have just become decent on my own. I stuck with it because of my personality and my friends in band but I was never really dedicated to the trumpet until college. I had great band directors, but in spite of that we were never urged to go to concerts, listen to music, exposed to works for our instrument (I didn't know any standard trumpet lit until college). This might be due in part to the fact that there is not that much going on in this area, especially to an unmotivated middle/high school kid. But I was never really exposed to much real music. Despite this I have never liked country, pop, or rap. I listened to mostly classic rock until I was a junior. I fell in love with jazz during the summer before my junior year in high school. I found a few albums my parents had (mingus-tijuana moods/ getz- sweet rain/ and dexter gordon - go). I joined the jazz band and started to listen to all sorts of music and started wanting to get better at trumpet. Those albums changed my life. I don't think there was anything particular about those albums, they just happened to be some of the first jazz I heard. What if my parents played those albums when I was younger, would that have changed anything?
Chris I agree with you. In theory class, we don't learn from modern music, we learn from 18th century music. We learn rules that are no longer used today, and they are strictly enforced. We don't even get a chance to venture outside these guidelines. Which I suppose these rules could be beneficial to learning theory but it is boring and does not spark any interest. I myself bought a different theory book. And have been reading it. It features examples from more recent music. I can connect and learn better while using this book in conjunction with what I am being taught in the classroom.
Someone posted this link a while ago but I think it speaks to your last thought.
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
I personally would be a little late to work.
Would I be safe to say that if you grew up in a musically rich household, you would at least, be able to recognize the level of mr. bell's musicality and pay him more attention than most of the passers by? Even if you didn't know who he was.
I just hope to provide an environment rich with music and musical opportunities for my children.