Nouveau College Thread: diversify please?

[ecarroll]

TMers,

Hello from Montreal.

On my drive up today I was scanning the radio and thinking about the value of speaking multiple languages, how nice it would be to really play the piano well, how much fun Celtic music is, and so on. Of course, being obsessed, everything spins back to the horn eventually.

How many of you speak more than your mother tongue and/or treat the piano as more than a nuisance class that must be overcome on your way to your degrees and a brighter trumpeting tomorrow? One of the truly salient points made on the late and lamented college music thread was a suggestion to gain skills in a variety of areas of you want to catch the eye of a potential employer.

Steve Burns and Terry Everson come quickly to mind.

In addition to his native Bostonian, Steve is fluent in both French and Italian and thus gets invited to present masterclasses and serve as a jurist abroad where these languages are spoken, Who stands the better chance of extending his career in Paris, Montreal, or Rome. . . him or you? Steve’s network of friends and colleagues is vast, and not just from being a winner of the Maurice Andre competition. Terry, as many of you know, is an excellent pianist as well as a fine trumpeter. He accompanies his students both in studio and in concert. Imagine being up against that sort of skill when interviewing for a search committee (I was once and, well, he won).

Being an efficient and well rounded player is only half the battle. . . what else can you bring to the table?

I look forward to reading your comments,
EC

[Tootsall]

Hmmm..... I'm not bilingual however I'm quite capable of going hungry in several different languages!

And on that note... Ed you must have seen the latest CTV news on bilingualism.... that people who are bilingual go without developing dementia an average of 5 years longer than those who are unilingual? http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

I like to think that learning music is the equivalent of learning a second language though; and it just might be since they cite similar statistics for seniors who are involved in music! That's enough to convince me.

Sorry, now back to your regularly scheduled thread!

Music is certainly not the only field where having multiple skills is an asset. Employers today are looking for people who are (and have demonstrated that they are) quick learners with flexible minds; capable of handling different and sometimes unrelated tasks. That way they can make full utilization out of their workforce and rapidly change to meet the high rate of change of customer demands and other impacts on their business. If "any old Joe" can do the job, then why would they want to hire you?

[beartrumpet74]

I lived in Guam for 4 years and speak chamorro fluently. Seriously.
I'm guessing that isn't going to help me though. HAHA!
I was speaking to a professor I know and respect very much today, and he hipped me to some things about finding a college teaching job that I will share as the thread develops a little more. I do wonder however, what balance you need to strike between knowing a lot of things, and being great at two or three things.
Just a thought
Matt

[TrentAustin]

I can play a mean Madden 06 ;)

[Principaltrumpet]

Ed, with all of this said do you think it would be unwise to put off a college graduation by a semester to get a start on language?

P.S. Trent, Madden 06 wont get you very far in the real world...we all know 07 is the way of the future!

[trumpetmike]

I can speak English (UK) and can just about understand English (US)

[ecarroll]

Mike,

I know. The Brits are well known for being as multi-lingual as we are over here (and we don't speak English . . . we speak 'merikin. Haven't you been watching CNN?

Cheers, mate
EC

[Tootsall]

Ed.... the announcers on CNN UK are all "BBC trained"! They probably can't understand Larry King neither!

[Khora]

Originally Posted by beartrumpet74

I do wonder however, what balance you need to strike between knowing a lot of things, and being great at two or three things.
Just a thought
Matt

That is a great question, and there is no single answer; we each have a different sense of balance. I think it depends a great deal on what kinds of things you know, what things you are great at, and the type of position you are looking for. Perhaps most important is - What kind of students are you most interested in teaching?

It seems to me (but might make no sense at all in reality) that a Conservatory or an institution that grants a BMus degree might be looking for a slightly different set of skills than a Liberal Arts school that grants a BA, even with a major in music. How well you can relate to your students is critical. E.g., if you are teaching trumpet at MIT, those students will be quite different from the students at NEC.

The more areas, both musical and non, you are knowledgable about the more perspectives you can draw on. How deep you run will influence how deep your students run.

Foreign languages are always useful, especially for schools where the students may not all have English as a primary language. Theory and history are great subjects to be able to teach well. But other skills have their place too - being able to write excellent program notes/ prose, grant-writing skills, fund-raising ability can all make a difference, especially with a newer program. Being up to date with technology is pretty critical now - it is an important trend in music, and will probably get even more important.

I think the most important thing is to learn as much as you can in any and all fields that interest you deeply, find ways to relate that back to music, and be willing and able to share it with your students. Look for settings that let you grow as well as teach.

Ever curious...

[rowuk]

Different languages can have a direct influence on our playing. The mouth cavity and tongue are used differently in about every language and that can give us added color in our sound.

I believe there is a connection with the spanish language and fast tonguing too. Russian and vibrato come also to mind.................
My beer drinking got a lot better after I could speak german fluently.........

The brain, of course takes great delight in the associations between languages. If you have two or more words for the same thing, additional processing is involved to sort that out. Your vocabulary does not go down with a foreign language so the brain must get better.