On Music Education
(Re: New York Times article, 'To Provide Quality Music Education Now, Schools Could Learn From the Past')
I've never been a proponent of having music education mandated or subsidized by government. What I would propose is having a context where music education can flourish. Sometimes all that is needed are music appreciation classes, or music history classes, taught by music professionals or inspirational figures (such as the late Leonard Bernstein or jazz educators such as Wynton Marsalis.) If a student has inculcated a natural curiosity or talent for music the spark has already been created waiting for it to ignite a lifetime of music appreciation. I am less bullish on the idea of force-feeding a linear music curricula on children, starting them on playing Frere Jacques on the piano. This is hardly music education, and leads to nowhere except playing more difficult pieces that sound like Frere Jacques.
I recently saw a 5-year old girl play My Funny Valentine on the piano, replete with the jazz chord voicings. This was not from learning scales from a book, but rather pulling music out from the air, and finding it on the piano. While this little girl was clearly a prodigy, it does provide a good example of how music education should work, i.e. from the bottom up, rather than from a bureaucratic fiat.
I've never been a proponent of having music education mandated or subsidized by government. What I would propose is having a context where music education can flourish. Sometimes all that is needed are music appreciation classes, or music history classes, taught by music professionals or inspirational figures (such as the late Leonard Bernstein or jazz educators such as Wynton Marsalis.) If a student has inculcated a natural curiosity or talent for music the spark has already been created waiting for it to ignite a lifetime of music appreciation. I am less bullish on the idea of force-feeding a linear music curricula on children, starting them on playing Frere Jacques on the piano. This is hardly music education, and leads to nowhere except playing more difficult pieces that sound like Frere Jacques.
I recently saw a 5-year old girl play My Funny Valentine on the piano, replete with the jazz chord voicings. This was not from learning scales from a book, but rather pulling music out from the air, and finding it on the piano. While this little girl was clearly a prodigy, it does provide a good example of how music education should work, i.e. from the bottom up, rather than from a bureaucratic fiat.
