[CAUT] U. of Northern Iowa position

[Robert Arnold]

I could not agree more.

Bob Arnold

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Fred
Sturm
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 10:42 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] U. of Northern Iowa position

On Aug 11, 2010, at 4:29 PM, tannertuner wrote:

> Based on my experience and education background, it is a  
> misconception that having (or pursuing) a music degree gives one a  
> better understanding of music and musicians, nor does it mean one  
> can or cannot play. The collegiate system of earning academic credit  
> hours is a grossly inefficient method of teaching music. Ask those  
> folks who wrote that music Mr. Schnabel was speaking of where they  
> got their music degrees.
>
> Pursuing a music degree can help those who are inclined, but at the  
> same time the collegiate system may be also guilty of holding them  
> back.


Jeff,
	We've been over this ground many times. I have refrained from  
responding to this kind of diatribe for some time, in the knowledge  
that it certainly wouldn't change your mind. But I prefer not to leave  
the bandwidth overloaded with your opinion, so I will present some  
reasons why a music degree may well be a help in our profession (as  
cauts).
	 I will note first that N Iowa was not adamant, and offered a few  
alternatives, including high school diploma plus 6 years experience. I  
will also note that many job descriptions include this qualification  
as at least a plus, if not a requirement. That fact might lead one to  
suspect that there were practical reasons for including it.
	A music department or music school is a complex place to work. There

are all these different rooms with different functions. There are a  
lot of different faculty with their own studios. There are class  
rooms, rehearsal halls, recording studios, practice rooms of various  
sorts. How does one have a clue how to set priorities? Well, if one  
has some knowledge of the workings of a music department by having  
been a student, a lot of the mystery disappears. It is clear what  
function is played by the piano in these various rooms, and so one can  
work accordingly.
	Musicians are an interesting set of people. They have their own set

of needs, and what they focus on is not what most people in other  
walks of life focus on. In order to be able to understand, communicate  
with, get along with this set of people, it is very useful to have had  
the same sort of experiences. The experience of working toward mastery  
of an instrument, of attempting public performance, even at a fairly  
basic level, is invaluable in coming to some sort of empathy.
	The college degree in general is certainly not ideal in all cases,  
but it does count for a number of things. It means that the holder of  
the degree is capable of being somewhat articulate, of pursuing and  
completing intellectual tasks satisfactorily, and has a general  
"liberal" knowledge of the intellectual background of western  
civilization, perhaps of other enriching areas as well. A music degree  
means a knowledge and appreciation of a range of western music and its  
associated history. These factors make it much more possible to  
communicate and function in harmony with music professors. They also  
make it far more likely that written reports and proposals will be  
written in such a way as to be influential and useful.
	I could go on, but that is probably enough for this time. I think
the  
requirement or preference is very well justified. It is quite possible  
to have piano technical skills that might be to the very highest of  
standards, yet the holder of those skills would be unable to function  
well in this particular environment. Clearly a high level of piano  
technical skills is necessary in any case, to be successful.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu
"I am only interested in music that is better than it can be played."  
Schnabel