On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 9:42 PM, Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> wrote:
> 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
>
>
Fred,
I usually agree with most of what you have to say & I have come to respect
my friend Jeff & his opinions.
On this subject I beieve I have to agree with Jeff.
Having said that I must p[oint out that you, Fred, in many ways, made Jeff's
point.
Quote:
-- 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.
I believe the above could easily apply to any thinking person persuing
something such as being a Piano Technician. All of the above describes
everything we do, I believe you can agree that techs focus on things most
other people don't that we "get along" with musicians of all sorts,
communicate & understand them. We also "perform" publicly every day in all
sorts of venues.
As for an appreciation of western music, I tune for a 7th day Adventist
school, the treasurer owns & operates his own metal fabricating shop next to
it & he is a devotee of classical music, we always have an interesting
discussion about what he's listening to that day even though he & I have no
college training in music. Lastly if explaining how an action works to a
novice or a musician isn't being articulate, I don't know what is! I
understand your meaning about being articulate but I believe that comes from
nurture as much as from college. I worked for a guy with a degree who always
wanted to take "pitchers" of everything, meaning photographs, just one of
his many ways of butchering the english language.
I sang in the choir in high school & took shop from 7th grade through my
senior year. My only college credits are those earned by taking my
tuning/tech classes.
My woodworking skills have come in handy over the years & not being a
pianist has made me try harder to please.
I don't need to understand musicians or why they want to do something, I
just need to know when when they need it by!
Do you need a music degree to be a tech at a University?
I thnk not, as Jeff said, perhaps a business degree, I might add a minor
in Workplace politics! (g)
Mike
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without
accepting it.
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)
Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike at ifixpianos.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20100812/25106567/attachment-0001.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC