[CAUT] CAUT credential vs. academic program?

[Fred Sturm]

On 11/8/07 3:07 PM, "Jeff Tanner" <jtanner at mozart.sc.edu> wrote:

> But I would completely disagree with anyone who thinks that the
> college system is the superior system of instruction of the study of
> music.  It is a system and it is a generally accepted system.  But
> neither Mozart nor Beethoven nor Liszt nor Tchaikovsky learned music
> this way.  They could have taught our instructors by they time they
> were teenagers.  And I bet if you polled a few of your instructors,
> you'd see they would rather teach music via a different system.
Hi Jeff,
    I certainly don't argue that the higher education music degree system is
the ultimate, ideal way of teaching or learning music (and the variety of
skills and knowledge involved in that word "music"). And I also agree that
the testing/evaluation systems used in higher education and elsewhere are
flawed, and by no means get to the root of things.
    But I am a realist. That is what we have, and that is where we work. It
may be flawed, but it does produce results. Varied results, depending on all
sorts of factors - all BMs (no, not that kind <G>), MMs, DMAs are not equal.
Any more than all RPTs are equal. But those degrees do mean something, and
all can "guarantee" some level of competence with some level of certainty.
(And anyone with any sense will look beyond the mere degree for further
evidence, and just about everyone does. But I won't go to a doctor without
an MD, or a lawyer who hasn't passed the bar. That's a pretty good place to
start. Then I look for references).
    Advanced music instruction for the vast majority of people today takes
place in music departments, music schools, conservatories. If you want to
design and try to bring to fruition a perfect way to teach music, by all
means do so. I suspect the current system will be around for the rest of my
life, and that I will continue to work within it for the rest of my working
life.
    So what can I do to contribute to making this flawed system work better?
As a piano tech, obviously there are physical, mechanical things I (and all
cauts) do to put pianos into "musically appropriate" condition. That is a
very important part of my job, and developing that kind of skill is an
ongoing pursuit. But I don't work in a vacuum. I don't always go in when
everyone else is gone and do my work and disappear. To be effective, I have
to interact with the community that makes up the department.
    That part of my job can be extremely important as well. I can do it much
better if I speak and write a common language, if I share common experiences
with the other members of the community (faculty, staff, students,
administration). Which is why I think a college degree, and especially a
degree in music, can be a help. It means we have been through a number of
common experiences. In a practical way, it means knowing how a music
department works from the student's point of view (and I consider personally
that I work mostly for the students - that's what the mission of the
department is, to serve the students).
    It also helps if we have mutual respect for one another. I don't want
them to have the attitude that I am "just the tooner - and all that means is
he has a good ear; heck, these days with these machines, he doesn't even
need a good ear." I don't think the profs would appreciate me having the
attitude that they were "just born with that talent, and all they do is cram
a few facts down students throats for regurgitation, keep role, and watch to
see that their students progress a little bit in skill." Which is how I
would interpret your attitude toward them based on the quote I took issue
with. 
    In any case, I think we need to start from the point of view that the
current system of music education in higher education is a given. We really
don't need to argue about how it should be reformed. That is outside our
charge <G>.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico