This Is So True And Important - Tumblr Posts
it is my professional opinion that teaching young musicians, especially string players, to play mainstream music like rock, pop, musical theatre, country, jazz, and film is just as important as teaching them to play symphonies, concertos, and sonatas. Learning to play a cello arrangement of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” was just as influential in my musical development as learning a Bach suite.
Jazz teaches improvisation skills, and introduces students to extended chords and harmonies. It also uses swing eighth rhythms, which is challenging to players who are used to straight eights in classical music.
Rock and pop music use lots of syncopation and teaches how to feel the offbeat and how use this feeling to lock-in rhythmically with the other players. These genres also influence the music of musical theatre.
Country has it’s roots in the music of Appalachian fiddle music, which uses techniques that classical violinists don’t use.
Not to mention, the racial disparity between the music of classical Western tradition and popular music from the 20th century makes it blantantly obvious that we’re supposed to believe that European art music is superior to other types of music. How can we fairly say that Bach is one of, if not the greatest composer who ever lived when the likes of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and even Michael Jackson have all changed the game? Bach’s music all sounds like it wants to sell me the new Nissan Altima, but sure, he’s the musical genius.
I’ve noticed that band programs don’t have this culture of elitism as much as orchestra programs do. Most schools in the US have a marching band program, and the music they play is popular music. the show for this season at my school was Beach Boys, and next year’s is 80s. Band kids also have the option of joining jazz band, and still get to learn classical repertoire in concert band.
Orchestra, on the other hand, has a reputation for being full of pretentious, classically trained since birth, uppity snobs who look down upon music of the masses. The only “real” music is music from dead European guys who lived between 1650-1900. But you know what? The music that got us the most excited and most interested in playing was always arrangements of popular music.
Orchestra kids are so hungry for new and exciting music. I played Mozart’s Symphony 25 every goddamn year in high school. By senior year I could play it memorized. I was so tired of playing the same old shit, and I know kids today are too. We don’t get the same opportunity to be exposed to new music like band kids. I got told that wanting to play musical theatre was “an unrealistic career” and to “not waste my time trying” by my high school orchestra director. He also said that learning to play the Beatles’ on my cello was “not worthy of performance, unprofessional, and a waste of talent.” This kind of condescension of popular music is rampant in orchestra culture.
We need to end this dichotomy between classical music and popular music. both are good, both can teach students the skills they need to be proficient on their instruments. Teaching one without teaching the other does not a well-rounded musician make.