Teach Someone a Talent (Music Lessons)

Member Name: hugnluvable

Product:	Music Lessons
Date:	17/09/01 (124 review reads)
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Advantages: everything!

Disadvantages: I cant add another star!

“Music Lesson today? Ugh how boring – it’s just a load of Mozart, Beethoven and a load of dodgy singers isn’t it? I mean come on – what does the teacher know about S Club and Backstreet Boys? I bet they don’t even know who they are. Yep, all we’ll be listening to is boring old Classical Music and then again maybe some horrid music that sounds all jumbled up by some old bloke called Struvinskee* or something! Ugh – how boring is this going to be? Oh I am jumping up and down in excitement!”

Actually – learning music isn’t that boring (unless you have a boring teacher and don’t do all the fun musical stuff like composing!). And it’s certainly not just Beethoven, Mozart and a load of dodgy singers. I wouldn’t be studying it at university if that was all we did!

One important feature of a music lesson and whether you enjoy it or not is the teacher.

Now, how many of us have had some old lady, who probably retired ten years ago, to teach us music the old-fashioned way? The old-fashioned way meaning to just read through a book in class, have to stand in the corner for being naughty – the whole class staying in after the lesson just because one person said something and wont own up to it? Yep, I had her for my 2nd year of secondary school life – and god how I hated music lessons. I still enjoyed music – the concert band rehearsals, the instrument lessons etc, but how I hated walking into this dragon’s lair waiting for a monotonous drone of a school-kid’s voice who got stuck on the 3 syllable words. Yes we all supported him/her but we never got anything out of it. I bet this woman hated giving us anything fun to do – we did SOME composition work but even then it was boring. This is the prime example of why kids don’t like music lessons. The opposite is the reason why kids do.

Now a completely different scenario 
211; this time with a middle-aged man who has you at the edge of your seats in every lesson. He makes Beethoven and Mozart sound fun, he takes the p**s out of the dodgy singers. Every other week you have a composition lesson. He never keeps you in after school, you do some reading but only for a little while – and noone says a disruptive word because he has such an authority over the class you’d not want to see how he’d react. I had this teacher for all my secondary school years apart from one. He was fantastic – he inspired us. He was in charge of the concert band, the choir, the chamber orchestra, the brass group – the whole caboodle. And all the way through GCSE and A Level music he would give everyone all the support and comfort they needed (e.g. the whole crying because I’m crap business)

Teachers aren’t there to bore us to death – they are there to teach us and make it enjoyable. Music lessons are to be enjoyed – music is there to be enjoyed but its also a commitment and this is the bit that sometimes scares people away (bit like a relationship really!)

The content and what you are learning is also an important part to a music lesson. As I just said – music is there to be enjoyed. It’s also there to appreciate. There is so much history behind this topic that it’s a shame not to learn about it. Children might find that learning about the classical composers is boring and it puts them off, but some children can find it fascinating. Music can be split into two categories…

THE PRACTICAL SIDE

Ah, playing an instrument, watching and listening to someone, writing music, making it yourself. All the fun bits, socialising, interacting with others. What could be better? Ak, but wait – practise? – Rehearsals after school? I can’t be bothered with that! “Too much practising does my head in – I can’t go out and play footy with
my mates either.” Yeah – there is a downside to all this practical malarkey but practising etc teaches you skills and responsibilities that so many others don’t have the chance to have.

I was unlucky enough to have two of the world’s worst instrument teachers, one was my first clarinet tutor and the other was a supply keyboard teacher. Both of these really discouraged me into doing any practise or anything. But I plodded on (although not very well ladies and gentlemen!) I was lucky enough, however, to have the most amazing teachers (in my mind) who taught me the clarinet, piano and keyboard and music itself – they really encouraged me to practise and play well. Again, teachers play an important role in this side – encouragement and inspiration are key factors.

THE ACADEMIC SIDE

“Awwww I want play my piano, I want to compose my concerto, I don’t want to read anything – that’s soooooooo boring!” So many musicians are activists – this means always wanting a “hands on experience” not wanting to look at the theory or anything – cus that’s just damn boring. Yep – I agree its boring – but also fascinating. And the teacher makes it either boring or interesting.

What would a child rather do?

(a) Sit there listening to a piece by Bach and reading about him saying why/how/when he wrote a certain piece of music?

Or

(b) Stand in front of the class and play a bit of their favourite song (be it S Club 7 or Eminem) and say why they like it, what’s so good about it, why they chose it?

Now – in a typical music lesson off our old teacher you would do both. Yeah – Bach is boring but you learn something about him – it’s the national curriculum so you have to learn about it. When you say why you like the song you’re playing on the CD player you’re learning about mu
sic – without even realising. That’s the magic of it.

Anyway, back to the point – some kids like to research about composers etc, some kids don’t. Some are good all-rounders and like doing everything. But some aren’t! And this is one of the main points – some people like studying music, some don’t. But in the long run many are happy to be given the chance. Kids have to have some musical education at school up to the age of 14. After that the choice is theirs to either stop or go forward. That’s the decision – but if I had the choice again I would definitely have taken the same option to carry on. Music teaches you more than a load of weird tadpole looking things.

Music is there to be enjoyed and usually it’s a child’s favourite lesson in the week. Resources are quite limited at some schools so they might only have a music lesson once a fortnight – others are luckier. But the sheer enjoyment out of a subject is fantastic. If you’ve enjoyed something then you’ve most probably learned something without even knowing it.

So there you have it, music lessons – my advice? Have them! My motto is “I’ll try anything once”. And this is quite appropriate – if you never have the chance to do something you’ll be always wishing you did in years to come – especially when the last night of the proms comes on the TV or something and you wish you could play an instrument or conduct.

In my heart I want to teach music. But at the moment I’m happy to have the privilege to keep learning.

HuGz
xxx


*Its Stravinsky by the way

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