Should some students not be in school band if they take private lessons?
A number of years ago, a clarinet student of mine had complained to me that his school program was extremely boring, and was wondering whether he should quit the school band. While I know most school and private teachers would disagree with me, I think there may be a number of very good reasons why a gifted student taking private lessons should not be in the school band. (I feel orchestras are a different story though I don’t know exactly why)
One of my reasons for supporting his decision to drop school band was problems of students taking lessons to degrade their tone to the rest of the class. Most students in school music programs have average to poor tone quality, and so I think it is likely that the student (especially one with a fine tonal concept even in their early lessons) will have a harder time maintaining a fine tone quality and perhaps copy the habits of their classmates.
Another reason for supporting this decision was because I have heard of at least a couple of students whose early instruction was in private lessons only, sometimes involving playing duets with the teacher, another student, or perhaps a good pianist, who joined a school band after they had reached at least an early intermediate standard of playing. This is the case with a 16 year old student I teach, who I have taught since he was 11, he did not join any large ensembles until last year, and that was the church orchestra at the church he attends. His concept of tone is definitely above average, plus the only models he had for tone quality were his teachers, the teacher’s other students, and professional recordings. Only this year is he going to be joining at least one band, perhaps two (a community band as well as his school band), and I feel keeping him out of the school band for almost 4 years has done a lot of good: I don’t have the typical problems of degraded tone quality I so often hear from students who go between the sound they learn in private lessons, and the sound they learn in school.
A third reason was the same reason I didn’t like school band: the boredom. The only reason I was in it was so I could participate in the wonderful all-city bands and orchestras where I live in the 1990s, because you had to be in the school band or orchestra to play in the all-city groups. The disparity in the playing level was a lot less in the all-city groups, even the worst player in the all-city groups was probably better than the best players at many schools. And I learned more in two months of the all-city groups than two years of the school band. Even my husband figured out the trombone a lot on his own, with only a few lessons from a professional teacher, and while he was in university he got into a regional professional orchestra as principal trombone. He did not play in the school band.
A fourth reason I believe students taking private lessons from a good teacher should be allowed to opt out of beginning band is because I believe the leadership argument for the better players making the lesser players better is COMPLETELY FALSE. Not only do the better players degrade to the habits of the not so good ones, but the not so good ones often get discouraged, and sometimes the better players are teased because they have more talent, they practice more or better, or all of the above.
On borderline students and piano method books…
Some students are borderline because of their age or their mental ability relative to age. Some piano method book publishers publish as many as 6 different versions of the method books, though 3-4 is typical: one that is designed for the preschool set, one for kindergarten-school grade 2, one for school grade 3-school grade 5, one for school grade 6-high school graduate, and one for adults. However, I think it’s best to assess there the student is cognitively relative to age. I have had 8 year old students who would have been better off in the methods designed for younger beginners, and have known 4-5 year old students who do well or even fly through the books designed for 7-9 year old beginners. Likewise, I have known 10 year olds who could easily handle a method designed for older students or even adults, and have known 13-14 year old students who would probably be more successful working in methods designed for 7-9 year old beginners. When I first started learning piano, I was not put in an older beginner method: I was put into a method designed for adults. But, if I had been put in a method normally designed for older beginners, I might have quit piano, especially considering I had an extensive musical background prior to starting to learn piano. (this was in the mid-1990s, I currently play piano to Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto Level 8.) But intellectually I was advanced for my age. A lot of teachers I hear say put them in an easier book and have them fly through it, than in a harder book and struggle. After a few years of teaching, you develop an instinct for which books would work best, and some cultures value achievement highly, so if students are not playing recognizable melodies within a few weeks, they may switch them to another teacher, and that other teacher may fully develop the student’s ability because they appeal to students and families who value high standards in a reasonable amount of time!
