...I can't help but think that it would be more exciting (for the students) to give first-year music students time alone with their instrument, and it's sounds. Teach only the chromatic scale, after a little while, and let their interest in reading develop on their own if they like, and start them reading in the second year, maybe.
I think if a student just wants time alone with an instrument and a chromatic scale, they don't
need me...
To bring it back to a drummer analogy it would be the same as giving a kid that wanted to learn how to play the drums a snare drum, showing him a paradiddle and telling him to come back next year for more.
Technique alone, whether it is scales or rudiments, quickly becomes meaningless (and boring) if it isn't connected to the bigger musical picture early enough.
In my experience there is nothing
less exciting for a student than feeling like they're aimlessly wandering just making noise. They want to play songs, and the faster they get to something musically familiar and a measurable achievement, the better. There's also a difference in the goals, requirements, and methods between teaching a student or small group privately or in a public school ensemble classroom setting, which is where my perspectives are coming from.
I'm not a specialist in education, but I do feel that the main focus (here in the States at least) is maintaining the status quo. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!", seems to be the idea. That, instead of learning new ways to improve upon our current education system, from different/unique ideas, and building from there to recreate the learning experience for a new generation.
Music education is hardly a stationary target. The explosion of technology throughout the public school system has brought a lot of growth in the way we teach, learn, and reach information. Of course, that has to still be tempered with the expectation that the students actually learn how to
play their instrument too...
I do not mean for this to come off as a focused attack, Winston....not at all. I'd bet that you are passionate and driven, and are a wonderful educator within your field.
I don't feel attacked at all.
I'm pretty confident in what I do, both as an educator and as a player, and I'm really enjoying the discussion myself. This was the first time I've been able to address my opinions as a teacher, drummer,
and as an orchestra director all in one topic before. That alone has already blown my mind...
As the discussion in this thread demonstrates, there are a lot of different perspectives about both what a music education should contain, and the different ways to go about getting it. Since we all don't have the same needs or interests in what or how we learn, there will probably never be a "one way fits all" kind of answer either. Bringing it back to the "to read or not to read" that started this thread, I have to say that it depends on what you want to do, and how fast you want to accomplish it.
If anyone wants to learn more about music there are a lot of ways to go about it, and I think the individual needs to choose based on their expectations and desired outcomes. Whether it is learning from a private teacher, at church, with friends, or being self taught there is plenty of room for finding the "right" way to go about it. It is just important to match the method to the desired outcome.