The Disclaimers
In a society where everyone's opinion has to be right, debates often can trickle into music. We hear in school, at conventions, on social media, and in personal conversations debates that deal with music. We can often see debates through history and modern times: the Boehm flute vs. the baroque flute, the French flute school of playing vs. the German style of playing, synthetic reeds vs. traditional reeds, clarinet vibrato vs. no vibrato, talking about the diaphragm vs. not talking about it, breathing to release vs. just stopping the air, brass free buzzing vs. free buzzing being bad for you, traditional snare drum grip vs. match grip, Stephens grip vs. traditional vs. Burton, esthetic vs. praxis, the best instrument, the best method books, the best conventions, the best schools, the best teachers, the best players, the ideal sound...the list can go on and on, and we could be here until the end of time.
Disclaimer: There are a lot of different playing styles and beliefs. To a certain degree, there is no right or wrong.
Once at a clinic, I had the pleasure of hearing an ensemble from another country. Their style of playing was quite different from here in the United States. Their idea of tone would be described as fuzzy or over-blown here, but those students played their hearts out; their director was in tears, and the composer of the piece was so happy. That was their belief of what tone was. Was it wrong for them? No. There were other directors at the clinic that could not see past that. I was quite intrigued. It was their cultural style, and for those kids, directors, composers, and the universities in their region, that is what they prefer. It is not our right to say that it is wrong because, for them, it was right culturally. If it is different from how you play, you have never played that way, the performer is pedagogically sound, and it is relaxed to prevent injury, then what gives you the right to say it is wrong? This is where I believe that there is a high level of arrogance and ego in musicians ranging from students in grade school to college/universities to professionals.
There will be differences in playing historically, culturally, pedagogically, etc. throughout your musical experience. The key is learning from others. What can you learn in a situation? Is there something that can be applied to your playing? Now, I do believe that playing ability and musical knowledge factors in. It takes a great deal of musical knowledge and performance ability to formulate pedagogically sound opinions on music and performance; very few high school students and undergraduate musicians reach a substantial level for this. It is the job of teachers to help guide students toward being competent enough to make their own musical choices that will be significant historically, culturally, and pedagogically.
Disclaimer: If you are in grade school, taking lessons, or seeking a degree, you should listen to your teachers. Will you always agree with them? Probably not, but you are there to learn. Take what you can learn from them. If you are in grade school, you cannot really choose your teacher. However, if you are looking at taking private lessons or at seeking a degree, find a teacher and institution that aligns with your beliefs and where you want to be as a player. If you are in grade school, it is likely that your private lesson teacher will tell you something that does not align with your grade school teacher's teachings; this is fine. It is part of being a versatile musician. You have to learn to play in a variety of ways. Do what they say in their environments, practice it, learn from it, formulate your own opinions, and use it to your advantage in the future.
Here is what we should actually be focused on: quit talking about the "I" and "me," and start talking about the "we" and "us." How can we share knowledge to better one another? The
Website Disclaimer: There may be information on this website that other educators, students who study with private teachers, and professionals do not agree with pedagogically. That is okay. We are all different. This is just what I have learned in my 20+ years in music. What fingerings I use or where I recommend students learn the first octave of a scale may differ from that of another teacher. It is okay. Do the students still learn? Do they get better through the process? It is just what I have learned through the process. It is okay if your belief is different. If you disagree with me or anyone else, ask yourself what you can
No one out there will ever know everything there is to know about any single aspect of music, let alone music as a whole. There are going to be different beliefs and methodologies. The keys are do they work for the performer, does the performer accomplish the sound they are looking for with respect to the intent of what they are performing, and are they relaxed while accomplishing it.
Final Disclaimer: If you disagree with this post, then you likely have just proved this point. We are all different, believe different things, and that is okay.
