Posted by David on February 12, 2002 at 13:12:13:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Graduate Assistantship at CU Boulder posted by Dave Z on February 12, 2002 at 12:39:50:
Now if the colleges would just do some real world teaching we'd all be better off. A good music degree should contain business classes - it is a business. Band directors and performers need some, if not all of the following: fund raising 101 - 501, some degree of accounting knowledge, a business class or two, marching band drill techniques, marketing, salesmanship, personality books, wind instrument repair do's and don'ts. Where is all this stuff?
Amazingly enough, I was asking the same questions over 25 years ago and similar classes are still not in most music curricula. Is there a fear amongst college faculty over teaching this stuff?
Costs have risen tremendously over the last 25 years. My son goes to a private school where the tuition is over $13,000 per year. He has a large scholarship, but it doesn't cover it all. One should not complain about getting a largely free college education. One should complain about the courses taught instead. Private lessons, orchestra, band, wind ensemble, brass quintet, theory, music history, piano, composition are all great things to learn but for those of us making a living in music, how many also have a "day" job to support it that has nothing to do with private lessons, orchestra, et al? Those practical classes could have made a huge difference in my life. Given a choice, none of us wants to take more than necessary. The colleges need to change the curricula in order to make better citizens.
I'm off my soap box now. Back to normal.