Posted by Tony Z. on March 20, 2003 at 14:36:54:
In Reply to: Re: theory and tuba posted by MG on March 20, 2003 at 02:20:51:
As a member of academia, I must take a bit of offense at your idea of what "Academics" do. The pursuit of education (to GUIDE) is to offer to the willing learner a set of tools that can be used to release the (hopefully) inherent creativity that all musicians must have. I often hear students refer to academia as creatively stifling, but I often find these students are the ones who are most afraid of their creativity, or at least afraid to explore.
Ask yourself this:
Did I try everything my teachers showed me?
Did I ask critical questions?
Did I apply critical thinking when applying the techniques shown?
Did I practice self-awareness when applying techniques to see if they might be altered to fit my personal make-up?
I find that quite often, people don't want to do the real soul and mind searching that are required to really latch on to musical ideas, WITH THE HELP of a guiding teacher.
YES!!! You must create! YES!!! You must try new things. NO!! you do not know everything (none of us does.) NO!! No teacher or academic institution is out to ruin your creativity. If you got through public school and still want to be a musician, you're fine.
My opinion...
TZ