Posted by Debbie on November 11, 2003 at 12:08:09:
In Reply to: Re: How can i make my parents realize....... posted by Rick Denney on November 11, 2003 at 01:18:01:
While I agree that a Miraphone is certainly a fine tuba, and that there may be many reasons why Harry's father does not feel it is appropriate to buy a tuba, it may help to remember the situation of school owned instruments.
Unfortunately school owned instruments often undergo significant abuse. At the junior high level my son played on a tuba with holes in the bell and another held together with duct tape. The marching tuba he used this year had a perpetually stuck third valve. Schools often lack the funding to fix these things. We eventully payed to fix the stuck valve ourselves.
At others times there is a challenge having enough instruments. Good news - our band program has grown by 20% over the last couple of years. Bad news - resources are stretched to the limit - especailly large instruments.
These are the factors that pushed us into purchasing a tuba. Did Michael "need" one to continue in band? No. Can a moticated student overcome the limitations of school owned instruments? Yes. Are there scores of excellent professionals who never owned their own instrument in high school. YES. In our case, will Michael's playing benefit from having his own tuba. Without a doubt.
That said, we did not make this decision lightly. We heavily considerd Michael's history of practice, the results he obtains from private lessons (putting training into action), the availability crunch of good horns at school, his future goals, and his willingness to share in both the direct cost of the tuba and the indirect cost (cutting corners on other family expenses).
There is obviously no one right answer. Every situation and every family are different. In my estimation no high school student "deserves" a tuba, but setting a goal of obtaining one does not make a serious student a "spoiled brat" either.