[Dixielandjazz] OKOM??

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/14/05 4:19:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
mike at michaelcryer.com writes:

>    
>     Music like other parts of our public education system is poorly 
> taught and there are less and less high caliber musical role models to 
> follow. Just a thought. Now I'll get off the soapbox and duck.
> 
> Mike
> 
> 

Good point Mike:

I have to agree with that since I also happen to be one of those musicians 
that came out of school exactly that way and had to go learn it all from 
experience which is often the HARD WAY.  Fortunately I ran into some great players 
who actually taught me how to do it right and become successful at it.

I think the music is not being taught so much anymore as to just being thrown 
at the kids and maybe some of it will stick on one or two of them and they go 
on to play music someday.  In the meantime the teacher gets his/her paycheck 
as a teacher and continues to dream about going on the road and being a 
touring professional musician one day all the while trying to inspire some kids to 
do what most of them have never done or ever will do, and life goes on and on 
and on in a viscous circle of mundane lackadaisical efforts at turning out any 
real future legends.

That's how we get the Kenny G's as super stars or "Johnny Snidestarker and 
his All-stars" band of no stars being billed as festival headliners and getting 
away with it.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins