[Dixielandjazz] Students in Jazz Schools

[James O'Briant]

tcashwigg at aol.com wrote:

> ... Does that mean that ALL Music teachers are bad or idiots ?  
> certainly not, but far too many of them have taken the easy road out 
> by becoming teachers ...

And you think that's an EASY road??????

> ... rather than striking out and actually trying to make a living as a 
> Professional Gigging musician. ...

And you think that one of those roads is innately inferior to the other?
Why?

> ... Why because nobody ever taught them how to go find gigs or create 
> them in the marketplace, ...

And so you believe that skill, which you happen to have and use
successfully, is more important or more valuable than the skill of imparting
knowledge and a love of learning in students?

> ... therefore they went back and
> retreated into the Music education business ...

Here's a radical thought.  Perhaps they WANTED to be teachers rather than
full time gigging musicians.  

I'm very new to the OKOM scene in California, and right off the top of my
head I can think of more than half a dozen music educators who are teaching
because they WANT to be teaching, but who are also very accomplished jazz
musicians.  It should be obvious that some of their students will be less
accomplished players than others, but that certainly doesn't mean that the
teacher took the lazy way out or is incompetent or as a teacher or player.

I suggest that you before you publicly criticize music educators as a class,
you try walking a few miles in their shoes.

Jim O'Briant
Tuba
Gilroy, CA