[Dixielandjazz] Young musicians

[Paul Kurtz Jr]

That teacher is where the band moderator has to take a bit of a hand. I’ve had some real fun stirring up those kids from kindergarten to fifth grade.
Paul Kurtz Jacksonville, FL
P.S. We have some songs such as Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes which automatically dictate movement.

On May 1, 2020, at 3:10 PM, philwilking <philwilking at cox.net> wrote:

Yes, schools, especially the younger grades, are a wonderful place to play. In some cases a union band can even make a "green sheet job" out of such an excursion. For non-members, "green sheet" means "Music Performance Trust Fund," a union device to allow union members to play for public functions while still claiming they never just give away their services.

I suspect that a large part of the problem you mention with school courses happens because the teachers grew up listening to their grandparents' records, and their grandparents grew up in the the big band swing era. Those teachers have little inclination, and no incentive, to ask "What did the big band musicians listen to when they were young?" So what else is new? Almost every one of us subconsciously assumes the way the world was when we were growing up is the way the world was always. How many age 30 or less could use a rotary dial telephone easily? How many in a "Drivers' Ed." class could change a tire? For Heaven's sake, how many young girls (never mind young boys) could replace a button on a shirt or close up an open seam in the seat of a pair of trousers, or rustle up some bacon and eggs for breakfast instead of popping open some package from the refrigerator? How many could set a snap trap for a rat (or even a mouse) without breaking a finger? These are standard life skills in a non-computer world.

If you do get to play at a school, watch out for the early grade "teacher" who will try to ruin the experience for the first and second graders.
This really happened:
Our band was playing for an elementary school. The very youngest children got up and started bouncing around to the music, just as they were supposed to do. Their teacher put ferocious scowl on her face and sternly ordered them to sit down, be quiet, and enjoy the music. They sat, she was happy, they were not. She was a tall beefy blonde woman who looked as if she threw anvils for exercise, and I have always remembered her and her manner as "Brunhilde of Buchenwald."

Phil Wilking - K5MZF
www.nolabanjo.com

"And God promised man that good and
obedient wives would be found in all
corners of the earth." Then God made
the earth round and laughed and laughed
and laughed.

-----Original Message----- From: Gordon Pascoe
Sent: Friday, May 01, 2020 02:57

But many high schools and universities teach jazz courses where much of the
music is almost undanceable. It is often announced as a "classic dance
number" (say a Glenn Miller) and the players proceed to play a hodge-podge
of technique disguised as "variations." We are often told who the arranger
is but rarely the composer. 

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