SMSchneider wrote:
>
> OK, guys, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but it frightens me for
> the future of classical music that so many of us are so "dumbed down" that
> we don't even have a distant vision of the benefits of having basic skills.
> How can having the best skills you can develop NOT make you a better
> performer?
I see it a little differently. I'm a good sightsinger, so
naturally I think that's a valuable skill to have. And for
anyone young and a student, definitely they should work as
hard as possible to develop this very useful skill.
But I think one shold also realize that, because of the
awful things that happened to much public school music
education in this country over the past 30 years or so,
there are many people who are coming to music performance
later in life. When they may be just learning to read music,
just learning to enjoy some of the more serious music art
forms, starting to study classical voice, starting to sing
in a chorus. I would not want to discourage any of these
people from taking up music because they think they "must"
sight-sing to feel like they can participate. People who
don't sight read will need to put more time in away from a
chorus rehearsal than those who do sight read. But if a
singer puts in the time and effort, he or she can make up
for any deficiency in this particular skill. Other skills,
like good rhythm, are more important that sight-reading in
my opinion. Of course, developing those other skills also
helps one to be a better sight-reader in the long run.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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