[Trombone-l] Church musicians idea

[Richard Corliss]

The Salvation Army has a model to consider here. A large corps will often
have a number of instruments for students to barrow and beginning classes.
Once the student finds the instrument he or she likes and gets hooked, then
it is expected that the student will buy his or her own instrument. There is
then two or more levels of bands to fit the students ability.

Richard

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richardson, Timothy Mr. DAC USAG Franconia DPW"
<timothy.a.richardson at us.army.mil>
To: <TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 4:02 AM
Subject: [Trombone-l] Church musicians idea


> Fridays tend to overload my already fragile brain with wacko ideas.
>
> There is not a serious enough shortage of wacko ideas to make them
valuable,
> but I'll contribute this one anyway.  I have an interest in church music
and
> I know some of you do as well.
>
> In my area, keyboard players are scarce enough I'm actually playing organ
in
> church.  (Terror is exhilarating in a perverse sort of way.)  Trombone
> players are short enough I seem to be, ahem, first call for musicals.
Hee,
> hee.  There is rumored to be a type of female singer called an alto, but
we
> can't confirm that since we've never seen one.
>
> So rather than whining about it, should churches take on the task of
growing
> their own musicians?  Should churches strive to become centers of
excellence
> for musical instruction?  And provide, and fund and subsidize, quality
> private lessons as well as progressively more advanced performance
> opportunities?
>
> I'm proposing part of a church music director's job description should be
> running the instruction program and securing qualified teachers for a
> minimum of keyboard, guitar, and voice, and probably brass and strings as
> well.  Perhaps not every congregation could do it all, but the larger
faith
> community could.  (I consider denominational differences to be stylistic
not
> substantive.  Of course we all worship the same God, you in your way and I
> in His. <g>)
>
> This is a subset of the academic education programs that most churches
used
> to run, some well and some badly.  If any church acquired a reputation for
> excellence in music instructions, students would descend upon them.  Would
> you go to your own church, or Doug Yeo's church, if lessons were part of
the
> deal?  I use him as an example as I know he is active in the church music
> scene, but you could fill in the blank here.
>
> This might somewhat make up for the lamentable decline in music education
in
> public schools.
>
> Maybe bigger churches do this now and I'm just not aware.  I've never
> attended a megachurch.
>
> I don't know what the future will bring either for churches or music
> instruction;  perhaps both are on the way out or headed for drastic
changes.
> I don't think I'll be around long enough for that.  In the short term we
> still need piano lessons and trumpet players for Easter.
>
> Happy Labor Day. I don't have a trombone gig but I've got three hymns to
> learn tonight, gotta go practice!
>
> Yours,
> Tim
>
>
>
> -
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