Week 1 thoughts

Some random thoughts from week 1:  I was very struck by the RSA Animate video, and some parallels that can be drawn to the way we teach in the Conservatory. While the educational world around us is constantly in a state of "educational reform", trying to keep up with technology and its effect on today's students, we happily continue with out 18-19th century education model, teaching music performance to students in basically the same way Bach, Mozart or Beethoven would have taught their students. I agree withe the assertion that a degree is no guarantee of a job...especially in the field of music performance.

As stated in the video, we live in the most intensely stimulating period in history, with a massive number of entertainment choices, and bombarded by advertisement at every turn. This makes the development of the concentration and focus skills necessary for successful musical performance vastly more challenging than even 20 years ago.

It is stated that the arts are victims in this change...our potential audience members can't be bothered to leave the comfort of their couch and remote control to go to a live aesthetic experience, much less concentrate on that experience as an active listener for two hours or more!  I admit that I want instant gratification as much as the next person (imagine my frustration when trying to watch these YouTube videos on my office computer, with Lynn's painfully slow internet!)

In teaching our students to go win a job as a performer, we still follow the "production line" mentality and coach them on how to perform a dozen or so short excerpts of music, and to play those excerpts in a five minute audition (along with 50-200 other applicants) in an effort to somehow be recognized above the rest and awarded a position.  The actual demands of these positions have very little to do with the demands of the job interview!

It is my hope that in educating myself further in Web 2.0, I can try to break out of our present educational model a bit.