Classical Music Education: Continue or Discontinue?

This week I have found two blogs that both seriously discuss a issue between young people and classical music. One of those was entitled “Why don't young people listen to classical music?” by Sankeri. The other was entitled “Children and classical music” by Jonathan. After reading through these two blogs, I deeply feel that to popularize classical music by only relying on our classical musicians is absolutely not enough, because no matter how big contribution the classical musician had dedicated to the development of classical music, if a government of a country have not really realized an importance of supporting classical music education for its whole nation, it will be very difficult for classical musicians to promote classical music move further. These two blogs actually remind me a lot of similar examples which I have study from history class. To those people, who have studied Chinese ancient civilization, may be still remember that how Ying Zheng, the first emperor of China, unified his Qin Dynasty. He unified many things by promoting his law, such as tax system, coinage, metrology and Chinese characters in writing, but he also stopped many cultures’ development that originate from other foreign states in the ancient China, such as he "suppressed scholars who were not to his liking", and killed them. Perhaps this example sounds too serious, but it is not an exaggerate example, which comparing the issue of supporting classical music by government, because today’s world of classical music have already had many tragic evidences, such as some recording companies are folding, some orchestras are closing or many musicians start to seek for non-music job, etc. Obviously, government’s support to classical music may directly affect the future of the classical music. My response for both posts can be found below and at the respective sites.


Why don't young people listen to classical music?
Comment

Thank you for the post. After reading this, I feel the classical music will move forward. The reason I am saying this is not because I am a classical musician, but is a sense which many people start to feel that classical music should move forward and should develop to another new level. To tell the truth, my classical music study was decided by myself. There was no pushing from my parents and there was not any mandatory requirement from my school that classical music was a class which I had to take. I remembered that I just love the way of the music producing when I first time listened to it, even I did not know that this particular type of music was classical music. So an idea I would like to share is that classical music education does not mean that everybody have to learn a instrument or have to learn certain amount of songs, even I would not suggest our professional musician training have to be in this way. In my opinion, the real professional musician should train as a writer or a painter, have an ability to describe something from our life by using music, which can lead people to a moment that they can imagine it and appreciate it by listening to. And the real classical music education should lead young people to know how to appreciate a classical music pieces. It is same as an example that many young people know the Titanic song because of the movie. If without watching that movie, it is hard to imagine that this song can be incredible popular to young people. Lastly, I agree that government should seriously support classical music education. Without government support, first of all, musicians will lose their job. Secondly, classical music will be abandoned forever.


Children and classical music
Comment

Thank you for the post. After reading this, I feel that classical music education should be set as one of the important education at schools. The first reason is that if more and more young people start to know classical music, our group of classical musicians will become stronger, and there must be some chances to have more high level musicians in the future to help us to establish a better classical music education program at school, and those new trained high level musicians also will effectively help the classical music to move to a new level. The second reason is that if more and more young people get to know classical music, the value of the music can be sensible. It is same as example that if everybody thinks gold is not valuable metal, of course the gold will lose its importance to us. In order to reach this goal, government’s support is very important, because it means that whether classical music education can be supported by strong finical foundation, or not. If not, It is easy to imagine that many classical musicians, teachers and those whose work are related to classical music will lose their job, and classical music will be gradually sink into the underground of the our society.

Yo Yo Ma: a Thinker, a Musician, and a Cellist

When I was studying in high school, I had read a book about Pablo Casals (see the left), a Spanish cellist. This book mainly introduces Casals’s life, but what the most memorable thing to me is Casals’s view to his musical life: “I am a man first, an artist second.” As he explain that “As a man, my first obligation is to the welfare of my fellow men. I will endeavor to meet this obligation through music—the means which God has given me—since it transcends language, politics, and national boundaries. My contribution to world peace may be small, but at least I will have given all I can to an ideal I hold sacred.” This thought was based on Casals’s experiences through his entire life. He was a leading activist for peace during World War II. In my opinion, Casals’s view not only displays his music goal through his life time, but also gives me idea that with a clear purpose to produce music makes music more meaningful and memorable, and makes musician more valuable. I think that a way which Yo Yo Ma try to play music and share his thoughts with his audiences through his music totally matches this idea, and this is one of the important reasons why he becomes one of the most well-known classical musicians in the world today.

Recently Ma is working on the Silk Road Project, which by giving a musical performance at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 5th and 6th. The purpose of making this event is trying to display the history of Silk Road, to share its culture with American audiences, and to tell us that the East and the West had established a deep connection since from the past. As Ma gave an example of his cello that he tried prove a principle that “the more deeply you go into something, the more you find all the connections to the rest of the world.” (See the video)

During searching this Silk Road Project, I start to fascinate in Ma’s principle more and more. There is a reason that Ma has chosen a very intelligent way to effectively present his music. At this point, I feel that Ma is a real best musician in the world, because he plays music that is not as many other musicians who just treat their major as a normal job. What he is so passionate is try to find a good concept to support his music, so that his efforts to his works are effectively accepted by his audience. At this point, I would like share my opinion that what role which Ma have played in my mind.

In general, Ma gives me an impression that he is a thinker, a musician and a cellist. When I first time heard his name was around 1989, that year I just started my cello study with my father. I remembered that my father bought a Ma’s tape recording for me for the cello studying purpose. And on that recording, Ma played B minor cello concerto by Antonín Dvořák with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. From then on, I started to know that Ma was a good cellist, because I thought that only good cellist could play such difficult cello concerto with orchestra. And that recording I still think is the one of best recording today. After a few years, when I was studying in high school, I got a chance to read news about him. This news was based on his interview in Beijing. By reading his conversations with a news writer, I started to realize that a reason made Ma become a good cellist was that he loved to think and to research some ideas for playing cello, so that once he found a good concept for it, his playing would be effectively improved. For example, when the writer asked him about his way of practice, (as I remembered) he said that “to keep a clear and a simple goal when practicing an actual music piece is very important, because it is very complicate to think theoretically that memorizing music and arranging both hands for the sound producing on cello at the same time. If we focused too much on those technical skills of playing, we would lose our original sense of music, which was our simple goal, an inspired sense from the music.” In 2001, I purchased Ma’s baroque music album (see the right). To me this is a very impressive recording. The first surprise thing to me was that his musical interpretation was totally changed. Perhaps, since he played all the music from baroque period, so that he should follow the way of baroque music interpretation, but his tone and style had remarkably gone to a higher level. The second thing, which I could clearly hear, was that the recording had proved what Ma had shared his concept of practicing music with that news writer. His melody line was extremely clear to hear. He made all the pieces that sounded very easy to play although I could tell there were many passages that were so challenged to me by hearing those fast tempi playing or difficult bowings. The most obvious thing to me was that his music thoughts strongly support his musical goal rather than only focusing on techniques of controlling an instrument. Therefore, he could freely play many difficult pieces in his style.

In my opinion, Yo Yo Ma’s examples truly prove a fact that a good musician should be a good thinker first, only those who have intelligent thoughts to music can effectively produce valuable music. And I believe this type of musician will make a good leading for the future of the classical music.

Classical Music: Where is the Key?

Recently, I have reviewed the Video which is about Benjamin Zander on the TED talk show a few times. It is interesting that the more I watched this video, the more I love to repeatedly watch this video. Gradually, I started to realize that each time when I watched this video, I felt that mentally I really participated in the talk show. For example, when Zander introduce Chopin’s E minor prelude (the piano piece), I was so focused on his direction of the lecture that how the interval, which is from musical note C to B, create a sad tone, and how process of the music gradually develops and ends on the final stable E minor chord, which convey a sense of back home. So during watching the entire show I felt the time is not existed, because all my concentration was on the program. I think that a good show or a good concert always delivers a sense that makes us become the part of its program, because once we become a part of a program, our interests to a concert or to show will be activated, so that we will feel as if we are in the anther free world to enjoy what we are hearing and watching. This week I have found two interesting posts, one of them was entitled “Fans of metal and classical music have a lot in common” by Laurana. This post basically introduces an idea that “musical tastes were a reflection of character,” suggested by Adrian North, who is a Professor from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Through my comment to this post I will share my opinion to explain the meaning of Adrian’s idea. The other post was entitled “Building New Audiences for Our Classical Music Institutions” by Aaron M. Renn, a technologist, thinker and writer on urban affairs. Through his post Aaron shared his opinion about some possible ways to have new classical music audience for support classical music since he have seen less young people in the attendance of classical music concert. My response to this post discuss about more possibility of gaining more new classical music fan. Both of my comments these posts can be found below and at the respective sites.


Fans of metal and classical music have a lot in common
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I think that I am very lucky to see such interesting post. Through reading this post I feel that my experiences to music have been connected with this post. This post tells us how different type of music display different type of personality, but what I have found from this post is that no matter what type of character we are or what type of music we are listening to, as long as our characters match a certain style of music, we will say that we like this music. In my opinion, music taste deals with music interpretation or music style, because various types of music, such as classical music, Jazz or rock, are given name so that these names can help us to easily memorize what kind of feeling the music brings to us. I had a friend who was a fan of rock music. He told me that the reason he liked to listen to rock music was that rock gave him a lot of energy, so when he listen to it, he felt very vivid. After hearing his reason I introduced him to listen to the second movement of the symphony no. 10 in E minor (Op. 93) by Dmitri Shostakovich(see the left). From then on, when I sit in his car, I found that his CD player most of time was playing that piece. Obviously, this example shows that to find a correct way to activate people’s spirits by using music is a crucial key to bring people into music no matter what type of music they are listening to. Once people mentally start to participate in the music, logically they will like the music.

I hope that I will have chance to see more this type of post about scientific research to music, because these true discoveries really help musicians to improve themselves in music performances and music studies. I only have a question that what motive encourage Professor North start this interesting field of research?


Building New Audiences for Our Classical Music Institutions
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After reading this post, I am very happy that some people start to worry about the future of classical music, because when people start to have a fear to something, the solution of the fear will follow up from people’s mind. Through this entire post I start to know that how people who are not in the profession of classical music think about the current situation of classical music and the way they have suggested to approach the classical music. In order to encourage more people to attend in classical music concert, the first important thing is the program choice of concert. The reason is that classical music since its beginning to twenty first century has existed long time. During such long period development, those classical music composers, such as Bach, Beethoven etc, were using various methods from various angles to approach the composition of the classical music. So it is not easy to understand their music in a short time, even to our music students or professional musicians. Therefore, a proper program choice may easily turn on people’s interest to the music. This is same as an example that when we play a disco music in public, some people may naturally start to dance by following the stylistic rhythm.

The second important thing for an effective concert to audience is by using lecture to help people to understand what music they are listening to. I think this point has explained meaning of “I finally got it” on this post. Because when people start to be clear what they are hearing, they will have more confident to hear more. The more they are hearing, the more interests from them will be increased. I think that this analysis has well matched one of descriptions from this post, “once people like this get into something, they really get into it and really do want to understand the ins and outs in a deep and rich way.” Therefore, a lecture in a concert is like the function of bridge to allow people really access in the world of classical music. When people really get into world of classical music, they will start to benefit what classical music may gift to them.

Congratulations: Plácido Domingo!

Recently, there is big news that has spread out in the classical music world that Plácido Domingo (see the left), one of three greatest tenors (Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, and José Carreras) in the world, has won the Birgit Nilsson Prize, which only opera singers, opera conductors, or an outstanding production by an opera company may have chance to win. In fact, the Birgit Nilsson Prize itself is not really something special, because the purpose of setting this award by Birgit Nilssonis is to “honor one of the greatest opera singers of all time, whose contributions to the world of opera and concert are unrivaled,” suggested by Rutbert Reisch, the president of the Birgit Nilsson Foundation. However, there is a point of the Birgit Nilsson Prize that has remarkably drawn many people’s attention: the winner of this award will receive one million dollars. Thus, such big amount of money has brought an argument to some people that whether Domingo should receive this award, or not.

In fact, this argument came from Tom Service (a name of website), there was a article had mainly presented a concept that Domingo does not need this prize, because as what they have imaged that Domingo is rich enough since he is very famous tenor in the world, he can charge very high price of appearance fee for various performances around world, plus he is a successful conductor and impresario in both the Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera. If we judge a prize from this aspect, we have already made a big confusion between the values of the Prize and Money price of the award. I totally agree the fact which Tom service had mention about the Domingo’s current situation and position in the classical music world. However, if we just took a few second to review the purpose of the prize setting. It is very easy see a positive idea from this award, which is to encourage classical vocal musicians work hard on their works so that those musicians can really push the classical vocal music move forward and share the best value of classical vocal music with their audience through the entire world. If we go to Domingo’s website, it is very easy to find many events which Domingo will attend for classical music this year (2009). Is this truth convincing enough that Domingo is working very hard in his field of study? Comparing with some other musicians, who also won some big competition before, such as Tchaikovsky competition, has anyone heard those musicians’ name more than Domingo, or less? Even some of those winners disappeared in the classical music world after the competition. Only from this aspect, Domingo should be the right person for the Birgit Nilsson Prize, isn’t he?

In my view, to those who are thinking in a way that to win the Birgit Nilsson Prize is only for the one million dollar have mistakenly understood what Birgit Nilsson’s original purpose to set up this award. I do not want to repeat what I have mentioned about the purpose of setting this award, but I would like remind those who have such thought to the award that to play classical music or to become a high quality musician is not for money, even I really do not think that those greatest musicians in the world become well known are because of the thought that playing music can increase their bank accounts. If a musician’s purpose of making music is only for his/her desire of mammon, I do not think that this type of musician can make a good music, because it is very obvious to tell that the orientation of making music is changed. And I think that a reason when people get start to be interested to listen to music or playing music is that music has a special power that helps us to find ourselves, no matter what type of music we are listening to. For example, when some people listening to rock music, from their nature body motion, such as rhythmic nodding, hands gesture, or facial expressions, it is clearly to tell that he /she is in his /her free world. As the same principle, when a composer writes a song, the most time which he or she spends on is for thinking how to use the melody to describe his or her feeling of his/her life experiences. So by writing a song, the composer tries to find him/herself, to display him/herself. Obviously, from the procedure of composing music or listening to music, there is no any element of monetary profit be found. I think that when Domingo was in his youth, he never aim to become a good tenor because of the one million dollar of the Birgit Nilsson Prize.

Therefore, it is reasonable that Domingo got the Birgit Nilsson Prize, because a chance always comes to somebody who have well prepared for, because only someone who are well prepared be able to catch the chance. If we have a chance to take a glance of Domingo’s biography, we will find that the president of the Birgit Nilsson Foundation have made a right decision of choosing Domingo as the winner. From Domingo’s bio, it is clear to see that since he was twenty-four years old, he had begun his music career in those most significant public places, such as New York City Opera stage, Metropolitan Opera stage, Milan's La Scala, Vienna State Opera and London's Covent Garden,etc. During his vigorous period (from twenty to fifty years old), he has produced innumerous recordings and videos of opera singing.(Domingo as Otello,see the right) At the same time, he also mainly appeared as an opera conductor. From these true achievements which he had produce, it is obvious to tell that Domingo is very gifted classical singer, he has had a large amount of musical repertories of opera and various style songs, plus he well used his music talent to give his performances to all of the world. Why does The Birgit Nilsson Prize can not belong to Domingo? Domingo’s example of winning the Birgit Nilsson Prize truly tells us that when we have dream for a profession, we should fully use our talents with our solid efforts to approach this profession, because only we who are faithful to our talents and efforts on a profession which we are dreaming for can create something valuable to the world, and at the same time, we start to be valuable to the world too.

Listen: We Need a Direction

Through my previous post I have put an emphasis on those music instructors that how important their teachings affect to people’s interests to the classical music study, I just have a new realization that not only music instructors should take the responsibility of drawing people’s attention to the classical music, but also all of our classical musicians actually should seriously think that in what way we can effectively introduce our classical music to more and more audiences, which include some who have not experienced classical music yet. A reason, which triggers off the new realization to my mind, is that that many audiences are not clear enough what the music actually is about when they listen to. Obviously, this is not audiences fault, but our musicians should take the responsibility for. I believe when a composer write a music piece is always for something or dedicate to a particular person, such as Antonio Vivaldi’s “four seasons”(see the left), or Beethoven’s piano sonata entitled “moon light”. So the job for our musicians is that we should clearly introduce our music in various ways. For example, to give a short lecture about the music which we will play in a concert is necessary. This week I have found two very interesting blogs, one of them was entitled “Everybody Loves Classical Music: They Just Haven’t Found out about It” was posted by Alex Rosu, a Political Science major student, the other one was entitled “Classical Music Education” was posted by Jamie. The reason to choose first one is that Alex Rosu is not in music major study, I think that it is important to know how those people like Alex Rosu thought about our classical music, because our music should face to various audiences. The second post which I decide to choose is that through the whole blog actually is about how what benefit children may receive from classical music education. My responses to both of these items can be found below and at the respective sites.

“Everybody Loves Classical Music: They Just Haven’t Found out about It”
Comment

To me it is always interesting to see other people’s posts about their view to the classical music. Especially they are not major in music studying or professional musicians. I have a feeling that those unprofessional actually hold a key of helping our classical musicians to make a good improvement, because their preferences, complaints, or suggestions to classical music actually are the result of reactions to our classical musicians’ achievements. A reason which leads me to think in this way is based on my music study experiences. I remembered that before I started my instrumental studying, I felt that I was so musical, so gift to the music. However, when I began my music studying, I felt that I was not talented at all in music studying. Because of this weird feeling, I was confused for many years. But now I have figured out the problem that when I listen some recordings (because the quality of those recording are so good), I was so moved so that I was dreaming to make a same wonderful moment by playing an actual instrument. However, when I started my instrumental study, because of those technique problems which I have to spend time to fix always disturb my original interest to the classical music, so that my goal of playing music often become technique practice. At this point, I have to say a way of leading from a music teacher is very important, because we need those professionals give us a good leading when we are new in a field of study. For example, if a teacher always tells us that fixing technique problems is to help us to support our musical goals, our practice would enhance our original interests to the music; if a classical musician did not give a successful concert or did not make a good recording, I think I would not be interested in classical music.

Through reading your post, I can feel that how your passion is growing to the classical music although your first impression to classical music concert was not so good. In fact, this is a point which I am very curious that what motive encourage you to try second time to be in a classical music concert? I especially like the feeling which you shared on post that “There are something magical seeing humans actually working to make music, observing the childish joy of some, or the detached, cerebral expressions of other,” because this one of good reasons to encourage myself to treat music study as my major study. Lastly, I also like the video which is about Benjamin Zander (see the right). From this video I have learned many things. One of them which I really want to mention is about how we should lead more and more audiences to know what we as classical musicians are presenting. Thank you for your post.

“Classical Music Education”
Comment

After reading this post, I feel that we need more and more posts like this to support our classical music, because we as music instructors or musicians should use our intelligence to lead people in our music world, to allow them to recognize that what classical music actually benefit and gift to them. At this point, I want to say that classical music education is not only for children, but also for their parents too. In my opinion, I do not believe that every parent have experienced in a classical music concert, particularly a good one, but I do believe that once the those parents realize if classical music is really good to them, even they will push their children to have a classical music education, because parents always hope that their children to have a chance to taste something valuable. Therefore, the job for our musicians or music instructors should use an effective way to introduce our classical music more and more people. Recently, I have watched a video (perhaps many people have watched it) which basically shows Benjamin Zander, a conductor of Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, that how he lead his audiences to appreciate a classical music piece. I think that this is a good beginning to make more and more people know about our classical music and it is a good example for classical music education.

Additionally, I really like the three true examples which you have listed out on your post. It is very convinced to me. Thank you for your post.

Music Lesson: Help!

I believe that when many people start to decide to have their first music lesson or first musical instrument study with a music teacher by themselves because their senses of music have been activated by hearing a beautiful song or a particular tone of an instrument from a live concert or radio, etc. This is a very important reason to allow those people to make their first step enter the music world.

The following tasks obvious turn to those music instructors that they should lead those people, who are interested in studying music, to walk into the deeper place of music world in order to allow those people to know more about music, to make them enjoy more what music has brought to them, even to encourage them to create their own music.

In many ways, as an instructor to give a music lesson to students is not a difficult thing as long as the instructor know what goal he/she intend to approach for a lesson. However, the difficult part from a music lesson, which may challenge every instructor, is that whether the goal, which an instructor tries to approach, really makes students feel that they are taking an enjoyable, helpful and encouraged lesson, so that students want to study more by themselves in the field of music study.

There was a report with a title: “Music lessons 'not good enough'” that appeared recently on the BBC news board, which straightly pointed out an issue that half of school music lessons in England needed to improve, because students who were in those music lessons were not positively making progress in music.

In my opinion, this report actually gives a strong emphasis to music instructors that their teachings seriously affect the future development of music. I would like to share a story from my teaching experience. Two years ago I got a chance to teach a student who want to continue her cello study with me, because she planned to prepare some standard musical repertory for auditions. In general, she was a good student, she practiced hard and she follows most of my suggestions about her playing. However, I still had a feeling that her playing was not nature enough, because I did not feel enough about her own thought to the music which she was playing, I only felt that her playing sounded simply like a collection of some other people’s ideas. So I tried to shared my opinion with her about how my feeling of her playing was and I tried to encourage her to train herself to think independently, but she unexpectedly told me that because her previous teacher said to her that she should follow all the suggestions which that teacher gave to her, so that she assumed that I was using the same rule as her previous teacher’s in her lessons.

The story is finished, but I think that as a teacher, particularly in music teaching, to simply ask student to follow his/her suggestion is not a good enough way to help student to make music, because as a music teacher who not only is responsible to deliver messages about the music to students, but also should lead students to their own artistic way.

I have a feeling that many modern classical musicians’ interpretations of the music, which compare with those who came from last generation, are quite similar although they have brilliant technique. Therefore, I still prefer to listen to those old recordings, because through music playing I strongly feel those old musicians’ own stylistic thoughts to their music. Here are some video examples of those last generation musicians, through listening to different tone color and style of musical interpretations on same type of instrument but different players, I want to display how all of them has their own unique thought to their music: Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh, Isaac Stern, Fritz Kreisler (only music track), Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman.

There many reasons may cause our modern musicians have similar music tastes. One of the reasons is because of development of modern multimedia technology. It is very convenient to listen to music from radio, television or Internet. Consciously or unconsciously, many modern musicians start to imitate what music they have heard. So this reason makes our music have a very slow development. To tell the truth, I rarely hear some people have some really fresh idea to the music or some new genre music in our current life time. The second reason is that many music teachers, even some teach students to a professional way, are not really teach students to develop students’ own music talent, instead, those music teachers just teach some musical pieces which they have learn from their passed teachers. Consequently, students are not able to independently analyze, present and interpret their own thought when they get some new music pieces. I have experienced this type class when I was in high school. I remembered that when teacher came to our class just told us how many pieces we should finish for a semester, and then, we just followed the teacher’s requirement to finish those pieces one by one. As last, we played a lot of music pieces, but we still had no idea how to analyze and present a new music piece by ourselves.

Obviously, music teachers play a very important role of training students in order to keep and develop students’ own individual musical talent. First of all, music teachers are musical artists, and they are leading more and more people to the way of artists. I truly hope that under our music teacher’s intelligent leading, our music will be on a vivid, spiritual and significant way.