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Re: Brass in school, and when the children leave!

Colin Johnson wrote:

> Does this have a familiar sound across
> the country? or is/was my region a one off?

It probably sounds familiar right across the world. I always run into problems
trying to get kids to get involved with brass bands, even the kids I teach at
schools.
I think the problem is down to the Heads of Music and the bandmasters at the
schools. Here in NZ they seem to be totally focussed on School Band/Orchestra to
the exclusion of any other musical activity. The kids end up viewing music as
something they "did at school" so when leaving time comes at the end of the
seventh form they hang up their instruments along with the school tie, never to
see the light of day again.
I despair when I think of the number of kids in Auckland alone (with its
population of a million) who leave school every year and give up playing, simply
because the teachers didn't have the vision to let these kids know that there is
music outside of school.
It's also sad when I come across no end of people who say "I used to play the
trumpet/sax/trombone/etc., but I gave up when I left school. I wish I hadn't
now..........."

Talk to your local heads of school music departments, and try to get involved
with the school music evenings, it can help to spread the message that there are
playing opportunities outside of the school gates, (It helps if you have kids in
your band who go to the school you are playing at, but it's not essential) as
well as foster a relationship with the schools, and possibly even change the
attitude of some of the uninformed snob teachers who think brass bands are not
worth bothering with.

Cheers,
Adrian Raven


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