| I'll never forget a piano course I took when I was | | | | attending this class, I learned that I didn't really want to |
| attending the Community College of Philadelphia. It was | | | | play the piano. Why? Because I wasn't having fun! And |
| a "class" piano course where about 20-25 people | | | | fun is the impetus for further exploration. It seems like |
| were seated around keyboards. Each keyboard had | | | | common sense to me. Yet this idea of actually |
| headphones and we were supplied with a standard | | | | enjoying the process of making music eludes music |
| piano textbook. | | | | teachers at the college level. |
| The course lasted 4 months or so and I learned how | | | | Ironically, elementary school teachers know that their |
| to play triads with both hands. I also learned how to | | | | students MUST HAVE FUN first or they won't be |
| read treble and bass clefs. | | | | interested in learning more. Children spend their time in |
| I can't say that I was thrilled with this course. In fact, I | | | | musical activities that inspire imagination and create a |
| remember thinking how boring it was. And dry. Why | | | | sense of joy. How interesting that this same |
| couldn't we learn something that would allow creativity | | | | educational technique is not employed for the grown |
| in? | | | | ups among us. |
| I guess most "teachers" don't think you can be | | | | Of course I'm not saying that adults should spend their |
| creative in music until you spend about 2 years learning | | | | time skipping and hopping on musical notes to learn |
| what they consider to be the basics. This is all | | | | them. What I am saying is that it's important that joy |
| nonsense and only serves to mystify music and make | | | | and love of music be placed before theory and |
| it inaccessible to the masses. | | | | discipline. |
| I can only say that during the 16 weeks or so of | | | | |