I recently read this article from the Huffington Post about a controversy over a purple violin in Farmington, New Mexico. For those who don't feel like clicking the link, the controversy rose up over a school orchestra requesting that a student not play on the instrument (which was a gift from the child's grandmother) in the school orchestra. The district went so far as to offer to waive the normal rental fee for a school owned instrument. The girl's mother claimed that she was not trying to create drama, rather she was trying to show her daughter that she could stand up for her beliefs. I honestly was a little torn over this article, but there was one point that jumped out to me, and which I feel is almost a little tragic (as Camille, the student decided to just give up on orchestra entirely): Sherry Lopez obviously does not understand that the quality of an instrument has a HUGE effect on the sound it produces, and that in turn can seriously mess with an ensemble, not to mention make the child feel like a sub-par musician.
In recent years Ebay has been flooded with instruments made cheaply in China and then resold for at least double what they are worth (which is still quite cheap). These instruments can be made in any color a student wants, in some cases they can even have the student's name engraved on them instead of a brand name. What's worse is that some local shops that are run by individuals with little or no knowledge of band/orchestra equipment have begun to carry these instruments. A few years ago I worked at a local store that was in transition from these sorts of instruments to higher quality product. They had finally worked their way down to a few clarinets that they were going to sell at a clearance price, and eventually they all were sold. I also worked for the local repairman at the time, and lo and behold, within a few weeks those instruments were back in the shop to be fixed. When play tested they were horribly out of tune, and hard to play. I can only imagine what some poor student thought of themselves, simply because they were playing on an instrument of poor quality.
I guess the question is this: At what point to you step back as a music teacher and say "Okay, you can play on whatever you have, quality be what it may."? There was an initial reaction on the site where I saw this article saying that the child should have been allowed to play whatever instrument she wanted, but I don't agree. I think that if the school had the means to waive the rental fee and provide a suitable instrument for the student, they have the right to request, for the benefit of the other students participating in the ensemble, that a student use the instrument of higher quality provided to them. Sure, she can play on the purple violin all she likes at home, but when playing with other students a suitable instrument should be used.
What I think is really tragic in this situation is that Sherry Lopez refused the instrument offered, thus making her daughter feel alienated from the orchestra, and pushing her toward choir instead. This is not to say that choir is not a wonderful activity, it is, but clearly the child had primary interest in being in the orchestra. I think it is sad that if this mother had understood more about music/instruments she could have made a more informed decision, and this girl could have continued in orchestra as she had wanted. This, to me, is one reason why I hope to teach a general music class, and to cover these sorts of issues in whatever band/orchestra/choir that I may teach. It may seem silly to some to teach students about these things, especially if they are not going to study it in college, but one day they may be parents, and may be confronted by this situation. It seems small, but it could totally change the rest of this student's schooling experience.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI really like the ideas you presented here. I was in orchestra from 4th-12th grade here in Logan. Although I did not choose to continue my musical career into college I still have a strong passion for music.
In 9th grade I watched someone play an electric violin. I wanted one so bad and my parents got me one for Christmas. That year I got a cheaply made red electric violin. Although I knew it was only for fun and not great quality it really sparked an interest. I continued being in orchestra while many of my friends were dropping out. That same year my grandma gave me her violin that she had for 60 years. Is it the best quality? No,it probably is not. It was made in the very early 1900's. I love it though and to this day I sill treasure it.
These two instruments continued my interest in orchestra, in music, and in improving my talents. It really is hard as an educator to walk on eggshells, what is best for the student and what is best for the program? Had my teacher told me my grandmothers violin was not good enough, I probably would have quit. Instead she complimented me on what a beautiful instrument I had, and asked if she could look at it, and I became a more confident musician. My parents for less than $75 dollars bought me a violin that will never amount to much, but it kept me passionate about music.
Music educators walk a fine line when it comes to the instruments our students use. On one hand we want our students to be playing on quality instruments, on the other we have to respect, to a certain extent, the students wishes. In your situation, I would likely have allowed you to continue on whatever instrument you wanted by the 9th grade. The reason for this being that by that time you already had enough experience on the instrument to make even a mediocre quality instrument sound reasonably good. Not great perhaps, but at least good enough not to stick out of the ensemble. Now as for your grandmother's violin, honestly with older instruments you usually find that they are better quality, even the cheap ones, so I would probably have okayed that as well. To me the reason I would have requested that she at least wait a couple of years to play that instrument is to keep her interest in orchestra. It seems counter-intuitive, but if the student has a difficult time producing a decent sound early on they get discouraged. Some of those kids just aren't cut out for that instrument, some of them just have a terrible instrument, so in the very early years it is critical to optimize their chance for success.
DeleteAnyway, I've gone on quite enough, I'm a bit long winded I'm afraid. Thank you for your comment.
It is true Chris. We do walk a fine line. I have noticed even with my own students, the struggle of attaining a quality instrument for each of my students. Another factor some don't think about is the size of instrument a student needs in accordance to their growth through each year in orchestra. I never had an issue using a full sized instrument growing up but my students still need to find quality instruments that are much smaller than a full size.
DeleteThat's another good point. It can be really hard to find good quality instruments in smaller sizes. With band it's not really an issue except with tubas, but for us tubas it really is a huge issue. I have seen way too many kids playing on instruments that are either poor quality or just wrong for their body type/playing style, and it is really had for them to be successful on those sorts of horns. I imagine that for string instruments it is just as much of a battle to find a quality instrument that will fit the child.
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ReplyDeleteI liked reading your post here. I think it's very tough as a music educator to know where to draw the line here. It's sad that it seems like she was driven out or orchestra simply because of the quality of the instrument. Even though choir is clearly a better choice that orchestra... haha!
ReplyDeleteMy Aunt is currently looking for a violin on ebay for her daughter. I think it's great to be able to buy an instrument for a much cheaper price for your child, especially not knowing how long they will continue to play it. But I really appreciated when she sent me all the links and asked which one I though would be the best value. She even went so far as to have people in different areas that she knew go out to play the instruments so that she knew she was getting a good quality.
It's hard to deny someone an instruments because of tone quality but especially when it comes to an orchestra setting, it needs to match and fit with the other instruments....