Posted by K on February 22, 2004 at 01:27:08:
In Reply to: Re: Importance of learning scales posted by Another opinion on February 21, 2004 at 23:17:41:
"but I think it is more important for kids to have an esthetic experience of making music"
The aestetic, for some even the religious, experience of making music is the worthy end goal. No disagreement on that point.
But any aestetic expression, be it music, painting, dance, or text, is built on a basic language or set of tools. In music scales and arpeggios are such tools at the very root level together with rhythm.
You don't waste your students' time by introducing scales and arpeggios to them. You rather waste their time by not doing so, because you don't let the social forum of your ensemble experience one of its fundamental tools of communicating music.
You may even inspire more than 10% of your students to continue making music after high school or college, if you use scales and arpeggios as ensemble building material. Because you make them much better musicians that way.
Klaus