>Actually, I put music way above
>my other classes in secondary
>school. But you are right
>about pop musicians getting no
>respect. Do they really deserve
>it? J/K :)

Well I don't particularly care for a lot of Top 40, but that's on a strictly enjoyment level, vs like music critic mode. But when I say pop music, I mean in the original sense of the word, meaning popular, and it's connotation being of the common people, as opposed to the upper crust. So Pop music encompasses fugazi, slug and anticon, ani di franco, as well as the Back Street Boys and Ricky Martin. And in general among the upper crust types, the folks who write curriculums and run school boards, it's all low culture. In their opinion, the music is not refined.

And that is my major beef with folks wanting to teach "inner city" kids the violin. Or the kind of folks who think music in education is fundamental. 9 times out of 10 they aren't thinking that Johnny's music teacher should be breaking down the Chronic for it's influence on West Coast hip hop musical production. I think it is important to teach folks about things that they already "know", but don't really.

The ghetto kid that can rock a mean piccolo is somehow more acceptable than the ghetto kid who outbeat box Rahzel. Music happens in places other than concert halls, UIL recitals, and operas. But if you look at the majority of musical education for elementary and secondary students, it's aimed at reaffirming western ways of thinking about music. Not that western ways are bad necessarily, but it is bad that it is the default.

>In 7th grade
>our advanced band did a
>performance for the school board
>to show our love for
>music in schools.

Who organized this, the students themselves, or your instructor/band leader?

k. orr
house of phat beats