Article by Ann H
I love to play guitar. When I was a teenager it was the love of my life and I would spend hour after hour learning how to play my acoustic guitar. I was one of the most studious learners you could find. But I found out something really interesting; guitars aren't really welcome in school music programs.
Now there was a bass guitar here and there but for the most part, schools never found a home for guitarists. We had to form our own place to jam and play because we couldn't book the practice rooms. Those were for the "real" instruments like violin and tuba. I wonder; how many of those students still play tuba today? I still play guitar.
I wonder if you were to do a "stick" survey, of all the kids that learned violin, tuba, trumpet, clarinets, oboes etc etc verses those that learned piano and guitar what the "stick" rate would be. I don't see many forty year olds carrying tubas. I see a lot of adults carrying guitars.
It was an interesting issue and one that caused resentment (obviously since I'm still annoyed about it thirty years later). It was instrument discrimination. I wonder if there is a law for that? Maybe we should start a movement "Guitars have feelings too", I should look into that. I have a theory about why guitars were second class citizens in music programs... I bet it's because half the music directors have no clue how to play them. Or maybe they think that all guitar players are trouble makers. After all, if we can think that all motorcyclists are thugs I guess we can make that kind of absurd leap to guitarists being rebels.
My music director tried to get me to learn bass violin, I laughed. Somehow he didn't get the humor. But I still play my guitar. Every day, like clockwork, thirty years later. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't keep a good guitar down.
About the Author
The author is a former guitar teacher and lifelong musician who believes in the connection between music-body-soul-spirit-mind. For more on music and its interactions go to http://www.AcousticPleasure.com