Wave of the future

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It seems there is a shift in what music educators are teaching in terms of music. An article at Boston.com speaks about the shift toward teaching more pop styles of music. On the second page there is a set of stats according to the Music Teachers National Association, "While all members still teach classical music, 59 percent now teach jazz as well, and 58 percent teach pop."

Ok, classical training is still the basis of good musicianship, it seems there is a need (or perhaps a demand) for learning pop styles too. Based on previous articles on this blog, there is a difference between playing classical music and playing pop. Just being a good musician technically doesn't guarantee an understanding of the styles of a genre. So, teachers are exposing students to some of these other styles in their musical education. Cool!

What this means is students will be incorporating this education into their music when they become adults, so the blends of pop, jazz and classical will become even more blurred - and the need (demand) for classical music with jazz or pop elements more prevelant.

As a composer who integrates jazz (and rock) into my classical music, I can only feel this is a good trend. For once, I may just be ahead of the wave rather than see it pass overhead.

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