I recently took a trip to the Caribbean. Whenever I travel, I make a point of being attuned to the local music. Though Reggae and Steel Drums are nice, after a week that's all I heard. And after a while, it started to bother me.
Additionally, a short time ago I saw the remake of "Fame." Now, I loved the original. The new one, not so much. To me the message this film gives is a slight against the state of Music Education in the world today.
And don't get me started on American Idol. Yes, it's good entertainment, and I know that many of the contestants are educated musicians. But the show doesn't showcase good musicians, it showcases pop entertainers.
Is all of music becoming Pop? Is that all people think of music? Will music education eventually disappear? Surely somewhere the value of serious musical studies still has it's value. I'm proud of my Music degree and I know that it helps me with everything I do musically, be it playing Santa Claus on stage or impersonating Elvis.
It crushes me that music programs are being shut down all over. You'd think New York would have some of the best music programs around, but in truth they have practically none. For this I'm glad I grew up in the South. Sure, band was all about halftime shows, but it at least afforded the schools thriving music programs.
So let's see some real musicians move to the forefront, instead of Pop idols. Put some respect back into Music.
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I have some hope in Lady Ga Ga. She is a serious Julliard-level musician (she was admitted at age 11, but did not attend, as her Italian parents wanted her in a Catholic school). She also majored in music at NYU ....
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