[Smt-talk] Music Theory in Russia (was Princeton and Theory)

[Olga Bakulina, Miss]

Dear Ildar and all,



Yes, it is true that in the Russia (and, I would guess, in some other Eastern European countries too) it is expected that students entering the Conservatory level have good musical skills and solid theoretical training. In Russia, of course, it is a result of a centralized system that embraces all educational levels (from children's school to graduate studies) and that has a history of many generations of educators belonging to (more or less) one school of thought and practical musical tradition. (Is this what you call a musical Gulag?)



Such a system may have its advantages, but it would be difficult to imagine a similar one in North America; a system like this would go against intellectual diversity which is very important in North America (at least, much more important than in Russia). A centralized system can provide very good musical training, but it is intellectually rigid. And without such a system it would be hard to expect students to be well prepared in a particular way. What if one school trains its students to write tonal dictations and another, to which they then apply for their next degree, requires much more rhythmic and much less pitch-based training? The teachers’ expectations are based on what these particular teachers want and consider important; expectations are therefore relative to the tradition to which a teacher belongs. Of course, in North America too, there is a significant degree of agreement between theorists about what is important for a music student to know, but this degree is lower than in a truly centralized educational system. (And one may ask whether a very strong agreement is actually desirable.)



One more thing about strong theoretical training in the Soviet/Russian tradition. I do not know of any other country where music students (mainly performers) have such an intense antipathy towards theory and solfege. So, with all due respect to its professional merits, maybe there is something wrong with the way music theory is taught in Russia.



Best,



Ellen Bakulina

CUNY Graduate Center

PhD candidate, music theory




________________________________
From: smt-talk-bounces at lists.societymusictheory.org [smt-talk-bounces at lists.societymusictheory.org] On Behalf Of Ildar Khannanov [solfeggio7 at yahoo.com]
Sent: November 21, 2010 8:00 PM
To: smt-talk at lists.societymusictheory.org; jclendinning at fsu.edu
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Princeton and Theory

Dear Jane and the List,

I have to apologize for constantly comparing what is going on in the field with what I went through in my undergraduate studies in Moscow, which I call, jokingly, a musical Gulag.
I know that it is unfair.

I agree that the situation is such that anybody can teach theory. As for the other way, you are right:
"Teaching anything of substance beyond the basics is another matter. . . "

You are also absolutely right that we cannot and should not expect our students to know anything about music theory. One of my colleagues at Peabody told me during my first year: "Do not assume anything!" Paradoxically, even if a student somehow has mastered good skills and knowledge, I have to disregard this and keep teaching on a lower level.

Dr. Yuri Kholpov in 1982 taught a class of freshmen in theory. I was among them. He did assume everything: if a student could not write a modulating prelude in large ternary form, he assumed that this student has failed his or her previous training. If someone was not able to write down a three-part dictation in the style of Max Reger, it was student's failure, 100 percent. Why would he assume that the student had to be perfectly prepared? Because he knew very well that there were pre-Conservatory colleges (Utchilishche) with 4 years of intensive training in theory and nobody would be accepted to the conservatory without the Utchilishche Diploma. So, if a student would fail after all these 4 years, it meant that he or she is delinquent.

I am very optimistic about what we can do together, as a community of teachers and as the society. There is something to discuss and I suggest a discussion.

Best,

Ildar Khannanov


--- On Sun, 11/21/10, Jane Clendinning <jclendinning at fsu.edu> wrote:

From: Jane Clendinning <jclendinning at fsu.edu>
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Princeton and Theory
To: smt-talk at lists.societymusictheory.org
Date: Sunday, November 21, 2010, 10:31 AM


Colleagues,



I would like to pick up on elements that Ildar raised.  He correctly notes: “For a comparison, nobody outside the clarinet community can teach clarinet at a college level. It is out of question.”  Yet most beginning clarinetists begin their study (in the US at least) taught by someone who is likely not a proficient performer on clarinet—they are taught by band directors, whose main instrument likely is a brass instrument or percussion, or perhaps, if a woodwind instrument, it would be saxophone.  Students coming into our universities who audition in on clarinet likely already play better on their instrument than the person who first taught them does!



The oddity about university teaching of music theory and history is that, for most students, we have to start with the most elementary elements . . . and cannot assume any sort of specific preparation on the part of our incoming students.  Compared to the performance areas where students must pass an audition to show at least some training and skill, students often come into the university with NO prior training in either music theory or music history—a problem lamented often among those teaching music theory at the university level (indeed, there was a recent stream of conversation on smt-talk about this issue).  As far as what they know about music theory, many students can’t read music notation, and have very little idea about nomenclature for even basic elements of western music, such as meter and pitch--basic skills normally taught in a music fundamentals or rudiments class.  There are quite a few members of SMT who have been working on improving the teaching of music theory in high schools (and their feeder schools at the elementary and middle school level) through the AP Music Theory programs, where high school students are taught basic music theory; the quality of these courses depends on the training of teachers, and some of us are working to improve that also.  This type of program is helpful for students who have access to it, because they should have command of the basics and an introduction to content in first year university theory curricula, and be ready to review this material and move on to more advanced content, while others (who may be very talented performers) will have little or no background in the basics and little or no aural training.  Those very basic elements potentially could be taught well by anyone who knows how to read notation, even as beginning clarinet techniques are taught by music educators who know the basics but are not expert performers, and in many university settings, the basics of notation reading are taught by music theory graduate students, or by faculty who are not trained as music theorists.  Teaching anything of substance beyond the basics is another matter. . .



 . . . and all the more reason for universities to hire persons (no matter what their degree name) who have intensive training in and deep understanding of music theory and who are active in music theory circles (which means they have a way to continue learning) to teach music theory content beyond the most basic.  Our incoming undergraduates often have much content to catch up on, to develop the foundational theory and analytical skills they should have prior to graduation with a degree in music, and need teachers who can help them make up for lost time on these content areas.



Jane Clendinning



Jane Piper Clendinning

Professor of Music Theory

Florida State University

College of Music

Tallahassee, FL 32306-1180

Office phone:  850-644-3424 to leave message

Email:  jclendinning at fsu.edu

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