 | Dee Starkey is the owner and operator of Jim Starkey Music Center, a full-service school music specialty store serving Wichita area musicians, students and families since 1954. He serves on the board of the Independent Music Merchants Group, and is a member of the National Association of Music Merchants, The National Association of School Music Dealers and the Kansas Music Merchants Association. He is a past president of KMMA and the Wichita Jazz Festival, and has served on funding panels for The National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Starkey also serves as an enthusiastic docent at the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Allen-Lambe House. |
Music
2006-08-01 13:07:00
School and music programs
ANSWER: While many studies in recent years support the importance and value of being in a school band, choir, or orchestra program, stigmas do still exist.Our Wichita area has outstanding nationally recognized public and private school music programs. The lessons learned from active music participation go well beyond notes on a page. The discipline developed by good practice habits helps the music continually get better. Music skills reinforce learning in all academic areas. Social interaction and organizational disciplines are developed and best of all, making music with other people is a wonderful and joyful activity that can’t be duplicated.Costs associated with school music participation are minimal relative to the potential rewards. Beginning band and orchestral instruments are sometimes provided by some districts, but students who play their own instruments have better success rates. Rental-purchase or leasing programs through qualified school music dealers are a popular way to assure success. Support through quality products, knowledgeable and friendly employees, fully staffed service departments, lesson programs, professional road representatives and community involvement assure parents that the path to their student musician’s success will be smooth.Instruments procured through the Internet, E-bay, mass merchant “big box” stores or second-hand sources can possibly present challenges outweighing the perceived “value” of the monetary bargain. An honest full-service dealer can appraise the total value of such a deal (indeed, there are some) and provide useful advice on the situation. Service, parts, structural integrity and overall quality must be considered. A quality instrument passed down through the family can sometimes be a good deal if it functions properly. Parents who might say, “It’s good enough for now…we’ll see how they do and then consider making an investment,” could be compromising their child’s chances for success.If your child chooses to join one or more of their school music programs, get to know the instructors. Become aware of you and your child’s responsibilities and opportunities. Your child’s band, choir or orchestra directors are busy and talented professionals, and they have chosen to become music educators to pass along and share the joy and magic of music making. The more you understand their expectations, the more your child will succeed.
