Steve Goodson wrote a post on his blog last summer called The Sorry State of Saxophone Education. That post really got me thinking to a lot of the players that I’ve met over the years who somehow carried around this weird, misplaced anger and resentment about their lot in life.
They’d gone to good schools; done their degrees; studied their brains out; could play the Charlie Parker Omnibooks in the C, Eb, and Bb keys in their sleep: and yet they worked in music stores or taught high school band class. They just couldn’t figure out how they ended up there. ❓
Many times they were the same players who would make remarks about me playing in rock bands. They’d say things like: But you want to play jazz, right? Or my favourite: Don’t you feel like you’ve sold out?
Huh? 
Did it ever occur to these musicians that I play in these bands because I want to? That I genuinely like the music? That I enjoy playing rock? No, sadly, I don’t think those thoughts crossed their minds at all.
I’ve studied classical (that’s what I studied in university and privately for quite some time) and yes, I’ve studied jazz too. As a matter of fact, I front a jazz band (currently on hiatus only because of my ongoing neuro problems). Jazz even creeps into my Blues work. When I play with the Blues band Deception, on some nights (depending on how the mood strikes me), some of our songs tend to have a distinctive jazz flavor to them when it comes to the extensive sax solos.
So my answer to these musicians is always the same, a rather very dumbfounded, and unoriginal: No, I don’t, but thanks for asking.
With regards to Steve’s blog post that I mentioned to start with, I know that he is seen as a rather controversial, and rather polarizing figure in the sax playing world. However whether or not you like Steve is beside the point. The fact is, he talks about something here that should be talked about more, but unfortunately isn’t.
This particular post struck a resonant chord with me. It made me think, like any good writing should. I especially loved his conclusion:
This is not to say that the methods being used fail to teach students how to play. I see quite a few students who possess amazing technique, and have obviously spent many long hours with the Ferling Etudes and the many excellent jazz studies books. Playing skills are only a part of it, however. Entertainment skills are an equally important component. As part of any final examination, all students should be required to demonstrate proficiency in bar walking, hand percussion, stage dress, sound and light system diagnosis and repair, truck packing and driving, sleep deprivation survival, and dealing with club owners and union officials.
Been there. Done that. Bought the T-shirt. My education didn’t help at all with any of this.
When a student graduates with a $40,000+ student loan debt from university, shouldn’t there be some kind of checks and balances built into the program (and music is certainly not the only program that should be looked at though this lens) to ensure that its graduates have the skills to allow them to earn enough of an income, so that the first question out of their mouths at work doesn’t have to be: “Would you like fries with that?”
