The Tragic Decline of Music Literacy (and Quality)

@schubert  Certainly economics play a role. Where there is no money and in regions where the mobile population is leaving it is going to be hard to fund or even maintain interest in the arts.

Where I live, which is still considered by much of the nation as the illiterate and backwards south, growth has been exponential over the last 20 years and especially the last 5-10. Lots of people coming in. Lots of money coming in. Lots of talent coming in. This increases the tax base which give schools more to work with and local cities and towns with money for arts etc. It also increases the number of people with an appetite and desire for the arts. 

I saw a special on Detroit about funk music in the early 70's and how that was a direct product of black families with high blue collar incomes from the auto industry allowing their kids to buy instruments and play in basement bands.

Money talks. And sings.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’

How about we don’t spend another $1000 on a very marginal sound quality gain, and sponsor our local school band/orchestra with it instead? If we all bought a kid an instrument instead of buying the next bit of kit to install in our pampered, anti-social, private man-cave listening rooms we would be making things better, instead of complaining about the decline we have caused.
(Because we were there, right? It was us that did it...)

For the last three years my wife and I have sponsored our new local symphony at the second highest sponsorship level. Not bragging, she has been active in the organization and its what we wanted to do. And it has been a pleasure to be able to do so.


But that would have indeed paid for some nice audio equipment.

Sadly, the response to COVID may have killed our new three year old symphony. No performances in a year. No ticket money coming in. Sponsorships understandably drying up. I don't know how those musicians are staying afloat. Currently no performances planned and we live in a state that has not had mandatory shut downs since the spring.


Music venues in the region have been shuttered for about a year as well.

No matter where you fall on the politics and/or science of COVID, it is decimating the working musician and venue owners.

n80 - thank you from us all. And yes, what a blow Covid is.
Our local youth orchestra gave my daughter one of her passions (sax) and her friend her career (she went on to the Royal Academy to study flute) and another her entry into the armed forces as a musician. I hope so much it reopens after all this.