Happy Independence Day!

My congratulations for Independence Day in USA today and Independence Day in future to every music educator and every student around the globe!
Let’s remind ourselves what Independence means and what it takes to get it.

To my mind, 'independence' for us, music educators - is prosperity. Money. Funds. Whatever you like to call it.

We want funds? Let’s GET THEM! This is simple.

Here what I did to get funds for my school. When I was a director of music department I was supplied with one old toy piano and bunch of ‘noise’ instruments (Xenophon Kelsey, this is how we call unpitched percussion instruments in Russia).

First thing that I did, I moved my beloved acoustic Kawai to the school and after a recital (I selected all the most talented students of entire school and taught them piano), I invited and parents, and administration of the school to the recital.

To MAKE everyone to come I prepared a buffet of Russian dishes and desserts. And when they were full, pleased and happy I turned my alarm to make a wake up call. I said: 'aren’t you ashamed of yourself, guys? You live in such a beautiful and rich country and poor Russian immigrant has to move her own piano to help your children to have at list one dissent instrument?

You have money to go out, get nice things, toys – and tolerate the fact that your own children use this one cheap old piano-toy to learn music?

After this little kick parents organized fund raising and purchased 40 keyboards and a piano. This is how average school with lessons about music was turned into music school. You may see footage about that in the video provided at the end of this message.

So, make yourself independent - go and bangs the doors of parents and change the life of your students. Make them PLAY and glorify music education with MUSIC - not with worthless words.

What independence means for our students? To my opinion, independence of our students is independence from us, music educators! Independence and freedom are 2 wings of one free bird.

Do YOU personally like the idea of someone to stand between your free will and information that is available around? Invasion of our freedom it is. You want to browse information freely and read what you want, when you want it and how you want it? Why don’t we understand that every individual on this planet also deserve the same exact freedom and independence to read and express oneself musically?

You will tell me that your students ARE free. I will say yes, if they do not need YOU to open any music text and read or sing from it without your assistance! You may make suggestions and be their guru or guide, but THEY have to decide, what they want to play - not you.

LITERACY is freedom. Illiteracy - is dependance of care giver. This is that simple!

Listening skills are not supporting independence, because illiterate people tends to like primitive content and not free to browse for more due to the limitations in ear and memory. This is why musically illiterate people become slaves of primitive music. They are stocked and destroyed by being slaves of their own illiteracy.

Here is some essential rules that I think we have to discuss HERE, in Music Education in Public School Curriculum thread:

1. Every individual has rights to have music education. Period. Otherwise, it is not freedom for all.

2. Every individual has rights to know how to read music WITHOUT an interpreter to be able to interact with music score 1 on 1 freely and independently.

It means, learning music in schools and piano studios shouldn’t be ‘teacher intensive’ and shouldn’t promote dependency of a certain teacher. In order to raise independence in music education, we – music educators – ought to be easily replaceable.

The fact that we are ‘so special’ for our students is our weakest point. Our students have to be free to keep developing their skills effectively, even if you, or I or anybody VERY SPECIAL are gone.

Such dependency of our ‘unique personal skills’ is nothing, but the indication of absolutely weak and ineffective approach in music learning. My life goal was to make myself replaceable. Ask yourself: can someone else carry on MY unique and special approach without me? If the answer is yes, I would like to hear about that, because we are here to promote what works the best for majority of teachers or - better - for all.

I wish today, 4th of July, to be understood by each American teacher, since the word ‘ Independence’ and ‘freedom’ are meaning a lot to you and we have this dedicated day to specially celebrate not just these words, but their meaning too.

Regards, Hellene Hiner
PS. Video of who I am and what I do here for those, who is listening: