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I have often thought about what would happen if there were an Olympics for musicians. Who can sing/play highest, lowest, fastest, slowest, loudest, softest, most fluidly, etc? Would any of these things be predictive of artistic success?
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<p>This point is a favorite of mine relating to education broadly. I think about it every time I hear Ms "jones" stand up in elementary or middle school and explalin why rote learning and "mindless" drill are not really worth doing. I believe that if there were such olympics, you would find that the most creative people are able to be so precisely because their "basic" skill level is discernably higher than most others. They might not win each category, but they would come in very high.</p>
<p>In any case, I agree its difficult to generalize about which programs are "best". Depends on the individual student, personality, what types of motivation does he respond to, etc. I think its a lot like an athlete chooosing what coach he wishes to play for, and what peers he wishes to be around. THese things are different from school to school, but often tough to discern from a distance.</p>