Transcript 2015_Stamp Keynotex - Iowa Bandmasters Association

Iowa
Bandmasters
Association
May
15,
2015
Wilhelm
Furtwangler
“Never has
a society
needed the
arts more
than when
they think
they can do
without
them.”
ENLIGHTENING THOSE IN THE DARK
Budget Cuts
Misperception of what
we do?
Approaching
our evaluators
•“Why Music Matters” –
YouTube (find out their
favorite hymn or holiday
carol)
•Classroom Observation –
have the evaluator sit
within the band. Let him
experience what the
students are doing from
“the inside”.
•Involve other disciplines:
Math, Science, History
•Always have an “off
campus” performance
validated by a post email
from someone at the site.
Society’s concept of
music
Competing with evolving
forms of music media
The “instant
gratification” society
FRIEND OR FOE?
Can we create wind
instruments that
operate with just the
thumbs?
Though,
technology
has
advanced
society in so
many ways,
it is slowly
eroding
humanity.
Low Tech
vs.
High Tech
Computers,
sequencers,
drum
machines,
etc.,
versus
Band
Instruments
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Can we survive the instant gratification of
technology in today’s society?
Can we use technology to enhance the
teaching of music?
Are traditional ensembles antiquated and
new forms of music instruction needed in the
schools?
Humanity?
Technology is
de-sensitizing
society. The
“i-Brain” will
soon be
incapable of
carrying on a
face-to-face
conversation
with another
human being.
How do we teach an art form to be academic?
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The importance of music lies in its
“Aesthetic Education”
Its effect can not be measured by a
standardized test, though there are things
taught in music that are “testable”.
Which other
subject teaches all
of these?
We say this
about
music, but
do we
incorporate
this idea in
our
teaching?
RESIDUAL EFFECT
PROACTIVE
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Meters and note duration
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Play a piece by someone
famous
Italian terms
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Play a piece based upon a
literary work
Talk about open notes and
partials

12-tone or set theory type of
piece which analyzes
mathematically
Give a history lesson about the
time period, composer; involve
the history teacher
Play a work composed by a nonAmerican; explore culture
Research the literary work and
its author; involve the English
teacher
Teach the overtone series,
intonation discrepancy
demonstrations; involve the
Physics teacher
Scores on tests or
scores from a
competition
Aesthetics
can not be
measured
with
quantitative
data.
Recognizing
Aesthetics
My experience
has been that
many school
“officials” are
former athletic
coaches who
understand
winning and
losing, i.e.
scores, more
than they do
aesthetics.
Standardized
Test
Which Characteristics are
Arts (MUSIC) specific?
* Creativity
* Sense of Wonder
* Sense of Beauty
•Persistence, Curiosity,
Enthusiasm, Courage,
Leadership,
Resourcefulness, SelfDiscipline, Compassion,
Reliability, Motivation,
and Resilience, though
available through other
activities, are all present
in Music Education!
Qualities not
measured by
most tests
Tolerance
Sense of
contribution as an
individual, yet
working as a group
Self-confidence
Breakdown of
gender and racial
stereotypes
Sensitive, expressive
individuals
What is the school system’s
philosophy of Music Education? Do
they have one?
 What is your philosophy of Music
Education? Do you have one?
 What is the purpose of Band?
 Are we creating lovers of music or just
band geeks?

Being
Wounded
Frank Battisti:
“Art experiences
should wound you.
You should have
scars for life!”
Are we wounding
our students with
arts experiences,
or just numbing
them?
REFLECTIONS ON MUSIC AND MUSIC EDUCATION
Military General –
Norman
Schwarzkopf
“I hate war.”
“War is a
profane
thing.”
“The more you
sweat in
peace, the less
you bleed in
war.”
U.S.
President
This is maybe the
strongest
statement we
have about the
importance of
music education.
This cites the
ability to
function in a
diverse world and
its relation to the
importance of
Music Education.
Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe,
wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and
charm and gaiety to life and to everything.
-Plato

Music is intended and designed for sentient
beings that have hopes and purposes and
emotions.
-Jacques Barzun (historian)

I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive
expression of humanity. It's something we are all
touched by. No matter what culture we're from,
everyone loves music.
-Billy Joel

Music may achieve the highest of all mission:
she may be a bond between nations, races, and
states, who are strangers in many ways; she may
unite what is disunited and bring peace to what
is hostile.
Dr. Max Bendiner

 It has come to survival
 Almost exclusively, we have
justified the teaching of music
based upon how it enhances an
individual’s success in other
academic areas.
Justifying Our
Existence
This is how
we have
justified our
existence in
the past;
through
what music
does for
other
subjects.
Philosophers
A strong
statement
by Plato.
But, still,
another
example of
what the
Arts do for
other
disciplines.
78% of Americans feel learning a musical
instrument helps students perform better in
other subjects.
Gallup Poll, "American Attitudes Toward Music,"
2003

The schools that produced the highest academic
achievement in the United States today are
spending 20% to 30% of the day on the arts,
with special emphasis on music.
International Association for the Evaluation of
Educational Achievement (IAEEA) Test, 1988

88% of Americans believe participation in
music helps teach children discipline.
Gallup Poll, "American Attitudes Toward Music,"
2003
 Music majors are the most likely group of
college grads to be admitted to medical
school.
Lewis Thomas, Case for Music in the Schools, Phi
Delta Kappa, 1994

High school music students have been shown to
hold higher grade point averages (GPA) than
non-musicians in the same school.
National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988

Martin Gardiner of Brown University tracked the
criminal records of Rhode Island residents from
birth through age 30, and he concluded the
more a resident was involved in music, the lower
the person's arrest record.
Music Linked to Reduced Criminality, MUSICA
Research Notes, Winter 2000

71% of Americans surveyed by the Gallup Poll believe
that teenagers who play an instrument are less likely
to have disciplinary problems.
Gallup Poll, "American Attitudes Toward Music," 2003

Students of lower socioeconomic status who took
music lessons in grades 8-12 increased their math
scores significantly as compared to non-music
students. But just as important, reading, history,
geography and even social skills soared by 40%.
Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey and Knowles, Nature, May 23, 1996
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THE AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE
The importance
of teaching Music
Music
develops
the right
side of the
brain.
Whole Brain
Theory
Right side
for the
feelings and
emotion.
Left side for
the
technique
and
mechanics.
College-age musicians are emotionally
healthier than their non-musician
counterparts for performance anxiety,
emotional concerns and alcohol-related
problems.
Houston Chronicle, January 11, 1998

“Through music we may wander where we
will in time, and find friends in every century.”
― Helen Thompson

A Columbia University study revealed that
students in the arts are found to be more
cooperative with teachers and peers, more
self-confident and better able to express their
ideas. These benefits exist across
socioeconomic levels.
The Arts Education Partnership, 1999

Music integrated into seventh- and eighth-grade
social studies results in better social behaviors
and attitudes.
National Educational Longitudinal Study, 1988
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When a child learns by experience that music
forges direct links between self and world, selfexpression becomes more fluent; the music
helps interpret "who I am."
Growing up Complete, the report of the National
Commission on Music Education, 1990

I love the way music inside a car makes you
feel invisible; if you play the stereo at max
volume, it's almost like the other people can't
see into your vehicle. It tints your windows,
somehow.”
Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself to Live: 85%
of a True Story

. “A grounding in the arts will help our
children to see; to bring a uniquely human
perspective to science and technology. In
short, it will help them as they grow smarter
to also grow wiser.”
Robert E. Allen – Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, AT&T Corporation

What does music
do that no other
subject does?
Develops the right
side of the brain
Teaches self-
expression
Allows for other
worldly experience
and the comfort to
share it with others
It develops a
feeling, sensitive
individual
Music and
Non-Musical
Skills
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No one “sits on the bench”
Non-discriminatory; you don’t have to be a
certain height, weight, speed, or look to
play an instrument.
Non-gender discrimination
Anyone is allowed to achieve and succeed
through hard work and dedication
What is the reason
that kids “hang out”
in the Band Room?
They feel
connected there
This is their
homeroom
They feel
important in this
space
The Band Room
is a “safe haven”
THE POWER
OF MUSIC
Studies have
shown how
effective
music
therapy is on
various
kinds of
mental
illness.
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Math and Science build the mind
Athletics builds the body
The Arts, particularly music, builds the soul
Faith-based schools believe in the
Resurrection
Then music and the arts is what go to heaven
since the body and the mind stay “in the
ground” and the soul is what resurrects.
We are the music-makers,
and we are the dreamer of
dreams.
Never give up
your dreams!
Dreams
Music gives a
child hope, a
sense of
being, and a
safe haven
by which to
express
themselves.
Man of La
Mancha
I believe that we are
called to “cultivate”
those Don Quixotes of
the world; those who
seek what can be and
not just what is.
Do We Have a
Responsibility to MUSIC
as an art form?
Who is responsible
for great, historical
music’s survival?
Who is responsible
for creating
consumers of music?
Is this even
important?
Is the large ensemble
an antiquated form
of musical
instruction in the 21st
Century?
Orchestra Hall –
Minneapolis, MN –
6/29/14
A beautiful
Sunday
afternoon in
the beginning
of summer,
and
Orchestra
Hall is packed
with concertgoers!
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I. Music is a Science
II. Music is Mathematics
III. Music is a Foreign Language
IV. Music is History
V. Music Develops Insight and Demands
Research
VI. Music is all these things, but most of all
MUSIC IS ART
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That is why we teach music; not because we
expect you to major in music; not because we
expect you to play or sing all of your life
(though it is a life-long skill).
We teach music so you will be human, so you
will recognize beauty, so you will be closer to
an infinite beyond this world. So you will have
something to cling to, So you will have more
love, more compassion, more gentleness,
more good—in short, more LIFE.
An “exit poll” response
from a high school
graduate.
Are we teaching
music through
performance in
band or are we
teaching the
activities where
band is involved ?
Are we teaching
our students to
love music or love
the activities that
surround band?
How will we be
remembered?
Our legacy is not
the trophies we
received, the
ratings we
attained, the
recordings we
made, or the
compositions
that we created.
Our legacy as
music teachers is
our students.
Job
Hopping?
Every Child
Deserves a
quality
music
education
from a
quality
teacher!
What is your
legacy?
When students leave
your program, what
would you like them to
carry with them for the
rest of their lives?
Aesthetics
We work to
create feeling,
compassionate,
sensitive students
who will continue
to function that
way in “the
world”.
Aesthetics
This
young boy
performs
at the
funeral of
his music
teacher.
We can save
the world
A teacher
affects
eternity.
They never
know
where their
influence
stops.