Ever see posters like the one here? They have headings like "Doctors" or "Lawyers" followed by pictures of what people think they do. I have been giving lots of thought to this idea from the music educator perspective - what is a "music educator?"
In my case, I work at the Dallas School of Music and have been here for almost all of its 20 year existence. It's a private music school. We don't sell instruments or sheet music, we don't have 'group classes', and we don't have scholarships for 'gifted' students. We don't have a "board of directors", fund-raising performances, or after school programs at local junior highs. We simply sell private music education to anyone who is interested in learning; all ages, and all levels of ability. We also sell music education via the web with an online curriculum that reaches learners around the globe (so in a large way, the picture above applies to us far more than picture #1 below).
I spend my days monitoring music-ed news, writing blogs, updating our social networks, developing curriculum with great colleagues and creating incredible relationships with students... as I teach music. I know that what I do on a daily basis is far different than what most music educators do, and that's just fine by me.
The idea of selling music education is difficult to imagine for many. DSM's history is full of examples of people 'not getting it', from both within our profession and from the outside as well. There are even people in our own families who, like folks in those posters, often struggle with our work and vision. The examples are numerous and range from the funny to frustrating, yet we persevere.
I interact with many passionate music teachers and advocates on twitter (#musiced) and I enjoy it immensely. I participate in #musiced chats, exchange ideas with some very important and influential educators/administrators from all over the world. I've even coordinated blog posts with contributors from near and far. I'm not sure many of these folks know exactly what I do, but that's ok - hopefully they will soon!
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Are you a music educator? What is a music educator? What is the perception of our profession? I look forward to posting your responses and in the mean time - I thought I'd start the ball rolling with the following pictures:
I was fortunate enough to catch Bruce Springsteen's keynote speech at SXSW live online thanks to a tip from my 'peeps' on Twitter. I've been a fan of Bruce for a long time. I am originally from Jersey and even played in a tribute band called Thunder Road when I was in college...lots of years ago. I've seen BRUUUCCE live many times beginning in 1978 at a small arena in Springfield, MA, then again in 1981 with a nearly front row seat in Hartford. I even had the chance to see him at the Meadowlands in Jersey - the local hero throwing a massive party in his own rock and roll backyard with 60,000 of his closest buddies.
Lately though as I have gotten older, I must admit I've grown tired of the political rhetoric attached to the music and tended to lean more toward the 'shut up and sing' camp when it came to the Boss. Don't get me wrong, some of the sounds I heard were great, I just hadn't waited in line to purchase a ticket or a CD, and frankly, hadn't really even sought out his new tunes like I once did. I have however, always been impressed with his speaking ability and very much enjoyed his induction of U2 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So today when I knew he would be addressing the crowd in Austin just down Interstate 35, I tuned in.
As a long time teacher and outsider in my own profession (music education), I found myself emotionally drawn again to his call for us to find our soul and pour it into our work. I had grown so tired of the message that I could not hear the music. Now, his message was delivered so very clearly and simply that I found myself almost standing and applauding at my desk. He is every-man indeed, and spoke with a mix of conviction and honesty all wrapped in a naive and grand notion that music can still change the world.
He started off just as one might expect,
“Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Why are we up so —ing early? How important can this speech be if we’re giving it at noon? Every decent musician in town is asleep. Or they will be before I’m done with this thing, I guarantee you.”
I was hooked, and for the next half-hour or so I was schooled in rock and roll history, in what it means (or should mean) to be a musician, and what it's like to be passionate about your craft. Here are a few memorable quotes from his terrific speech:
On being the 'keynote' speaker and trying to sum up what's happening 'on the street': "No one hardly agrees on anything in pop anymore."
Upon hearing Elvis for the first time on Ed Sullivan 1958 "Once Elvis's music was heard AND seen, there was no putting the genie back in the bottle." On musical creativity: "Purity of human expression and experience is not confined to guitars, to tubes, to turntables, to microchips. There is no right way of doing it, there'sjust doing it."
To up and coming artists on how he learned from history "Listen up youngsters, this is how successful theft is accomplished."
On what's important as a performer "At the end of the day, it's the power and purpose of your music that matters."
We get lots of questions about practicing especially when new students begin at DSM or online at DLP. Parents want to know how long their kids should practice each day and adult learners are anxious to know "how much do I need to practice to be good enough to...uh, play?".
My answer is probably not what they expect and usually goes something like this; To the parent - "If I'm doing my job then your child will enjoy playing music and the chances are he'll make time to explore our material and practice on his own."
To the adult - "How about we focus on learning these very first few basic concepts and see how it goes at our next lesson?"
Folks sometimes mention that mythical "half hour a day" rule, but I rarely budge. My reply usually goes something like; "Let's see, it's our first lesson, we learned how to put the instrument together and made a little noise. We introduced some musical concepts and there are a few things to review before next week. That shouldn't take too long."
Still, parents and adult students who have armed themselves with information like the Mozart Effect or the"10,000 hour rule" (attributed most recently to Malcolm Gladwell) sometimes put emphasis on the wrong P word. Read on...
In the bookOutliers, Malcolm Gladwelllooks at the factors that contribute to high levels of success in a wide array of disciplines. He studies hockey stars, computer programmers, scientists, and musicians, among others, and boils down his findings to the much ballyhooed '10,000 hour' rule. i.e. "The key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours."
For his musical example, Gladwell cites the Beatles. He learned that the lads had performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times between 1960 and 1964, and thus easily reached the mystical 10,000 hours of playing time before they returned to Liverpool (and ensuing critical acclaim). But hey, these are THE BEATLES for gosh sake! I reckon they may have been just as fun and 'good' on their 200th gig as they were by the time they reached the Ed Sullivan show.
It's tough to argue with the basic premise of Gladwell's findings, after-all, it's not rocket science.The more you work at a task, the better you will become at it. But as one of my esteemed colleagues (Gary Feltner) said when I told him I was writing this blog, "Some students can get a ton accomplished in one short practice session while others labor on with little progress to show for their work." Besides, not every student aspires to play Carnegie Hall. Most just want to reach a level of proficiency and understanding of their chosen instrument and genre. If that's you, then here are 3 basic tips to keep you on your path.
1. Concentrate on the PROCESS not the end result.This was one of the main points in Gary Marcus's book Guitar Zero. After having some success at the game Guitar Hero, he decided to see if his mad skills might translate over to 'real' guitar playing. His words of wisdom to other learners? "Enjoy the journey and don't fixate on the destination".
2. If you take lessons, attend them whether you practice during the week or not! I can't tell you how many students (mostly adults) completely undermine their progress because they fear they are not prepared for their weekly lesson. A good educator knows what you need and will present ideas for you to review so that you can carry on. Of course it's great when students get some practice time on their instrument, but it should not be a determining factor as to whether a lesson is attended or not.
3. When you DO have time to practice, make it count! A good instructor will provide you with a set of clear goals after each session (a really good instructor will document those goals for you after every lesson). I encourage students to keep their instrument out and 'in sight' at home, if it's visible you'll be more apt to tinker with it now and again. A few minutes of playing can really go a long way and there's no need to skip it altogether if you feel like you don't have a predetermined amount of time available. Every little bit helps!
Today is the official release of Guitar Zero by NYU Professor and 'deep thinker' Gary Marcus. It's the story of how an internationally renowned scientist decided to conquer music, something that had been elusive and mystifying for most of his life, at the age of 38.
"I had no musical talent whatsoever and at one point was gently told to stop taking recorder lessons when I was younger." That may be a sad commentary on poor teaching more than anything else, but Marcus wanted to know if musicality is something we are born with or can it be developed at any age?
His path included stops at Guitar Hero, Suzuki classes and even a summer camp for budding rockers where he jammed with 11 year-olds in a band called Rush Hour. He shares his personal challenges with rhythm, theory, and technique and wraps it all in a thoughtful, insightful, and mostly non-academic memoir.
It's a great read for anyone currently studying (and teaching!) music or wanting to. And Mr. Marcus' experiences should strike quite a chord with DSM and DLP students. The book also raises some interesting questions about the science of human pleasure and the more basic question, what counts as a life well lived? “I might never be Jimi Hendrix... but for a brief moment I could sense what it was like to explore a new musical landscape.” His advice for future learners? Enjoy the journey and don't fixate on the destination. Excerpted from the following:garymarcus.combostonglobe.com
It has been an eventful year atDLP. I hope you enjoy this look back at some of the years most memorable blog posts!
Finding Inspiration in Unlikely Places - Part 1 January 6 One never knows where or when inspiration will strike, but if you keep your eyes, ears, mind, and heart open as you slog through every day life, you may just find inspiration in the most unusual of places...in this case,sports radio.
The Future of Music Education? BRIGHT! - February 17 This was one of the most read, most commented on, and most linked-to blog of the year. The optimistic outlook of our profession struck quite a chord on twitter too, and the blog was re-posted on many music education websites.
Meet DLP User Patrick Kohalmi - April 20 The greatest thing about music is the people you meet through it. Patrick Oliver Kohalmi is a personal trainer, web- entrepreneur, and budding soprano sax player from Hune, Nordjyllan, Denmark. He is also aDLPuser!
Be Well, Feel Good, and Make MUSIC! - July 11 Another person we met this year (via twitter) wasKat Fulton. She's a music therapist, drum circle facilitator, and a wonderful promoter of her profession. How could we not contact her?
Music Education + Business = Win Win - November 14 This one took the prize as our most read post. It was featured in many 'daily bests' from the #musiced twitter-verse and was reprinted on several sites including Entrepreneur the Arts. This post was prompted by our conversation with Marty Albertson the former CEO and current Chairman ofGuitar Center.
Digital Learning is Here to Stay - December 5 I watched a regional TED Talkfeaturing Tom Vander Ark author of Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World. I was intrigued enough to write Tom and share with him what we're doing at DLP. Lo and behold he wrote back with 'two thumbs up' and a promise to feature us on the Getting Smart website...we'll keep ya posted!
