Posted by Rick Denney on March 04, 2003 at 10:25:03:
In Reply to: New thread-----old topic part 2 posted by Tom Mason on March 04, 2003 at 07:31:37:
Your point was one of my main points in my homily in the other thread. The sports guys have done a good job of selling sports programs on the basis of building character through discipline and teamwork. It seems to me that few band directors have made the same argument effectively, instead depending on the notion that music develops the brain for other subjects, and so on.
As was mentioned in the other thread, the music-as-brain-developer argument is not universally believed even by musicians. Yes, musicians tend to do well in some other subjects, but correlation does not prove causality.
But playing in a band always requires teamwork and a common commitment to a group purpose. I remember a conversation in the movie "Lone Star", where an Army commander is talking to a soldier straight out of boot camp, who was getting into trouble with drugs. He told her that at its most basic level, being a soldier meant watching out for the other members of your squad, and not doing things that will get them in trouble. This became an attainable goal for the young soldier, instead of the lofty goals of "building character". In every ensemble in which I've played, from beginner to professional, the concept of contributing to the ensemble sound and doing no harm has been a central feature. People who do this in the workplace are the ones who get most of the work done, and who are most valuable to employers. Yes, there are the occasional stars who can afford to be eccentric, but those aren't the students and parents that music educators must reach--they will take care of themselves.
In some cases, it might even do to consider the band as a gang, though of course you have to choose your words carefully. A band that is functioning well can provide the same benefits to students as they perceive (usually incorrectly) in gang membership.
I think this approach would play well with those who are already persuaded of this line of reasoning in the sports context, which probably includes most politicians. It is already a principle of the Education Establishment to remove all traces of winning and losing from sports (where it is appropriate), so I don't think we'd have to work all that hard to filter out the competitiveness of sports. I find it ironic that the trend to root out competitiveness in sports has accompanied a trend to focus on band contests in music.
At the end of the day, though, music is its own reward and the best way to sell it is for as many people as possible to experience the reward.
Rick "well-rewarded" Denney