If emotions are at the core of learning, why do music educators and ensemble directors consistently ignore the student’s emotions? Nearsightedness and for their own emotions. Or perhaps we should be thinking about future emotions.
It is easier to look a month or two down the road. It is easier to view own your road rather than putting yourself in the students place ten years from now. And of course it feels good to win. Bringing home the gold ‘proves’ that you’re a great teacher. Or does it?
Is it really about how ‘good’ your ensemble is? Is it about how many gold medals you win? How many competitions you attend? Those are events to experience and targets to shoot for but not the end goal. It’s about the students and their experience. It’s about them having a positive experience. It’s about them walking away with positive emotions.
Think about the kid in the back of the section. He’s a mediocre player. Not always in tune and sometimes comes in at the wrong time. Do you cut him or put soap on his bow so he can’t make a sound? Of course not. But down the road, what is really going to matter? Not the fact that the group received a lower rating because of him. No, what will matter is that he participated. When he looks back, the fact that he was in the group will make the difference and in turn affect how he interacts with people, groups, and situations.
What do you remember about your school music experience? I don’t remember what score I received at contests but I can tell you how teachers treated me and what kind of experience I had.
I remember my baseball coach not putting me in the game because…well because I sucked at baseball! It was a freshman league and all he cared about was winning. Does it really matter? How do you think I feel about that experience and how does that affect me now? Will your students want to attend a musical event as an adult or will it cause negative emotions to reverberate with them?
by Eugen Herrigel
by Charles Garfield
by Barry Green with Timothy Gallwey
by Eloise Ristad
by Kenny Werner
by Barry Green
by Peter London
by Stephen Nachmanovitch
by Dr. James E. Loehr
by C. Alexander Simpkins, Ph.D. & Annellen Simpkins, Ph.D.
by Frederick Zimmerman
by Warren Benfield & James Seay Dean, Jr.
by David Allen
by John Maeda
by Tim Lautzenheiser
I’m still playing for a living, and am much happier in a group of B+ players with no attitudes/egos than with some of the A+ players I’ve been around. We have more fun during the shows, are more relaxed, and tend to draw the audience in with our interactions.
I’d rather the crowd (and the band) had fun the whole night, than dropped their jaws on the ground for a couple of songs but didn’t enjoy the overall experience.
In watching groups, one of the instant “turn-off’s” is to realize that someone has an over-inflated ego. I’ll go down the street and watch a band that is not as good, so long as the chemistry is there.
Luckily (more towards your post) most of my teachers have been pretty “low-ego”, which allowed me to take much more away from their classes and choose to remain involved in music. I hate hearing “yeah, I used to play, but my teacher was a real prick so I quit”.
They’re there to learn. They won’t all be rock stars. Deal with it, don’t take it out on them…
Excellent points!
I don’t remember anything.
Another point to consider is that, as a teacher, you’ve chosen to help the kids out, not forward your musical agenda. A true educator would find out what interests that “weaker student” had, and work with them. Sure, he may not be a great clarinet player in an orchestral setting, but he may have some awesome ideas on how to set-up the playbills, or to tweak the sound system for recordings, which in it’s own way will add to your ensemble… More than once, I’ve kept “weaker” members in my groups because they had strengths in other areas (tech, booking, management)…
I know that I don’t only speak for myself when I say that although I was involved in an ensemble, it wasn’t where my interest truly rested… but the experiences that I gleaned helped me to structure my other interests in better ways.
Chris, once again you raise insightful points. I feel I should be creating appreciators and the future audience of classical music. My students have recently asked to perform specific classical pieces so I think may me doing my job.
I should also be laying a solid foundation so that a student has the vocational option to pursue music if they so choose.