Have you ever stopped to think WHY we do what we do?\u00a0\u00a0WHY do we dedicate our time, our intellectual energies, our creative talents\u2026ultimately OUR LIVES to the world of band directing?\u00a0\u00a0What is it about this musical, educational, organizational, administrative, always-challenging professional pathway that keeps bringing us back to the rehearsal room, the performance stage, and to those extraordinary students who are willing to go the extra mile to follow us with a sense of commitment unique to the school community?\u00a0\u00a0The answer is certainly different for each individual, but the common denominators are:<\/p>\n
\u2026just to mention a few.<\/p>\n
In many ways, the above list is a reflection of the requisite assignment we all wrote for our MUSED 101 class:\u00a0\u00a0MY PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION.\u00a0\u00a0When was the last time we revisited those mantras?\u00a0\u00a0Is it possible we get so busy involved with the WHAT of \u201cthe doing\u201d we forget the WHY of \u201cthe doing?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0In our urgency to responsibly prepare our ensembles for a concert, a festival, a contest, it is so easy to put more emphasis on the\u00a0extremes<\/em>\u00a0(the goal) than we do on the\u00a0means<\/em>\u00a0(the process), and in doing so we inadvertently sidestep the WHY?<\/p>\n So what?\u00a0\u00a0Why would it make any difference as long as the final outcome represents A QUALITY-BASED PERFORMANCE?\u00a0\u00a0Who cares how we get there as long as we arrive?\u00a0\u00a0Won\u2019t the WHY become clear as soon as we accomplish the WHAT?\u00a0\u00a0All are fair questions, and many would argue the\u00a0extremes<\/em> (the goal) justify the\u00a0means<\/em>\u00a0(the process).<\/p>\n Let us look at this from a different perspective.\u00a0\u00a0We know intrinsic motivation is triggered via the understanding of WHY we are doing this-or-that.\u00a0\u00a0Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, requires something outside the individual to stimulate forward motion.\u00a0\u00a0Unquestionably any master teacher will use a combination of both to bring student musicians to a high level of technical proficiency, but the dominant motivation will come from the performers.\u00a0\u00a0It is their collective contribution that fuels the journey of musical excellence:\u00a0\u00a0NOT the journey\u00a0TO<\/u>\u00a0musical excellence, but the journey\u00a0OF<\/u>\u00a0musical excellence.\u00a0\u00a0The key to tapping the unlimited resource of human potential lies in the understanding of WHY we are being asked to do WHAT we are being asked to do.\u00a0\u00a0This is true for something as obvious as requesting a crescendo to an accompaniment phrase to support the musical line of the melody\u2026or attending an additional rehearsal to accommodate a guest conductor\u2019s limited rehearsal time.\u00a0\u00a0When we comprehend the WHY the WHAT is much more easily accomplished.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0FOR OUR STUDENTS:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u00a0They deserve to know the WHY, and we must carefully explain the WHY so they can be empowered to contribute with the understanding of the personal and group benefits that will come from their investment.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0FOR OUR PROFESSIONAL WELFARE:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u00a0We must take the time to step back and constantly look at the WHY of our thoughts and actions.\u00a0\u00a0Boredom, frustration, and burnout are the result of becoming disconnected with our REASONS OF WHY we chose to be band directors in the first place.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0FOR OUR PARENTS\/BOOSTERS:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Do these great supporters\u00a0really<\/em> understand the lasting impression of music learning?\u00a0\u00a0Are they cognizant of the compelling data highlighting the extended benefits of music study?\u00a0\u00a0There is more to this than joining the band, buying an instrument, and attending concerts\u2026FAR MORE.\u00a0\u00a0We have to avail them to WHY music is such a crucial aspect of the positive growth and development of every child.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0FOR THE HEALTH OF THE PROGRAM:<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0Let us be reminded we are privileged to be a part of an educational system that supports music education\u2026and we get to teach it!\u00a0\u00a0For many of the young musicians, the band director is, without question, their most influential teacher. The standards you set determine how they will approach every aspect of their lives, and when they understand WHY you set the bar SO HIGH, they also see the relevance of the same criteria as it applies to everything they do.<\/p>\n May I suggest you are reading this article because of a band director who had a profound impact on your life, now you are passing that priceless treasure of musical understanding on to your own students\u2026and what greater WHY could there be?\u00a0\u00a0THAT\u2019S WHY!<\/p>\n \u2026STRIKE UP THE BAND\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever stopped to think WHY we do what we do?\u00a0\u00a0WHY do we dedicate our time, our intellectual energies, our creative talents\u2026ultimately OUR LIVES to the world of band directing?\u00a0\u00a0What is it about this musical, educational, organizational, administrative, always-challenging professional pathway that keeps bringing us back to the rehearsal room, the performance stage, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[295,318,313,294],"class_list":["post-3678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","tag-dr-tim","tag-lautzenheiser","tag-leader","tag-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3678"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6544,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions\/6544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}