Are we scaring them away?

Among the ensembles that I lead is the Tri-State Wind Symphony, a community ensemble rather unique in its makeup.  We have no auditions or age requirements.  We have never begged anyone to come play nor have we turned anyone away, in spite of their abilities (or the lack thereof).

I always tell the story of Emily (her real name) who came to us lugging a tenor saxophone after just one year of playing in elementary band.  When she saw the music she immediately looked like a deer in the headlights; never had she seen so many black dots on a page.  And key signatures?  You've got to be kidding; everything is in C-major!  After her first rehearsal, I figured, "We'll never see her again."  BUT, she kept coming back and has played with us ever since, even though her summer return is always a little later than most because of her studies as a music major at DePaul University in Chicago.  Shortly after the beginning of her studies I received the kindest message of thanks for all that I had done to help her get where she was; in many ways I may have learned as much as she did.

She's one of our many success stories.  I can no longer count the number of young people who have cut their teeth in wind band through participation in our summer program.  Some are studying at prestigious institutions, others at state schools such as the University of Northern Iowa or Iowa State.  I'm proud of them and their efforts and only hope that they're not being prepared for a world in which their skills and passions are either deemed unnecessary or unworthy.

Then there's John:  possibly equal in talent to Emily.  He decided to study music (I won't say where) and lasted not even a year in the program.  Is it because of his ability?  Certainly not.  Intelligence?  That's not the case either.  Then why is John no longer studying music (even though he continues pursuing his passion with us during the summer months)?  The answer, unfortunately, is simple; he was not prepared for his applied teacher's expectation that he was to live and breathe nothing but music, practicing at least four to five hours per day.

That's really not much different than the way we approach practicing with beginning musicians:  give them a book, then a lesson, then tell them to go home and practice 20 minutes per day.  I've always wondered why we neglect to tell them how to practice.  My own 11-year-old hardly touches her trumpet because everyone else in band is still struggling to read music (she's had a couple of years of piano lessons) so she really doesn't have to.  Fortunately, there are enough of her friends still playing that she enjoys the social aspect of the whole experience.  I have to wonder how much things will change as she changes schools in the fall (from parochial to public).

It's interesting that this should come up as I had recently encountered this blog post which talked about that very topic.  The long and short of it leans upon some of the "experts" in the field about exactly how one should practice.

• Nathan Milstein's teacher, Leopold Auer, told him, "If you practice with your fingers, no amount is enough.  If you practice with your head, two hours is plenty."
• Heifetz:  Excessive practice is "just as bad as practicing too little."
• Donald Wallerstein (one of the author's teachers) suggests establishing a 24-hour period every week where one is not allowed to pick up an instrument.

Most practice and I would infer by relationship, most rehearsal, is mindless.  We practice (rehearse) until something goes wrong and then we go back and "fix" it, often simply through repetition.  Dr. Kageyama tells us that it is a waste of time, makes you less confident, and is tedious and boring.  Frankly, I'm surprised that we're able to keep our brightest and best musicians involved in our programs at all.  During "marching band season," we play the same 7-8 minutes of music with accompanying drill from band camp in July through sometime in mid-October.  Then we have about 7-8 weeks (35-40 rehearsals) to whip up the three tunes for the "Christmas" concert (I know that "holiday" is P.C., but everyone still thinks of it as a Christmas concert).  Of course, possibly one rehearsal/week is spent in pep band just throwing charts together, etc., etc., etc.

And it's always the same--year in and year out.  I know of a band program that "starts" over 300 musicians every year and ends up graduating about 40, nearly a 90% attrition rate.  While, to their credit, some of the students who have stuck it out possess high levels of intrinsic motivation there is also a good number who are there for the fun of it or the yearly band trip.  One has to wonder how many of the "brightest and best" we have scared away, and exactly why...

There is much more in Dr. Kageyama's article about the hows of practicing wherein, if one is practicing deliberately, it might only be possible to practice an hour per day because of the intense effort being put into it.  More than two hours definitely surpasses the point of diminishing returns and it's time to watch a movie, have a beer or study the voice leading in a French sixth chord....