Children who have received music instruction scored higher marks on tests of their
spatial and arithmetic skills.
-- Rauscher, F.H., Shaw, G.L., Levine, L.J., Wright, E.L., Dennis, W.R., and Newcomb, R., Music training causes long-term enhancement of
preschool children’s spatial temporal reasoning, 1997
Guest Editorial by Bob Scott
This information was originally published in Missouri School Music Magazine in the summer of 2004. It is reprinted here with the permission of the author. Mr. Robert Scott is professor emeritus from Missouri State University and an active clinician and adjudicator of bands across the midwest. Mr. Scott wrote the article after many days of judging at state large ensemble contest and was concerned about the direction of music education in the state. It offers valuable insight on the priorities we place as teachers. The prologue of the article was as follows: "After spending several weekends judging music festivals over the state, Bob Scott was disturbed
enough to call your editor to see if I would welcome an article about his concern for the future of
music education in our state."
 Jess Cole made a statement to me over thirty years ago that I have never forgotten: "Too many kids are
being cheated out of a music education." I hadn't thought that much about that statement until this past
several weeks after having served as large instrumental adjudicator for two areas of the state music festival.
To say that I was disappointed is an understatement. Forty-eight percent of the ratings I assigned were III's
or below.
Too many groups had no basic concept of tone quality. It was obvious that many students had no idea of
what a good characteristic sound is for their particular instrument. I believe we, as music educators, must
seriously address this problem. Do some directors really know what constitutes a good tone? Where are we
failing? Are the young directors being certified to teach music without having learned a good concept of
sound for the various instruments? Have the young directors acquired the knowledge to teach the
fundamentals leading to good tone production?
Many of the groups I heard were not even close regarding intonation. It was often difficult to hear any
sense of key center during many of the performances. We heard scales played as warm-ups that were not
even close to the pitches. Accompaniment parts were not tuned and often lacked any sense of rhythmic
precision. Tuning the timpani was a common problem for several groups. I am sure the majority of the
directors have the ability to detect these pitch problems, but have not developed this ability in their
students.
I could go on and on identifying the problems. Blend and balance problems were commonplace. It was
rare to hear second, third, and fourth parts blended and balanced to the lead players. Many groups presented
a top-heavy sound with strident trumpets leading the charge. Articulations, dynamics, rhythmic precision
were common problems. I have been giving this problem a lot of thought lately, and wondering what can
be done to insure that a solid music education is an option for students in all schools, no matter the size of
the institution. We can't throw up our hands and blame block scheduling, the lack of committed young
people, or lack of administrative support.
Are the colleges and universities doing an adequate job of training music educators? Are MMEA, MBA,
MCDA and MO-ASTA doing all they can to supply the kinds of clinics and programs to aid the growth and
development of young educators? And, if these clinics are provided, will they be attended by the people
that need them? Are the school administrators concerned that viable music programs are available for their
students? Is the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education aware of the inadequacies of many
music programs in our state?
I was reluctant to send this article to the Missouri School Music Magazine, but believed we needed to
address some serious problems which exist in our field. I sincerely hope that our professional organizations,
colleges and universities, DESE and school administrators will give some serious thought to these concerns
I have raised. I still believe every child has the right to a music education. Many students are served well in
the number of fine programs we have in Missouri, but in a good number of cases, students are being "left
behind" musically, and I have trouble accepting that.
Robert M. Scott
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