The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help
repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st
Century.
-- The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education, BusinessWeek
Reaction to Guest Editorial by Larry Bennett
On January 25th, we published an editorial written by Bob Scott. The original article is reprinted at the bottom of this edition. Here is a reaction to that editorial submitted by Larry Bennett. It was included in this edition of the Quick Note with the author's permission.
 Eric,
Thanks for reprinting this fine piece. If I recall correctly, Bob and I were on the same panel at one of the festival to which he is referring. In my generation, many of us were of the opinion that the Concert Band was the "Mother Ship" of the band program. I have seen a shift away from this philosophy by many younger directors. They feel that the students and their parents are more excited about the competitive scenario of Marching Band Festivals. You get those competitive juices flowing for large crowds, and, or course, there are all of those trophies for any number of captions at the end of the day. Now, it seems as though I am going down a road that is going to end up in the village of Marching Band is Evil. This is not the case; however, I do not feel that Marching Band should be the musical centerpiece of the Band Program.
As Scott opines, refinements of tone, intonation, balance, phrasing, and articulation take place not only in the Concert Band setting, but also with the associated solos, small ensembles, private lessons, All-State audition preparation, and sectional rehearsals. Granted, the crowds may not be as large, the music may not be as accessible to the parents, and the trophies are smaller (or non-existent); however, the critical listening skills that one develops to be a first-rank musician are honed in these settings. To those who might argue that the finest marching bands can rival the finest concert bands in these areas, I would say a comparison of Drum and Bugle Corps vs. the Marine Band or the Chicago Symphony might be in order. Oh well, this is my very long-winded way of saying thank you for publishing Bob's editorial one more time. Best wishes!
Larry Bennett
Guest Editorial by Bob Scott ( ~~distributed in the Quick Note on January 25, 2010~~ )
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. 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 |
