It’s a question I’ve grappled with many times, especially as a music teacher. What is the goal of learning music? To perform or to participate? Outside expectations push me into emphasizing the performance. The school wants an impressive end-of-year program. Parents want a successful spring recital. The church wants a Christmas musical that attracts a crowd. And so, it becomes all about the performance.
It’s always such a relief to me when the program, the recital, the musical is finally over. Then my teaching can once again be about the music. During the months before, it is all about the performance. Be pretty, poised, and perfect. Don’t let the pressure get to you. Look good. Sound good. Cover mistakes. Don’t flub up. Too often this becomes draining, and washes the joy right out of the music, especially for nervous students.
The competition also erases the love of music from the hearts of students. Competition, you say, in music? Yes, sports do not have the edge on what it means to compete. Music also becomes all about who’s the best. We even have competitions that award prizes. This isn’t all bad. It can motivate a musician and inspire them to keep practicing. However, even simple recitals can turn into competitions. How many sit there with the following thoughts during a recital? Oh, she’s the best. Wow, he played that piece perfectly. Uh oh, that one really messed up. Now, he’s got talent. Watch her skill, very impressive. How could she have forgotten her entire piece? These thoughts play through our minds too often, instead of just sitting there and enjoying the music for what it is.
This is a reflection on what music has become in our society. Many do not participate in music anymore. We listen to it on the radio. We go to concerts to hear the professionals. But we don’t participate in it ourselves; we only leave that up to the well-trained. Before radio, people would sing together while they worked. I remember singing together in the car on long trips with my family as a child. Too often, I’ve just put on a CD for my children. Families used to sit down together at the end of a long day, and sing and get out the instruments. Remember Pa’s fiddle in Little House on the Prairie? Are campfire sing-alongs a thing of the past? When my parents were teenagers, friends would gather together for singings, learning four-part harmony and how to blend their voices. I know we can’t go back to the “olden days”, but I long for people to learn to just enjoy music in this way again. Because when we leave it up to the professionals, people become too intimidated to sing or play songs. They feel inferior. They’ve heard all the best, and they think they’re not good enough to create their own melodies. They’re scared they might hit a wrong note or sing a little off-key. This makes me sad. I’ve had students tell me they’re tone deaf when they aren’t, they just haven’t had opportunities to participate in music-making.
I want music to be about the pleasure of participation. No matter your skill, let’s make music together. Let’s just sit down and sing. Let’s stand around and tap out rhythms. Let’s get out the instruments. Let’s harmonize. Let’s feel the delight of music again.
If you can open the links below, you’ll see the fun of a family participating in music together (a little silly, but fun).
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