To Transcribe or Not To Transcribe, That Is The Question, Season 3, Episode 7

Well, hello again, everyone!  I know you have been anxiously awaiting this blog post.  And I know why: you want to see the video of my NAfME conference session.

 

Well, folks.  I have some bad news; you are going to have to wait another week.

So, here is what happened.  On Tuesday, I sat down to watch the video, had a mini panic attack, chickened out, and then didn't watch it.  I tried again on Thursday.  Same result.  It will happen this coming week, I promise!  You will get to see the video in my next post.  I swear this isn't some kind of ploy just to get you to keep reading.  I honestly wasn't expecting it to be so hard to get myself to watch the video.  I watch myself on video all the time.  But, I guess I have become comfortable enough with my teaching practices that when I watch a teaching video, I know what I am in for.  Since this is my first presentation video, I have no idea how well it will align with my memory or my hopes of how it went.  And I am really nervous to see how it all played out.  Moral of the story: I am a wimp.  

Moving on to Night Owls.  I have been having some trouble with Solas Ane, one of the pieces I am conducting.  The group has been having trouble staying together and I have been really over-conducting to try to get them to stay together.  This week, I took some advice from Dr. T.  She told me that conducting harder is not going to solve the problem, that if they aren't responding to comfortable conducting, harder conducting won't help.  She suggested that there might be a deeper issue at play that is getting in their way of being able to follow the conducting.  So, I did something pretty radical: I decided not to conduct at all!  I started off by telling the group a quick story.  It is a true story and names have not been changed to implicate the innocent.

"A couple years ago I was in rehearsal with Cat5 (Category 5 Wind Ensemble, for those of you who are out of the know).  After a run through of some piece - I can't for the life of me remember which one - my buddy, Steve (who was playing tuba), and I turned to each other nodded our heads and said, "nice."  The reason this is important is because we weren't buried in our own parts, but we were making music together."

So, I prompted Night Owls to use their ears to make music with one another and not lean on me for tempo.  I had them find someone in the ensemble who played a different instrument than they did and to focus their attention, not on their own parts, but rather on what the other person was playing.  I counted them off, and let them go.  I did not conduct at all.  And you know what?  After a couple tries, they were able to stay together!  When I finally started conducting again at the end of the rehearsal, I was able to conduct comfortably and I didn't feel like I had to over-exert myself to keep the group together.  To be fair, I am still not sure if they are watching me, but they were able to stay together.  One problem at a time!

The most thought-provoking discussion of the week came in Conducting Seminar.  Dr. T. lead a discussion on programming transcriptions... or rather, not programming them.  Some background information: 

• Transcriptions are pieces, not originally written for band, which are re-written for band.  Transcriptions retain all of the original musical information from the original, whereas arrangements are based on the original, but include changes from the original.
• The practice of bands performing transcriptions became commonplace during the time of the Sousa Band.
• Bands of the time did not have access to a wealth of literature composed for them, so they borrowed from the orchestral repertoire to augment the music they did have.
• Playing transcriptions brought orchestral music to communities which did not have access to orchestras.
• People were attracted to concerts to hear music they knew.  Well-known orchestral music provided some of that draw to band concerts.

As bands became more prevalent, more composers began composing music specifically for bands.  So, the debate that exists today is whether to continue programming transcriptions or to program only music specifically written for band.  So, here are some of the specific questions posed and my answers to them.

Should bands play transcriptions?

I think that as long as the transcriptions are good, meaning that they sound good scored for bands, then, yes.  I don't see any reason to not play something that sounds good just because it was borrowed from another genre.  There is a quote, and I don't know who said it or the exact words, but it goes something like this: "there's never been a completely original artistic idea."  Musicians borrow from one another all the time.  There are cover bands out there in popular culture that make their entire living putting their own spin on other people's music: bands like Postmodern Jukebox. 

I have to imagine that this practice has been happening since music began.  We want to emulate what we like and make it part of who we are.  

If a professional orchestra in the area is playing the original, should you program the transcription?

If it is a good transcription, I see no reason not to.  First, I don't see academic ensembles as competition for professional groups.  Second, if the orchestra at the school is not planning on doing the original, transcriptions may be the only way for students to get to know the music that their teachers, who likely play in the orchestra, are playing.  It may give the students a more educated ear with which to appreciate their teachers' work on the original.

*Apparently, some professionals get really offended when colleges do this.  I think that attitude is a little closed-minded.

For every transcription an ensemble plays, there is a band piece they don't get to play.

True.  But, so what?  If the music is good and the players will get something specific out of it, I can honestly say that I don't care which ensemble it was originally composed for.

But, just liking something isn't a good enough reason to program music.

I disagree.  Of course there are both academic and visceral reasons for wanting to program a piece.  Though they are different, why can't they both be valid?  Music is, after all, an art.  It speaks to emotion.  We cannot cut it out of the conversation.

What if the composer doesn't or didn't want their music transcribed?

Too bad!  The reality of art is that once you put it out into the world, if people like it, they will try to make it their own.  And I think that is great.  It means your work has inspired creativity in others.  Do you think Shakespeare would have put his stamp of approval on this?

Or this?

Or do you think da Vinci would have approved this depiction of the Mona Lisa on a T-shirt, with a nip slip, no less?

The truth of the matter is once you put your art out into the world, it will interact with the world and the world with it.  If you want to keep it to yourself, then keep it to yourself.

My last thought on the matter is that some of the conductors who are adamantly against transcriptions, but who still play the transcriptions which have become standards of the band repertoire.  They see these pieces as band pieces even though they are actually transcriptions.  You can't make exceptions to your convictions.  You can't program standard transcriptions, yet shun others for being transcriptions.  

To leave you all this week, here are recordings of some of my favorite transcriptions for band.  Enjoy!

Festive Overture, Shostakovich, trans. Hunsberger

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Bernstein, trans. Lavender

Toccata and Fugue in d Minor, Bach, trans. Hunsberger

Variations on "America", Ives, trans. Rhodes

 

There are many more!  Go forth and Youtube!

Well, that is all for me this week.  Until we meet again, 

Future Dr. Mitch, out!

Mitch Invades Music City, Season 3, Episode 6

I know, I know... two weeks ago, I promised I would start writing weekly again.  Oops.


Well, here's to trying again!

For those of you who have not been paying attention, this past week was my presentation at the NAfME National In-Service Conference.  NAfME stands for the National Association for Music Education (also for those of you not paying attention).  It was a pretty big deal.  Let me start by recapping the journey which led me to giving this presentation

1)  I saw an email or a web post or something which advertised an open call for conference sessions for the October 2015 NAfME conference.
2)  I ignored that notice.  I didn't think I was in that league yet.
3)  The deadline for submissions passed.  No big whoop; I hadn't intended to submit.
4)  I saw another notice that the deadline had been extended.
5)  This one caught my attention.  Did they not get enough submissions?  Were the submissions they got not good enough?
6)  I decided to submit a session proposal.
7)  I cranked out a proposal and sent it in.  I figured I was still out of my league, but it would be good practice in proposal writing.
8)  I promptly forgot about the conference.  After all, I did not expect to be selected.
9)  I was selected!
10)  I freaked out!  This meant I actually had to craft an hour-long session on a topic with which I was only marginally familiar.
11)  So, I bought the Runco textbook on creativity:

Runco, M. A. (2014). Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice (Second ed.). London, UK: Academic Press.

12)  I read the first chapter voraciously.

13)  I was so inspired by the first chapter I started work on my session.

14)  The work I did was to design my cover slide.  That's right, not actual content, but graphic design.

15)  I got lazy.

16)  I set deadlines for myself to complete reading and research, and to write the session.

17)  I missed all those deadlines.

18)  One month till the conference; barely any ink on the page.

19)  I kicked it into high gear and banged out the session.

20)  I got an email that they wanted my handout so they could make it available online.  

21)  I figured I would knock out the handout and submit it.  But, I underestimated what goes into creating a handout.  So, I missed that deadline also.

22)  With a handout created, a powerpoint designed, and a session written, I did a dry run for some of my classmates.  I am glad I did!  I could tell instantly the moment they got bored.  So, I took their comments and the fact that I bored them to death and made my session more interactive.

23)  5 days later, I presented the session.

I think I did pretty well, though I have not watched the video yet.  I am trying to live in my memory of it for a while before I have to endure the reality of how it went.  So, here is how I remember it.  Folks were slow to arrive and, for a while, it looked like I was only going to have five people there.  But, then people started arriving.  Based on the attendance in the sessions I had been to so far in the conference, I was expecting between 15 and 20 people.  But, I had a pretty large crowd; I estimate about 40 people were in attendance. 

The room was set up so that I could not put my computer where I wanted it.  I had practiced with my computer screen in view at all times.  This allowed me to see my presenter notes, clock, and the next slide, which all kept me on track.  The set up in the room had my computer behind me, so I lost my train of thought a few times. 

The session started off well.  I introduced myself and had an icebreaker activity.  I used a PowerPoint plugin to build a creativity word cloud, which attendees could contribute to in real time using their smart phones.  I had a number of interactive elements, which I was afraid people wouldn't participate in.  But, everyone was pretty willing to participate.  I even had everyone sing at one point! 

There were three people in general that I kept watching in the audience.  One was my new friend Katie, who was also presenting at the conference.  She had this incredible scowl on her face the whole time.  When I told her about it later, she told me that she really enjoyed my session, but that the information was pretty dense and that was her thinking face.  There was this guy, Bryan, who was sitting in the row right in front of Katie.  His eyes kept closing.  I felt like I was putting him to sleep.  But, he had great comments for me afterward as well.  He told me that he took copious notes and that his biggest revelation in my session was that "music is the ultimate divergent thinking activity."  We will come back to Bryan later.  And then there was this other guy, a sharply dressed man wearing a vibrant, pink shirt; a matching pink tie; and crisply-pressed slacks.  He was literally on the edge of his seat, vigorously nodding his head to everything I said.  He was certainly picking up what I was putting down.

I have to honestly say that I don't remember a lot of the session.  I remember being there, but it is all kind of a blur!  I think I skipped over some things and spoke really fast because I ended nearly 5 minutes earlier than I had in my practice.  When I saw how quickly I finished, I started feeling less than confident in my presentation.  I didn't think I was that effective.  But, folks came up and talked to me afterward and had some great comments for me!  It seems that people really enjoyed the session.  NAfME set up an app for the conference and people could comment on the sessions they attended.  Not many people seemed to be using the app, but I did get a comment on my session:

 So, I guess I made a difference to a few people.  Like I said, I have not watched the video.  But, once I do, I will post it for you all to watch.

I had some other great experiences at the conference.  I learned the value of the 15-second, or elevator, pitch.  Remember Bryan?  Well, he gave a session the day before I did.  And I went to it.  He saw me in the hallway later that day and thanked me for coming to his session.  I guess he recognized my face.  We got to talking and I invited him to my session.  He asked me what my session was called, so I told him.  He, then, asked me what it was about.  I tripped over my words a bit while trying to describe it.  I could tell the instant I had hooked him and the instant I had lost him.  Thankfully, he came to my session anyway.  But, I have never been more aware of how important the quick sell is when describing your work to others.

I need to get business cards.  I don't have any because I am a grad student and am not in any kind of business.  But, people kept asking for my card.  So, I need to get some made.

On Monday, I was walking to the conference hotel (poor grad student me couldn't afford the Gaylord, so I stayed at the Days Inn up the road).  It was raining and I was struggling with this sad excuse for an umbrella I had brought with me.  A shuttle bus for another hotel pulled up beside me, the driver rolled down the window, and asked me if I was going to the conference.  I said yes and she insisted that I get in the shuttle; she didn't want me walking in the rain.  There was just one other person in the shuttle and we exchanged pleasantries.  Then, he introduced himself.  "My name is Chris Azzara," he said.  I was taken aback.  "I know who you are!"  I exclaimed.  (He is one of the music education professors at the Eastman School of Music).  Pam, my office-mate last year, studied with him at Eastman.  So, I told him that I knew Pam and that she spoke very highly of him.  And our conversation took off from there.  You know how some people ask you questions out of formality, just waiting to be able to break off and go talk to someone else?  Chris was not like that.  He was super genuine and just wanted to know all about me and my intended research.  We had a great conversation about my future doctoral research.  He said that bands tend to be so "regimental."  The band director is at the top, then the section leaders, then the first chairs, then the seconds, and so on.  he was very interested by my thoughts on challenging that paradigm.  Then, we talked about my session the following day.  It turns out that he has done some research on the topic of my presentation.  He offered to send me the things he has published.  (I already emailed him and he has already responded with the literature).  After a lengthy conversation on a series of topics, Chris asked me what I was doing over the summer.  I told him that I had no concrete plans as of yet.  He asked if I would be interested in coming up to Eastman to do some work with him.  I am not sure that it is something he offers to everyone.  I will certainly consider it!  We will see how my schedule works out.  What a nice and absolutely genuine guy!  Whether or not I can do some work with him, he is a great person to stay in contact with.

I went to a session given by two of the professors from the University of Delaware.  One comment Dr. Snell made sticks out in my memory of the session.  He said that if you are not getting what you want from your students, the first place you should look is in the mirror.

I went to one session that was particularly underwhelming.  I wont say which session or who presented.  But, the presenter kept making broad, generalizing statements which were based in her own experience.  Her statements, while I am sure are absolutely true to her situation, were not true to my teaching experience.  She kept saying that "students wont" and "students can't."  But, my students would and my students did.  It was a reminder to me to be careful of generalizing experiences that may be contextually driven.

Every time I go to a conference, I am reminded that there are two types of band directors out there.  I hear some bands play at these conferences and the bands are absolutely spectacular.  The kids play beautifully, with flawless technique and mature artistry.  And then I read the program: the band I heard at NAfME has two, full-time band directors; a full-time percussion director; a separate marching band director; and the kids all get private lessons.  I think there is a real difference between a band director who teaches in that kind of situation and a band director who is a one-man show. Not to say that either is bad.  But, it is hard to compare ensemble achievement across these two types of situations because they are just so vastly different.  I do have to wonder: I am sure a one-man show kind of band director would do well in the resource-rich environment; but would a resource-rich band director be able to survive if all his support was taken away and he had to do it on his own?

I went to a session on music technology and I realized that, as computer literate as I am, I need to learn some more things.  The presenter was talking about things like processing speed and latency.  I think if I am to really understand technology's potential in the classroom, I need to learn more about how it works, not just how to use it.

I went to an interesting session on practicing smarter, not harder.  The presenter talked about how the body works and using knowledge of kinesthestics to properly engage the body in playing an instrument.  He made analogies to working out: building strength vs. endurance, maximum vs. effective weight.  It made me think that musicians, and specifically music teachers, should have to take some music-specific kinesiology classes.

It was certainly a learning experience and I am very glad I ended up deciding to submit a session proposal.  I am looking forward to presenting there again next year.

Well, here's hoping I remember to write again next week.  Until then,

Future Dr. Mitch, out!