WE CAN SING THE TRUTH

Whether or not one was a supporter of Barack Obama in the election, we can now unite to bring about the change our country needs. Much hope was expressed in this campaign: for equality, for compassion, and for shared effort toward a common purpose. To realize these aspirations, we must all find ways we can contribute as artists and as citizens.

I want to share with you a song I wrote that echoes these themes, and dedicate it to President-elect Obama. May he have great success in bringing our hopes into reality.

Music has played a vital role in political movements, and has eloquently expressed feelings of generations, ethnic groups, and eras. Song can unite people in one voice to sing for freedom, for hope, and for change.

This performance of We Can Sing the Truth is by four fabulous faculty members at McNally Smith: Judi Donaghy, voice; Lori Dokken, piano; Charles Fletcher, bass; Dave Schmalenberger, drums. Their performance is outstanding! Thanks, guys.



WE CAN SING THE TRUTH
Words and music by Harry Chalmiers

Let us join our voices everywhere
Let us hear them lifted up in prayer
Sound the harmony, let peace abide
We can sing the truth, roll back the tide

Let us join our hands together at last
Let us heal the bond and keep it fast
When we realize we’re the same inside
We can sing the truth, roll back the tide

Now I lay me down my burden of shame
Take from my shoulders this needless pain
There’s a way to live that’s loving and kind
With an open heart and an open mind

Let us join our spirits, keep us free from fear
Let us lose the greed that led us here
In this present moment, we can testify
We can sing the truth, roll back the tide

© by Harry Chalmiers, 2008

Prepare for Inspiration...

As a graduate student in composition at New England Conservatory, I learned that when structure was clearly and strongly established in a composition from one perspective, coherent and intriguing musical relationships would be found in many additional and unforeseen ways. It is the richness of these corollary structures that lead a work into the realm of true art.

To ask a composer to explain a composition may stimulate an interesting commentary on his/her thought process and intentions. However, once a composition is complete, the composer is just another analyst. A work of art belongs to the world, and can sustain vast interpretations.

To understand and master performance skills, to write or produce music of depth and importance, or to become an entrepreneur in the business of culture – there are many paths that provide structure to the course of music study. Likewise, there are many paths an individual may choose to contribute to the global art of music while sustaining a career in the arts.

A well structured education will create a vastly broader ability to comprehend ideas and opportunities beyond the specific focus of study. Inspiration comes more easily to those well prepared to receive it.

Few schools provide the education one needs to comprehend and enter today’s music industry. McNally Smith is focused on exactly this, while providing solid fundamentals that are essential and timeless in music education and in the liberal arts.

Jon Stewart and Ice Cube Visit McNally Smith!

The school year has begun, and already the excitement is running high. Jon Stewart and The Daily Show just left our campus after a highly successful run during the Republican National Convention. The most watched video clips on The Daily Show web site are some hilarious scenes from these programs. Check out the one that is tagged: Minnesota! Where everything tastes better on a stick!

Dozens and dozens of McNally Smith students performed throughout the city during the RNC, and they were professional, poised, and made us proud. It was especially rewarding to see so many of our entering students take advantage of this unique performance opportunity and to hear how exceptionally talented this new class is.

Then Ice Cube hit campus! He was in town to award the Ice Cube scholarship to Josiah Kosier, a full ride scholarship for the student personally selected by Cube himself based on extensive evaluation of compositions and performances by the applicants.

Cube was gracious and enlightening as he addressed hundreds of students in a Q & A session in our “Penthouse.” He also met with the committee that is creating a new Diploma program in Hip Hop, and has agreed to review our work and advise on the content and development of this exciting new program. It was very impressive to see how truly dedicated Cube is to students and education. He shares the passion, and is making a significant contribution to our future artists.

On a personal front, I’m working hard on preparing a concert program to kick off the new Faculty Artist Performance Series at McNally Smith. My concert is on Wednesday, October 22nd and you’re all invited! I’m going to include some classical guitar music, an “unplugged” set in which I’ll play and sing some of my songs and a couple of favorites by other songwriters, and conclude with an electric blues/rock set.

Faculty members Judi Donaghy, Lori Dokken, Dave Schmalenberger, and Charles Fletcher will perform with me. We’ll be joined by Melissa Matthews, an outstanding classical and improvising violinist from the Twin Cities.

Best wishes to everyone as the new academic year begins. We’re off to a magnificent start!

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Albert Einstein

I’m reading the biography of Albert Einstein written by Walter Isaacson. One of the interesting facts I’ve learned is that Einstein’s theory of special relativity was inspired in large part by the work of the Scottish philosopher David Hume.

Hume was skeptical of knowledge that was not delivered by direct experience of the senses, and also argued that time had no absolute value or meaning. The idea that time was not absolute provided the critical final breakthrough Einstein needed to conceive his revolutionary theory.

Einstein’s greatest theories didn’t rely on laboratory experimentation nor was he building on similar work by his contemporaries in physics. Instead, he created “thought experiments” that envisioned a grand new perspective on the cosmos that extended from photons to the end of the universe and shattered the foundation of Newtonian physics.

Music students often become obsessed with practicing their craft to the exclusion of other aspects of their intellectual and personal growth. Relying on their “laboratory work” of hours and hours of practice, they seek super technique and command of vast repertoire as the crucial components of success. Important as these things may be, of more significance is the depth of ideas that musicians bring to their art.

McNally Smith College is in the process of developing a fresh approach to liberal arts education that will both reflect and extend our focus on music while deepening the appreciation of ideas that enrich musical thinking. We believe that the quality of ideas expressed in the musical language of composition, performance, or production is the distinguishing factor between timeless art and momentary success.

In the 60’s, for a short while, the Dave Clark Five was just as popular as the Beatles. But their catchy, danceable tunes were no match for the musical and lyrical sophistication that made the Beatles a true cultural force for over forty years and counting.

“A new idea comes suddenly and in a rather intuitive way,” Einstein once said. “But,” he quickly added, “intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience.”

Intuition and inspiration provide wonderful sparks for the flame of creativity. Broad intellectual experience provides a rich air for this flame to burn brightly, with intensity. The well prepared musician is balanced, having developed solid technique, a broad and diverse repertoire, and a supple, energized mind fed by great ideas of many disciplines.

Adaptation for Survival

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

When I was a graduate student in composition at New England Conservatory, I worked on a project as a film composer’s assistant. My duties included the realization of chord symbols as voice leading under the composer’s melody, some orchestration, notation decisions, and copying the final score and parts in ink. My primary technological tool was a six-inch, clear ruler with pennies super-glued to the bottom so the ink wouldn’t smear as I moved it across the page. I also used a set of drafting pens that invariably clogged within minutes of setting them down.

Recently I saw an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper for a film composer’s assistant:
“LA based Film composer seeks full time, detail oriented, multitasker. Duties will include some engineering within Logic and Pro Tools, studio maintenance, PC and Mac maintenance of hardware and various software plugins. Must be fluent with Gigastudio, Reason, Ableton Live, Native Instruments and many more. Good understanding of signal flow and MIDI is essential, putting together demo CD's and DVD's compulsory, and knowledge of blanket licensing, web casting, digital distribution, viral network, meta data management, and digital aggregators necessary. Some office work and cleaning required.”

In a period of twenty-five years this job has changed so much as to become two unrelated jobs with the same title. The skills and knowledge for one do not prepare one for the other. My education as a music student prepared me well to perform the first version. I wonder if the music education I would receive today would prepare me to do the second.

Let us note one crucial fact at this point: technology has not wrought these changes. People have. Technology is merely a means, a tool, albeit a powerful one. But it does not operate independently of human agents who decide when, how, or whether to embrace new knowledge, tools, and techniques. At least, not yet.

The question is not so much about technology as it is about us. Can we as educators embrace change? With incredible ease we have available to us the music of Africa, China, and Indonesia in its abundance of rhythmic layers, rich textures from exotic instruments, and fresh and vibrant tone colors. We have instant access to improvisational traditions from India, Brazil, New Orleans, and Harlem. We have the ability to see music in vivid color with the full sonic spectrum presenting a visual map inviting new and deep theoretical insights. We have the opportunity to bring all these and many more musical treasures into the classroom to shape our understanding of art and culture, of history, and of the future.

Yet in spite of what we can bring to bear from diverse cultures, in spite of the technological tools for creating, understanding, and performing music, the curricula in the vast majority of music departments, colleges, and conservatories looks very much the same as it did in past decades. With the exception of a course or two here and there, it could be from past centuries.

It is deemed acceptable to teach harmony, counterpoint, ear training, music history, ensembles, and all the fundamentals of a music education in the same way, year after year, decade after decade. I suggest this is flawed because music itself is evolving, as is our wider exposure to new music through history and geography. We should provide fresh insights, new approaches, and the application of new technologies in dynamic, diverse curricula.

Music as an art, a vocation, and a commodity rides the intense cultural currents of globalization, digital media, and the Internet. Students emerging from our institutions of higher learning must learn to navigate these powerful currents or be dashed upon the rocks of irrelevance. There is no other choice.

Are our Schools "Learning Institutions?"

"Real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human. Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we re-perceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning." Peter Senge

If we educators are doing our jobs, students receive knowledge, insights, advice and wise counsel from us. But do our students perceive their teachers themselves to be learners, open to new directions of thought, eagerly analyzing and embracing the changes in today's music industry, evolving technology, and new musical styles that stretch the imagination?

Universities are often categorized as "research" or "teaching" institutions. But are our schools "learning" organizations? We expect our students to learn, but do we expect the same of our faculty?

If we are not extremely vigilant, the curriculum of a music business degree will be closer to "the history of music business" than to the rapidly evolving realities of the music industry.

Many music executives are still tied to the historical business models that are fast becoming irrelevant. Are teachers tied to curricular models that are equally outdated?

With a few exceptions, the music curriculum in many colleges and conservatories looks much the same as it did decades ago (dare I say centuries ago?). We teach harmony, counterpoint, ear training, ensembles, music history and so on as if music itself has not moved, largely ignoring the seismic changes that have come with the new technologies.

We ignore the fact that consumers of music have drastically changed how and when they listen to music, how they choose to purchase it (the vast majority now download one song at at time), and how easily they can bypass all the elements of the historical music business and go directly to the source through the Internet.

Musicians today can write, arrange, perform, tour, and record in domestic, international, and virtual environments. Live concert, recording session, film and TV scores, video games, and music libraries provide opportunities to musicians in abundance, all with different earning opportunities. It is an enormously exciting time to be a musician, and to be an educator, and as Peter Senge states so eloquently, it is always a wonderful time to be learning.

Professional development of our faculty must be a high priority. The college should provide it, the faculty should take advantage of it, and performance reviews should take note of it. Helping teachers continue to grow, develop, and model learning for our students is essential. Let's be sure to treat our faculty as the tremendous resource they are and keep the learning process alive and flourishing for everyone -- students and faculty alike.

Harry Chalmiers, President
McNally Smith College of Music

Real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human. Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we re-perceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning....Peter Senge

If we educators are doing our jobs, students receive knowledge, insights, advice and wise counsel from us. But do our students see their teachers themselves as learners, open to new directions of thought, eagerly analyzing and embracing the changes in today's music industry, evolving technology, and new musical styles that stretch the imagination?

Universities are often categorized as "research" or "teaching" institutions. But are our schools "learning" organizations? We expect our students to learn, but do we expect the same of our faculty?

If we are not extremely vigilant, the curriculum of a music business degree will be closer to "the history of music business" than to the rapidly evolving realities of the music industry.

Many music executives are still tied to the historical business models that are fast becoming irrelevant. Are teachers tied to curricular models that are equally outdated?

With a few exceptions, the music curriculum in many colleges and conservatories looks much the same as it did decades ago (dare I say centuries ago?). We teach harmony, counterpoint, ear training, ensembles, music history and so on as if music itself has not changed, largely ignoring the seismic changes that have come with the new technologies.

We ignore the fact that consumers of music have drastically changed how and when they listen to music, how they choose to purchase it (the vast majority now downloaded one song at a time), and how easily they can bypass all the elements of the historical music business and go directly to the source thorough the Internet.

It is an enormously exciting time to be a musician, and to be an educator. As Peter Senge states so eloquently, it is always a wonderful time to be learning.

Professional development of our faculty must be a high priority. The college should provide it, the faculty should take advantage of it, and performance reviews should take note of it. Finding good teachers and allowing them to stagnate in a cozy, low demand environment is a common failure of educational institutions. Helping teachers continue to grow, develop, and model learning for our students is essential.

The Technological Elephant in the Room

In a music college, students arrive motivated by a love for music that is so strong it overrides the instinct for a more secure career path, and often the resistance of their parents.

As music educators we are responsible to not only stimulate the intellectual advancement of the student, but also to provide wise and experienced counsel that will help the student prepare for a career in music. Music school graduates may ultimately choose a different career path, and a music education is a wonderful preparation for many fields of endeavor. But the challenging career path of a professional musician requires special attention, and the institution must lay the groundwork for its students.

A fact of musical life that cannot be ignored in music education is that technology has become central to every aspect of music. Yet, many educational institutions have not changed their approach in spite of this.

Can a student receive meaningful preparation for life after a degree without becoming fluent with the hardware and software that drive this industry? Perhaps every entering freshman should receive a laptop stuffed with the latest software, along with a digital camera, high quality microphone, midi keyboard, and other essential tools just as students in the past arrived with notebooks, pencils, manuscript paper, and stacks of textbooks.

There may not be a lot of full time jobs just waiting for young musicians to apply, but there is a lot of work for those prepared to perform it. A contemporary music education must help students understand this work, how to find it, and do it well. This requires a unique blend of study that develops intellectual and musical potential, and also provides a practical focus that is up to date, savvy, and realistic.

Harry Chalmiers, President
McNally Smith College of Music

Nice Work if You Can Get It...

I have been the President of McNally Smith College of Music for almost nine months, and it is clear to me that this is the best job I’ve ever had! The students are wonderful, the staff is skilled and enthusiastic, and the faculty are artistic, passionate teachers.

But other schools can make these claims, schools that are better known, have larger endowments and more famous graduates. Why am I still so certain that McNally Smith is destined to help set a new direction for music and education in the twenty first century?

I haven’t answered this question to my complete satisfaction, but I can throw out a few ideas that occur to me, and I can ask those of you who are interested in this subject to comment on this question:

What elements are critical to shaping a relevant contemporary educational experience that truly prepares students to reach their creative, intellectual and personal potential?

Not long ago, students in music schools would choose to major in either performance, composition, technology, business, education, or some variation on these themes. Today, I believe that a student must become adept in all of the above. The new model of a well prepared graduate is a skilled creative musician who is a tech savvy, shrewd entrepreneur – a music professional ready for almost any gig.

Technology has led to dramatic changes in every aspect of music: How we compose it, perform it, record it, produce it, edit it, promote it, sell it, distribute it, listen to it, and how we use it in daily life. There is, however , one important aspect of music that has survived virtually unscathed through all these changes: How we teach it! I suggest that this is a serious mistake that must be immediately addressed.

McNally Smith College of Music is dedicated to creating new approaches to music teaching and learning, and over the course of this blog I hope to generate a vigorous exchange of ideas on how this can be done. I invite your comments, suggestions, criticism, and send you my best wishes.

Harry Chalmiers, President
McNally Smith College of Music