"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 Are teachers tied to curricular models that are equally outdated?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
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2 comments:
three cheers for faculty development!
Great thoughts. This is where we in all disciplines should continually encourage our students to apply knowledge...it seems the fad for the last 30 years in elementary-undergraduate programs has emphasized training rather than Education. -- Training does not help students recognize application. --
Of immediate interest to our students is the recognition that the popular music they enjoy and want to perform when they begin their studies will most likely be passe by the time they graduate.
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If I might "briefly" add the following which I initially published in the epilogue to the 2005-06
Minnesota High School Music Listening Contest (for which I served as musicologist, author, studio engineer and webmaster between 2004-2008).
It is a condensed version of
my thoughts on the differences between Education and mere Training. These
thoughts stem mostly from my own real world work and management experience and the daily application of methodologies learned during my undergraduate
studies as a philosophy major. It also reflects the core liberal arts emphasis of my own education in rural Northeastern Iowa in the 1970s-1980s. - Christian McGuire
http://www.myspace.com/christianmcguire
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Epilogue: History, Concepts and Terms
History, like the other disciplines in the humanities, is primarily
concerned with events, not facts. For example, the statement Beethoven was
born in 1770 is a literal fact. It is something one can memorize and
regurgitate on a multiple choice exam. Stating the fact alone however is
insignificant because it does not in itself tell us about Beethoven or what
influences and experiences shaped his life to lead him to write his music.
As a factual statement alone, it does not urge one to critically inquire.
Rather it is dependent upon the student to ask questions, for example: What
were the cultural, political, geographical experiences for someone of the
generation born in 1770...following from those questions, what concepts
differentiate Romantic and Classical musical styles? How do those styles
relate with the diversity of music in our own times.
- It is also good practice to critically examine what appears to be "factual
statements" themselves. I am reminded of the quote by the German classical
philologist, Friedrich Nietzsche (whom I am not usually in the habit of
quoting), which concisely sums up the basic concern of philosophical inquiry
since Socrates, Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.
Or to put this sentiment as my wife has so often stated, There is nothing so
frustrating as someone who is both So Certain and yet So Wrong. It is
difficult to seek understanding when one refuses to critically examine their
own convictions and beliefs. -
I hope to have stressed enough throughout the course of this study guide
that it is the concepts in this guide which matter the most. If you
understand the concepts, you should be able to identify musical similarities
and differences by ear. If you focus too much on rote memorization of terms
without Listening to the music, you will most likely have a difficult time
in the contest. It is ultimately up to YOU to listen to the music and to use
the material in this guide to assist in making these connections.
Granted about 1/3rd of the contest is multiple-choice, but multiple-choice
is a rather ineffective method of testing knowledge. Multiple-choice exams
tend to demonstrate how well a student can guess the correct answer, not how
well that student can apply the knowledge learned. When you embark on your
career path, you will be expected to continually apply knowledge (this is
why essay exams are stressed.) Those who can do so with ease are the ones
who succeed.
To think of it another way, I would hate to go in for heart surgery with a
surgeon who had only been tested with multiplechoice (and graded on a
curve! -- "Wow, you got 68% on a terms based exam and Still earned an 4.00
GPA - yeah, that instills me with a lot of confidence, Doc!"). Would it not
be more comforting to know that the surgeon understands the concepts of the
heart, its relation to the workings of the human body as well as the
emotional impact of surgery on the patient, so that if something unexpected
happens, the surgeon can actively handle the situation?
In all aspects of life, if you are consistent with your application of
knowledge rather than consistent with your strict adherence to the literal
terms you will succeed.
Let me put this another way using a metaphor from architecture. While
studying in England between 1990-1991, I visited Lincoln Cathedral, one of
the oldest and largest examples of Gothic architecture in Europe, At this
time the building was undergoing a renovation to correct the huge mistakes
made by the renovators in the 1920s. In the 1920s, the architects were so
transfixed on maintaining the appearance (term) of the Cathedral that they
injected key structural points with concrete so that it would remain rigid
and unbending. The problem was, they did not go back to study the methods
used by the original masons (concepts).
Had they done so, they would have understood that the mortar used to build
the Cathedral maintained the form of the structure by allowing it a certain
degree of flexibility. Today the Cathedral has a full time staff dedicated
to the art of the original Medieval builders in order to preserve the form.
Had they stuck with the rigid, inflexible, uncompromising terms of the
concrete, it is likely that the Cathedral would not be standing today.
This debate between terms and concepts extends into all facets of life. Take
for instance the United States Constitution. The Framers made their
intentions about the Constitution very clear in the supporting documents and
letters they wrote to each other. They knew that society and traditions
change (just as you have discovered in this guide) and that the immediate
values of 1787 might not be the same as values in 1987. So they designed the
Constitution with a certain degree of flexibility in order to effectively
ensure freedom in all eras.
There are however those, like the Lincoln Cathedral renovators of the 1920s,
who get so emotionally fixated upon the words (terms) of the Constitution
that they neglect its original concept - to protect freedom. They attempt to
pass amendments to shore-up the Constitution for the appearance of patriotic
tradition, just as the 1920s renovators used concrete for the appearance of
the Cathedral. What happens is that the slight degree of flexibility,
represented by the third equal branch of government (Judicial - those
educated in the history of the Constitutions concepts of freedom) is forced
into an uncompromising form without a notion of historical perspective.
The result becomes an ineffectual structure, crumbling under the weight of
its own rigidity. Eventually the rooms become unsafe and are condemned one
by one. People are forced to move outside of its once protective refuge of
universal freedom. The more concrete is injected, the less safe it becomes
until the whole building comes crashing down.
I like to use metaphors and parables because they demonstrate exactly what I
have been stating in this epilogue, that is Don't get so mired in the
literal interpretation that you miss the point of the concept. Learning and
listening for the concepts will provide you with a foundational context.
The Real World: Application of Knowledge History, Music, Philosophy etc.
In the real world, businesses are spending millions of dollars each year on
diversity programs and on consultants to train their workers to think
outside the box. What this means is that many of their employees have had
such specialized training in one field that they had never learned to apply
that knowledge to other facets of work. [-This has been the folly with the
20-30 year trend that one's degree field is specificially suited for a
specific career or job type-] This becomes especially problematic when
workers try to communicate with co-workers in other departments who are
specialized in another field. - Imagine asking a group of accountants to
engineer a nuclear sub, more realistically, the workers in each department
should at least understand the basic issues that concern other departments
in order to reach the common goal. Not doing so reminds me of the adage,
Putting all of your eggs in one basket.
For this reason, employers find the need to hire consultants (who tend to
have degrees in philosophy or cultural anthropology) to identify the
concepts and teach them to do the same so that their business can progress
instead of spinning wheels and going nowhere. If you stop to think about it,
philosophy is the root of all disciplines. Philosophers are trained in the
study of abstract concepts, to analyze problems, ask questions and then
answer them. They can therefore be set to learn any task, be it analyzing
profit margins, leadership, computers programming, construction,
engineering, human relations, music...anything. What can't one do with a
Philosophy degree?
If you ask critical questions and work through answers to solve problems,
you are doing Philosophy.
No matter how you do in the contest, I hope that you take the concepts with
you as you pursue your career and continue to further your education. Never
close your mind off to free knowledge [-In this day and age with information
so freely available, if you can't find what you are looking for, you aren't
trying.-]. Always strive to seek out new ideas and what you can do to solve
problems. Knowledge is the foundation of freedom; the cycle of continual
learning is the source of American Ingenuity.
Christian McGuire
Musicologist / Electric Bassist
http://www.myspace.com/christianmcguire
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