What makes a "Good" musician?

           Recently I read an article by my professor Brandt Schneider entitled Creating Musical Flexibility Through the Ensemble (http://www.leadingnotes.org/2012/02/06/schneider/). In the article Schneider points out that the modern day school ensemble is a “repertoire machine” that pumps out a couple of concerts every year. The emphasis is on learning a program of songs and mastering them, then starting over next year. This system can yield some great performances, but at the end of the day it does not produce versatile musicians that can improvise, compose, and play in all twelve keys.

            Professor Schneider was given the opportunity to build a band program from scratch, which gave him the freedom to use his own teaching approach. The kids that went through this program were able to sing the songs that they played using solfege syllables. They could swap parts and transpose their music on sight. They could play simple melodies like “Mary had a little lamb” and “Somewhere over the Rainbow” in multiple keys. They could also play the songs that they knew in different styles or genres.

            This approach to teaching band and orchestra seems revolutionary, but Schneider reminds us that these skills were common for musicians in past generations. The current system of teaching music in schools is relatively new. Perhaps our culture’s definition of what a “good” musician entails has changed as the years have gone by.

What makes a “good” musician? In my opinion a good musician is somebody who:

• ·      has an excellent sense of rhythm and time.
• ·      has excellent ears and can figure out melodies and harmonies by ear.
• ·      is able to play many different styles of music.
• ·      is a skilled improviser.
• ·      plays multiple instruments.

You may have noticed that I have not listed reading music as one of my criteria. I don’t think it is vital for an accomplished musician to read music. Some of the best players are self-taught and have never taken lessons. Reading however is an invaluable skill to have as it opens many doors to playing classical repertoire and a sea of other pieces. It seems that today’s band programs in middle and high schools are geared towards making kids the best readers that they can be. Teaching this skill is awesome and as I stated above, it opens up almost limitless amounts of repertoire for reading. Unfortunately this method leads students to believe that being a great sight reader is the pinnacle of good musicianship and artistic creativity falls by the wayside.

Good musicians are also always practicing and trying to make improvements in their lives. Practicing an instrument intensely gives people the work ethic to set goals and work towards them in all facets of life. Practicing music can teach students how to listen to people, work towards a long-term goal, and use critical thinking and problem solving.             The skills that Brandt Schneider is teaching his ensembles are extremely versatile and will open doors for many of his students to play gigs, compose original music, and entertain friends and family. Music is so much broader than just learning how to read dots on a page. To put it simply Schneider’s approach to teaching music ensembles cultivates intelligent, well rounded, “good” musicians.