The Reason Group Ensembles Are So Crucial for Your Children (Part 1)
Are you a parent who participated in music at all growing up? Think back to your middle and high school days. If you were in a band or orchestra program, try to remember what that was like. Did you enjoy the sensation of being immersed in a vast sea of sounds, the floor’s vibrations rippling through your feet? Did the idea of band/orchestra rehearsal get you out of bed that morning? Were you on the verge of begging your parents to sign you up for another season when the time finally came? Or was band/orchestra rehearsal something you dreaded or felt indifferent about? Did you just “put in the time” so you could move on to other things you wanted to do? Now, think about the reasons why you felt that way.
When Ensembles Changed My View of Music Forever
In my experience, most people share mixed experiences with ensemble or group musical sessions. I’ve heard grand and inspiring success stories and some depressing tales that made my heart sink. As I mention later, these stories, combined with my experiences in orchestras and group ensembles over the last decade, have greatly influenced the methodologies and principles I’ve folded into the core of our BMA String Orchestra.
Growing up, my years performing in a homeschool ensemble (led by a professional band director) dramatically changed how I looked at music. It added a thrilling breath of fresh air to something I hadn’t felt especially excited about for most of my life. In my early years, I looked at music as something my mom needed me to do so I could check it off my assignments sheet. Practice was a dry procedure that just “needed to happen” (as is true for most 8-to-14-year-olds). Then, one day, my mom caught wind that a band director had just retired after spending decades directing a local high school band. Over his career, he had seen many kids leave his program after their parents decided to homeschool them. When he retired, he decided to spend his years sharing his time and expertise with the homeschool community.
The impact of his ensemble was almost immediately felt by my 14-year-old self. The group was meant mainly for band instruments (brass/woodwind), meaning two of my brothers would fit right in (clarinet and French horn). My next youngest brother and I were string players. Usually, this wouldn’t have been the place for us. But this particular director wanted no one left out. He put my brother (a violin player) on the flute parts and threw me on the tuba part (asking me to learn the bass). From the first rehearsal onwards, my brothers and I rode home on our bikes, got out our instruments, and tried to recreate in our living room the excitement we all felt in the basement our band rehearsed in. We were inspired! Playing music in a group sparked something inside us that we couldn’t get enough of.
When I think back over the years and reflect on how God moved me through my musical journey, I find that much of my great excitement and passion for music began the day we had our first band rehearsal. My experience left me hungry for more opportunities to play with as many groups as I could find. I started playing with bluegrass groups and jazz bands and found restaurants where my brothers and I could perform during our teen years. I was hooked! And this yearning for group playing grows every year. But it’s not just a fluke that I happened to get so attached to music after my initial group experience.
The Hidden Values of Group Performance
Every year since, I’ve discovered an increasing number of hidden factors at play during my early years of ensemble playing. On the surface, I only knew something in me was thrilled to play a part in the intricate and beautiful sounds I was hearing. But, now I realize it wasn’t just the beauty or intricacies that called me back week after week to rehearsal. I was developing as a musician in ways not easily developed otherwise.
The first day you begin rehearsing with any decent ensemble, you quickly learn that your musical skills are not at the “top of the food chain,” in every possible way. Some of your fellow ensemble-mates will be better at rhythms, intonation, and following the director (often, all three at once). This is a good thing. Not only that, it’s the best thing you could hope for as a musician. We can very easily stagnate. Musical muscles atrophy just like any other kind. If you aren’t actively getting better, you’re probably actively getting worse. Being surrounded by people better than you will push you to count, play, and follow better at a much quicker rate than a teacher could push you to. Boys especially will thrive (under the right conditions) when given that kind of competition. Learning you aren’t the absolute best possible player in the world will teach great humility and (if taught and received correctly) will propel you to become twice as skilled in a very short amount of time.
One thing that often actively pushes people to excel is some component of external pressure. At work, you want to make your clients and boss happy. You tried to make good grades at school so your parents and teachers would be happy. And, in all of life, we do what we do for God’s glory because He calls us to strive for His level of excellence (perfection itself). Each of these comes with responsibility. God has delegated this responsibility to us in specific ways and expects us to carry out our duties joyfully and excellently. Ensemble rehearsal and performance are no different. When you take up a position in an orchestra, you are carrying the responsibility of that part on your shoulders along with your fellow ensemble-mates. They expect you to play your part (literally), and you expect them to play theirs. This added pressure (in any decent ensemble) will push you to excel where you previously tended to fail and find even greater joy and satisfaction in your successes because they are for something greater than yourself.
Ensembles can do more than relentlessly challenge you through the refining fire of excellence; they often provide the healing benefit of boosting confidence in your musical abilities. Throughout the year, you’ll be pushed to play many different pieces that each require a new level of skill. In the years right after band, I consistently found myself saying something like, “well, this new piece is tough, but at least it doesn’t have that ridiculous 16th note run from that other piece!” Each year, your perception of what’s possible will shift, and your confidence will gradually grow. You will learn to find confidence in a proven track record of success. You’ll learn how long it usually takes you to learn challenging material. Things that once seemed impossible now feel “doable with a few weeks of practice.” And when the fire gets a bit hot, you’ll remember previous years when you felt the same heat and quickly get excited to hear the results of this rehearsal’s hard work.
As time passes, new members will join the group you’ve grown to enjoy, and you’ll find yourself a seasoned performer with experience from which others will begin to glean naturally. You will be given opportunities to help others excel like your predecessors helped you. God will use you to teach other people what He’s taught you. Many people I’ve talked to told me their joy and excitement in ensemble playing grew most when they found patient and joyful people willing to help them grow week after week with little tips or suggestions. Sometimes, you’ll only lead by example. People will come to you at the end of the season and mention how your sense of rhythm was always reliable or how true your pitch was when they needed a pitch to match. Whatever role God has you play, humility, excitement, and joy are key to sharing your experience with those who would benefit from it while sparking their joy and desire for excellence.
The single greatest killer of quality musical ensembles is pride. Musicians who are full of pride are quick to show off. They don’t genuinely care about helping others strive for excellence or find true joy in their playing. One of the key differences between a good musician and a great musician is humility. Humility shares without rubbing its success in the face of those whom it deems less than them. Pride will rapidly rot away even the strongest ensembles if the players are not watchful. So, take care that you aren’t falling victim to it all along the way. It can take the voice of “he didn’t explain that well enough to me, that’s why I’m not doing better.” Or “why did the director choose this piece?! Surely, he knows I don’t like playing in third position!” Or “why can’t she just practice her intonation properly? Can’t she hear how out of tune she is?” Striving for excellence is wonderful; just make sure you don’t lose your soul in the process.
Group ensembles have much to give, and most of the core benefits aren’t even realized until years later when you look back and realize how far you’ve come. For children, these benefits will outlast their time in ensemble; they are life-long skills used in day-to-day living. They change how you view difficult work, put in the difficult practice day after day, strive for the end goal of perfection, and remain humble throughout the process. I encourage you to find a quality local ensemble and consider whether it might be the next step for you or your child’s musical journey–the answer may surprise you.
-Bruce Johnson, BMA Professor of Strings, Piano, and Voice.
