By David Conrad
This article sparked heated controversy when it first appeared on the Band Chat mailing list. One of the list members wrote to complain that his contest judges were unfair. The band director entered his 6th grade band in the middle school division, performing grade 3 literature. What follows are my responses. The original writer is in red; my replies are in black.
This past weekend I took my sixth grade (still elementary school) band to a band festival. This sixth grade band was a very special one though. They performed grade three music and were adjudicated at the middle school level rather than on the elementary level. The reason I did this was because I felt these kids were up to the challenge.
You asked for our opinion. Here's mine......
I wouldn't do it. What's the point? That kind of foolishness is for band teachers who are trying to make a name for themselves. They build up some kind of monster group, build a fancy list of "hard" tunes that they have played, then they look for a new job or move to the college ranks. They think they are advancing their career, but they are doing so at their students' expense.
What will the seventh grade band play next year? Grade 4 literature? Maybe they'll be ready for "Overture to Candide" next year or "Festive Overture" in eighth grade. Good luck sustaining that kind of achievement.
I have a special group of 6th graders this year. I think that playing "Song for Friends", a grade 1.5 work, is just as challenging than any "hard" piece. You can work phrasing, musicianship, rubato, tone support, expression, balance, blend, and whatever else. But it is not "hard" enough?
Obviously we had some intonation problems, but who doesn't.
Well, duh! You were so busy rote teaching all of the technical passages, you didn't have time to teach tuning. You were just thrilled to get through the tunes without any gaps or wrecks. I've been there!!!
What I did have a problem with was that all three judges were adamant about me not doing grade three literature with this level of students.
Geez.....when all 3 said the same thing, I would listen to their advice. Had I judged a performance as you have described, I would have said the same thing. You would be lucky to get that 3 rating from me.
You can only judge what is presented to you. A judge can't say "well this group was young and the music was too hard, but even though they did a poor job of performing their selections, I'll give 'em a break because the director loves a good challenge." Choosing appropriate literature is the job of the band director, not the adjudicator.
Which brings me back to my main point. What's more important, performing easy music and bringing home a shiny trophy for your ignorant administrators, or teaching the children that the most important thing is to push yourself to do more than you thought you could.
There is nothing "easy" about grade 2 music performed well. The key is to teach for the details and accuracy. The challenge is in the DETAILS.
Let me know what you think.....P.S. -- Get this, my administrator would not put a picture of my band in the display case unless we came home with a trophy. Nice eh??
There is no special award for the band that tried to play the hardest stuff. I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that you are working for "trophy-hungry" bosses. That's not fun. But you may want to evaluate where and how they formed their perception of music contests and music teaching.