2 answers
Kara
Student
Geneseo, Illinois
1
Question
Updated
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How can a band director balance their own personal musical goals with their educational responsibilities?
I am an aspiring band director in my first year in college studying music education, and I value my own personal growth on my instruments just as much as I value education. I have been told by several people that band directors often have such a busy job during and outside of school that they rarely have time to play their instrument, but I want to make sure I can still have time to practice my instruments.
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2 answers
Kyle Mattingly
Pianist, Music Director
28
Answers
Orlando, Florida
Updated
Kyle’s Answer
It's awesome that you want to keep up your skills as a musician in addition to being an educator! I don't think there's a magic formula for balancing personal performance skills with the gift of education that you'll be giving your students. In fact, I don't know if there is even such a thing as "balance" in life, only balancing. Things are constantly fluctuating and even the best people aren't really balancing it all - just constantly readjusting. And the people you've already talked to are right - it's very difficult to handle the time demands of a full-time education job and still keep playing one's instrument at a high level and enjoy music on a personal level. But I've seen it done! Hard, but possible!
Perhaps one piece advice I'll add to this is to not confuse these two areas of life. Both education and personal performance benefit each other, but they have different goals. I've watched some teachers place their own desire for musical satisfaction on their students. They sometimes choose repertoire that's more aimed at what they would like to hear rather than what's best for the students in their current place of learning. Or they rudely hold their students to unfair standards, wishing that the performance would be musically satisfying for themselves. Obviously, these are the bad apples of the music education department but it's always good to remember that in education you're giving the students the gift of music, not asking them to give that gift to you!
Perhaps one piece advice I'll add to this is to not confuse these two areas of life. Both education and personal performance benefit each other, but they have different goals. I've watched some teachers place their own desire for musical satisfaction on their students. They sometimes choose repertoire that's more aimed at what they would like to hear rather than what's best for the students in their current place of learning. Or they rudely hold their students to unfair standards, wishing that the performance would be musically satisfying for themselves. Obviously, these are the bad apples of the music education department but it's always good to remember that in education you're giving the students the gift of music, not asking them to give that gift to you!
Thank you for the advice! I definitely want to be sure I don't accidentally combine the two goals and become a teacher that isn't putting the students first.
Kara
Doran Heck
Music Production
19
Answers
Asheville, North Carolina
Updated
Doran’s Answer
Kara,
It's a good idea to keep up your goals on your instrument as well as teach music. When I was studying music I always respected those teachers that played their chosen instruments for their students. When I taught elementary school, I would play my saxophone for my students which gave them first hand experience of what playing an instrument was like.
I would say setting a practice schedule for your self where you could practice your instrument a little each day and play in a band whether it be a concert or jazz band in your community.
The fact that you want to keep playing your instrument while you teach says you value an all around approach to music education. I wish you the best in your goals.
Sincerely,
Doran
It's a good idea to keep up your goals on your instrument as well as teach music. When I was studying music I always respected those teachers that played their chosen instruments for their students. When I taught elementary school, I would play my saxophone for my students which gave them first hand experience of what playing an instrument was like.
I would say setting a practice schedule for your self where you could practice your instrument a little each day and play in a band whether it be a concert or jazz band in your community.
The fact that you want to keep playing your instrument while you teach says you value an all around approach to music education. I wish you the best in your goals.
Sincerely,
Doran
Thank you so much for the response! I especially liked your suggestion of playing for the students and combining both. It means a lot to hear that wanting to keep performing can be a strength in music education because I've been told by other music ed majors that that's not usually their main focus, so I was starting to think maybe I was made for music performance more, but I really do love teaching. Thank you again for taking the time to respond!
Kara