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We know that many informal ways of
experiencing music exist. These include television channels such
as VH1 and MTV,
garage bands, and specialized music festivals through which jazz,blues,
bluegrass, Latino, rock, women's music, barbershop quartets, and
others are celebrated. Robert
Cutietta reports that:
The local Pizza Hut in Tucson, Arizona has started
having bluegrass night on Sunday nights. The idea is that you
bring your instrument and there is a big jam session of musicians.
The event is so popular that it now takes over the entire dining
area. Tables are moved aside and 50 or 60 musicians play together.
I would estimate that the average age is about 40 years old. There
are guitars, banjos, mandolins, fiddles, and dulcimers. It is
literally impossible to order any food except through the drive-through
but the event continues.
Several things strike me about this scenario.
First is the commitment of the musicians to come together for
the sheer joy of making music together. It is total vibrant, participation
for the sake of music. Second is the commitment of the restaurant
which totally disrupts everything about their procedures (including
selling pizza!) to support the making of live music. Third is
that fact that while an event like this should be the ultimate
goal of music education programs, the only instrument in the group
which could have been learned in a school music program is the
string bass . . . and there are normally only two or three of
those.14
Other evidence of widespread interest
in an abundance of musical genres and styles may be seen by accessing
the Internet search engine Yahoo.com
and requesting a search for music organizations. The initial search
yields 288 organizations with an additional twenty categories to
explore. In addition to the traditional organizations such as MENC,
the American Symphony Orchestra League, and ASCAP, the lists include
a wide variety of others:
• Accordion
Teachers Guild, International nonprofit organization dedicated
to the advancement of the accordion, through raising of teaching
standards
• Acoustic Performers Guild international organization dedicated to the performance
and preservation of unamplified music
• American
Music Conference national nonprofit educational association dedicated
to promoting the importance of music, musicmaking, and music
education to the general public
• Association
for Record Sound Collections nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop
and disseminate information related to all fields of recording
and sound media
• Banjo
in the Hollow nonprofit corporation dedicated to preserving
and promoting bluegrass and oldtime music
• Brooklyn Zoo nonprofit organization dedicated to Hip Hop
• Chinese
Music Society of North America international nonprofit organization dedicated
to increasing and diffusing the knowledge of Chinese music and
performing arts
• Doo-Wop
Society of Southern California organization dedicated to the preservation and
exposure of the group-harmony sounds of the 1950s and early
1960s
• Folk
Alliance umbrella service organization for individuals
and organizations who participate in and support folk music,
dance, and storytelling in North America
• Fretted
Instrument Guild of America nonprofit organization for enthusiasts
of banjos, mandolins, guitars, ukuleles, and related fretted
instruments
• Hungry
for Music nonprofit music organization that helps disadvantaged
people learn about music
• JazzReach nonprofit organization bringing jazz to schools
with multimedia performances
• Kosmic
Free Music Foundation organization dedicated to the proliferation of
freely accessible original music on the Net; hours upon hours
of music free for the listening
• M. U. S. I. C. World HO nonprofit organization that uses computer music,
video, and the Internet to attract disadvantaged youth to learning
computer skills
• Off
Wall Street Jam membership organization offering a wide variety
of services and musical opportunities for the recreational musician
• World
Music Institute organization presenting music and dance concerts
from around the world, selling world music CDs, and arranging
concert tours
Another example, perhaps more significant
to the cause of music education, is the third Music Education Summit
sponsored by MENC and held in Washington, D.C., in September 1998.
More than seventy organizations with specialized music education
interests traveled to Washington to participate in extended discussions
about the future of music education.
Recreational music learning will become
even more popular as increasing technological efficiency creates
more leisure and the population of retired workers becomes larger.
While this has been said for many years and has never really occurred,
it is beginning to happen now as the population of well-elderly
increases dramatically. It has been said that by 2020, those who
retire at ages 65-70 will have fifteen to twenty years of active,
healthy life ahead of them. These senior citizens will fill that
time with volunteer work, education, and recreation.
There will continue to be a rise in
the number of youth and adult symphonies, bands, and choruses. For
example, there are now more than thirty New
Horizons Bands for senior adults, with many more on the horizon.
The first of these bands was started by Roy Ernst at the Eastman
School of Music in 1991 and is currently supported by a grant from
NAMM: The International
Music Products Association and the National
Association of Band Instrument Manufacturers.
Many ensembles will be formed that
will include people of all ages. An example of intergenerational
participation in music outside of the schools is given by Michael
Mark:
When the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis
in 1986, the Colts
Band didn't break up. Instead, it incorporated as a 501 (c)
(3) organization and continued practicing, growing, and playing
at public functions like high school and college football games,
parades, and at other places. They also played the halftime shows
at NFL games in other cities. The band continued to include players
of all ages, from high school to healthy elderly. Three years
ago, the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore
Ravens. The new team let the band play at games and promised
to adopt it officially when the new stadium opened last year.
That happened, and the team bought the band new instruments and
uniforms.
The band really has been the city's band for over a decade and
now it has been rewarded by becoming an official part of the NFL
team. Over the years, the
local newspaper gave it occasional coverage, with stories
and photos, and it appears that the band was never in danger of
disappearing because it was a true community organization.15
There will be a significant increase
in the number of Elderhostels
that offer music learning experiences. Senior Citizens will travel
worldwide learning about music in a wide variety of different cultures.
Corporations such as MARS
the Musician's Planet, the music superstore based in Florida,
will offer opportunities to learn to play all instruments, not just
those taught in the public schools. Everything musical one could
possibly imagine will be available to students of all ages through
these corporations.
Private music schools will continue
to flourish in large metropolitan areas. These schools will have
resident, fulltime faculty who teach both individual and group music
classes.
Music lessons will be available on
the Internet as well. Students will be able to interact with a teacher.
They will be able to play for the teacher and hear as well as see
the teacher's feedback, all in real time.
Computers will make music learning
available to everyone at any time. Those who cannot buy a home computer
will have access to one at public libraries and community centers.
A rapid increase in available music software will enable anyone
to compose, perform, and listen to music of all styles and genres.
The entire relationship between the formal/informal and private/public
sectors will continue to blur as people choose what their music
experiences will be. Indeed, what people do not get from formal
education they will probably re-create somewhere else.
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