ORCHESTRA DIVISION Clark Chaffee, Vice President
Nurturing Creativity in the Performing Ensemble
Nurturing creativity within the context of a performing ensemble has many and far- reaching positive consequences. While it may at first seem counter intuitive, investing precious rehearsal time to give your students effective training in higher level musical concepts, skill development, and appropriate ensemble social interac- tion will yield significant returns.
Tose returns will surface in a variety of ways. Some will be noticeable fairly quickly through a reduction in musical ‘train wrecks’ as rhythmic and pitch guesswork is replaced with confident and accurate interpretation of printed notation. Fewer rehearsal interruptions yield a higher percentage of available rehearsal time for focused music making and less time for talking, both socially and as needed for corrective instruction. Students who are well trained in musical fundamentals understand and apply cor- rections far more effectively. Less time is spent re-teaching specific performance details when fundamental principles are thoroughly understood.
Investing time for effective training in higher levels of musical thought yields returns that are perhaps less obvious but potentially far more beneficial to your students. Students who have had train- ing and experience in writing melodies, harmonies, counter melodies, bass lines, and other textural lines are more likely to
immediately recognize and adjust balance automatically while performing as their parts move between those functions. When correction or adjustment is needed, they will remember it far more effectively.
Composer/performers interact with the music and with each other at much deeper level than non-composing per- formers. Playing the works of master composers becomes an opportunity to explore great works of art from within the art itself – to experience being part of the art, to be a real-time partner with master artists, to draw inspiration from that art to create new work. Composer/ performers view their colleagues to be collaborators in artistic expression, co- interpreters who are actively engaged in creative exploration. Composer/per- formers view their directors as sources of inspiration and guidance in the process of exploring master works and drawing from them ideas for the creation of new art. Composer/performers view their audiences as important resources for feedback about how effective they are in the use of the language of music to make a meaningful statement.
Composer/performers create communi- ties, too. In this way, they help improve society. Whether at the national level with professional ensembles, at the com- munity level with avid amateur musicians, at the neighborhood or family level with
loved ones, in worship settings, in school settings, in retirement homes, libraries, or concert halls, composer/performers bring people together in unique and positive ways.
So where does that begin? Who sets that process in motion? Who can afford the time or the money to nurture tomor- row’s creative musicians? If not the local members of the National Association for Music Education, then who? Particularly in this economy with the current siege on liberal and fine arts education, it is critical that our students be supported in becoming active and creative artists. Small and simple steps start the process. Free exploration of pentatonic scale melodies, variations on Hot Cross Buns or Twinkle, teaching solid fundamentals of musicianship while developing the worship service music or the school concert, nurturing young composers and performing their music, creating or supporting creative competitions, attending concerts of local and professional groups, connecting with active composers and performers: these are among the thousands of ways we can help every one of our students develop a meaningful connection to music as form of personal expression and posi- tive social interaction. Students who are touched in positive ways by their musical experiences become leaders in compos- ing, performing, teaching and worship.
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Illinois Music Educator | Volume 72 Number 1
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