Last week, I wrapped up what I fondly refer to as “March Musical Madness.” This year, my March musical travels as a visiting artist took me to Kenmore, Mukilteo, Whidbey Island, and Everett.
As a visiting artist for the Washington State Music Teachers’ Association for the past five years, I’ve worked with students and teachers in a variety of locations across Washington state. As many of you already know, each student who signs up for the Music Artistry Event (called MAP) performs two pieces and receives feedback in the form of written comments and a mini lesson with the visiting artist.
There are several visiting artists working across the state throughout the entire month of March. In all, I listened to, wrote comments for, and worked with approximately 150 students. Although the schedule is grueling – with long days and travel away from home – it is truly a privilege to work with these students and to meet so many dedicated teachers.
As a fellow music professional, perhaps you can imagine my surprise at the conversation I had with a former teacher at one of the events. While chit-chatting with a former teacher, I asked, “Are you still doing any playing?”
The former teacher responded flatly with a simple question, “What’s the point?”
I was caught off guard. For once, I had no words. The question hung in the air as we parted ways. However, I was thinking of a response long after the conversation.
What is the point?
Well, let me count the ways……
The point is connection. Music brings people together – of all ages, backgrounds, and viewpoints – around the shared goal of practicing, creating, and listening to music. Connecting with one another through music makes the world a more connected and humane place.
The point is healing. In my book, Music in the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier, I explore countless examples of how music in the 1800s provided solace, hope, and healing during difficult times. As people fought to hold onto their culture or made their way across the continent in covered wagons and set up homesteads in challenging landscapes, music was a touchstone, a candle in the darkness.
As in centuries past, music still heals. For example, in my own life, focusing on my musical studies and activities provided a comfort and grounding when my dad died in a car accident when I twelve.
The point is legacy. Music is a way of traveling through time. Every song, every piece carries echoes of culture, values, aesthetics, and history—the good and the bad. Music helps us make sense of the world we live in by creating, performing, and listening to works that reflect the spirit of their time.
Consider Antonín Dvořák’s New World Symphony, composed in 1893, which encouraged other leading composers to draw from homegrown musical traditions. What great musical work will our current moment in history yield?
The point is joy and celebration. Throughout history, we’ve turned to music to celebrate life’s big events as well as the small moments: births, friendships, weddings, birthdays, family gatherings, falling in love, the day-to-day workweek and weekends. Our lives are enriched by the joy of teaching, practicing, performing, listening, and dancing to music. Music brings laughter, delight, and lightness to our days.
The point is personal growth and discovery. As lifelong learners, teachers, performers, and listeners, music challenges us and expands our minds and hearts. As a devoted music student myself, I’m continually inspired to grow as a musician, teacher, and lover of music. The more I learn the more I realize how much there is to explore.
The point is inspiration. A treasured memory from this past month: I was working with an eight-year-old on Whidbey Island. After she performed her pieces, we worked together on connecting and shaping her legato phrases within her lovely melodic piece. When our mini lesson was finished, I asked, “How do you think this sounds now?”
She beamed and responded, “I think I sound like an angel.”
Moments like this are the point!
