Step Back

I'm not sure what other people think about on their daily commutes to school, but this is what consumed my thoughts on my Friday morning drive:

Not exactly Mike Myer's Coffee Talk...

I started thinking about how some students have incredibly enigmatic personalities and are natural leaders... they don't have any issues reaching across different social groups or being themselves in front of a group. Title or no title, they are the "Lone Nuts"; easily connecting with others, not afraid to be themselves. They might not even realize others are connecting with them, but because they are friendly, approachable, happy-go-lucky, other people tend to see them as leaders. Maybe they are your drum majors. Maybe they are your section leaders. Sometimes they might be your "class clowns", providing entertainment for others during rehearsal. Maybe they don't have a titled role, but others will naturally gravitate toward them because their personalities are inviting.  

There are also the quiet leaders. The ones who are excellent role models. Their behavior shows in every way how much they care and respect about the work being done by the group. They don't need to be reminded about what the right way is to do something because they're already doing it, and they're showing everyone else how it's done. 

Regardless of the type of leader, one of the most difficult task of any leader is providing criticism. How do we help students breach the awkward task of helping students to correct their peers when they are the quiet leader who may find it hard to connect? Or when the enigmatic personalities are now asked to give criticism, something that may inhibit others from connecting with them? How do we help students to find their voices so that they can give each other feedback in a way where they feel safe to do so with one another? 

We step back.

If we are going to cultivate a culture of student leadership and individual musical independence, students need opportunities to step up and find their voices. They need to know their voices are valued, and they are worthy contributors to the rehearsal process. And they need the chance to give feedback to one another in a safe, supported environment. The band room becomes a place not only to make and learn from musical mistakes, but also learn how to direct their own interactions with music as well as the others with whom they are making music. 

So after weeks of student lead warm-ups through circuit warm-ups, helping students to determine how to come up with relevant warm-ups for our rehearsals, I stepped back. I finished sketching out my little chart, stepped in the doorway to the band room to finish drinking my coffee, and waited to see if any students would take advantage of the opportunity to find their voice. 

After about 5 minutes of students anxiously watching me stand in the doorway, wondering what's going on, I had a couple of brave kids step up to the podium together and start our warm-up. They did some scales followed by some Bach chorales. In the process, they stopped the group to talk about articulations, balance and blending. Everything they were hearing was spot on. Proud doesn't even begin to describe it.

I don't anticipate every student taking advantage of the opportunity when it arises. But the more students are given the opportunity to discover their voices, perhaps even that quiet player who never takes the podium will find the courage to go into the practice room, open up their ears, find some mistakes to fix, and become a leader unto themselves.