by Martina Vasil
“Hi, my name is Larry. This is Larry, and this is Larry—we are ‘Larry and the Approximators!’”
This January, seven music teacher educators with diverse musical backgrounds and from all across the nation came together to participate in the inaugural Modern Band Fellowship. We came with a desire to change what we saw in music education, eager to gain skills and knowledge to make our dreams reality.
Throughout the five days of the fellowship, I saw amazing things happen. I saw people step outside of their comfort zones to perform a freestyle rap, to improvise bass lines and chord progressions, to create and perform a set list for an upcoming gig. As the week progressed, personalities shone through and confidence grew. I saw my colleagues letting go and living in the moment—thrashing on the drum-set, screaming out a line from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, and soulfully free-styling about fruit.
People were open and honest about their insecurities and revealed concerns and questions about ramifications at their universities for subverting “the system.” What we all agreed on though, is that change starts with US. We can’t wait for the School of Music or others to make changes. What can we do? Start in our own classrooms. Add a workshop here. Present at a state conference. Little by little, we are the change we want to see. It will accumulate, it will snowball, we will achieve a critical mass. I already see the momentum happening, as evidenced by the interest in this Fellowship.
So, what did the Fellowship do for us music teacher educators? How did it help formally educated musicians understand more about the “other side.” I can only speak for myself, but I learned simple comping patterns on drum set, lead guitar, bass guitar, and piano. I learned simple ways to improvise on each instrument, weather it’s a drum fill, a guitar riff, or “filling in the blanks” between bass line notes. We experienced “jam sessions” where we began with two or three chord progressions (with simplified guitar fingerings), added a bass line, added drums, then the “teacher” (usually David Wish, Bryan Powell, or Scott Burnstein) improvising a melody or singing a popular song on top of our musical layers. During these jams, we (the students) were encouraged to try different comping patterns or take a solo. Never once did I feel isolated or scared. Sometimes I got a little anxious before a solo, but the atmosphere was so overwhelmingly positive and non judgmental that the anxiety soon melted away.
Throughout our five days together, community was built. Connections were made. Our band, Larry and the Approximators, was created. Although some of us had more experiences creating and performing popular music than others, we all came together to complement and support each other’s growth. What stood out to me the most about the five days we spent together was the positivity of the environment. It was okay to ask questions. It was okay to make mistakes. Everyone’s performance was validated. No one was evaluated. It was understood that this week was a process and that everyone was progressing at their own rate.
How can we create a similar sense of community at our institutions? I think it will look different for each of us. Some of us may have entire courses that are Modern Band; others will have a unit or integrate ideas throughout existing courses. The community of music makers that can be built through democratic, creativity-centered practices is undeniable though. Attending this fellowship made me excited and confident for the future of music education.