In .. . ,uwfiswn QMM‘ . . 3.5“: ‘.‘ vi a} «3' l I- 63‘ if. I... v . .2 ILMF ‘ i.) in 1-1:. HUI... 31...”, ”‘Ic‘a ‘.1 u. Enlihmhfln .fiz. In}!1 .. n1 .\ .1.» 0.... 50 r. . ’3. .nfiwu. .. IES‘. 5.3“... 515$»... .3“ .huuau ”5 3.. (V! a 9" 2b.! E. .j) i <3 kL \“ . ‘. r This is to certify that the dissertation entitled LESSONS FROM A GARAGE BAND: INFORMAL VENUES FOR MUSIC MAKING presented by Sheri E. Jaffurs has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree in Music Education OAMWCL ”(Z—(QM Major Professor‘éSignature l7—ll llooe December 1, 2006 MSU is an Affinnalive Action/Equal Opportunity Institution n-.—.-—v-.---.-------------.-n-u—-‘—-—--—.--.--o--4-n-.-.-.-.--:--.—.—.-.-.-.---4-—.—.—.-.-.---.—.- PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 5/08 K IPro;/Acc&Pres/ClRC/DateDue indd LESSONS FROM A GARAGE BAND: INFORMAL VENUES FOR MUSIC MAKING BY Sheri E. Jaffurs A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Music 2006 ABSTRACT LESSONS FROM A GARAGE BAND: INFORMAL VENUES FOR MUSIC MAKING By Sheri E. Jaffurs This is a study of a group of three young musicians that create and perform music in a garage band. The purpose of this study was to discover how members of the garage band interacted with each other in and out of informal and formal settings and at the boundaries of these environments in an unfolding story. The settings were basement rehearsals, in a summer rock music camp, and at a middle school performance. Informal and formal music education paradigms drove the formation of the design of this study, and a narrative inquiry was chosen as the format. In all three settings, communication and the power structures in a democratic music education learning environment emerged as major themes. Supporting themes were musicality, trust, mutual respect, and family support. The informal music practices of these musicians may be insights into how students, left on their own, develop musicality. In addition, an examination of the informal and formal settings in which the band members participated may reveal the strengths and weaknesses of informal and formal music learning venues and suggest ways in which music educators can structure teaching and learning and the development of musicality. Copyright by SHERI E. JAFFURS 2006 Dedication To my husband, John Anthony Jaffurs ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To Bill Cosby, Oswald, and WonTon, thank you for your honesty and for letting me into your world. Your ideas and. experiences were invaluable. Thank. you also txa your parents. Teresa, your insight and assistance helped me to set sail on this research and I value your friendship. Thank you tx>rmy advisor, Dr. Cynthia Taggart. You kept me on a straight path, even when I took my own winding road. I count myself fortunate to have your friendship and wise counsel. Dr. Mitchell Robinson, you kept me moving forward. Thank you for the emails, phone calls, and pep talks. Dr. John Kratus, thank you for your friendship and inspiration. Dr. Judy Palac, thank you for your keen insight which kept me looking over my shoulder and focused on the reader’s perspective. Dr. Jon Reed, thank you for teaching' me about the white belt. To all of you, your lessons resound in my mind and I hope to be a beacon of your examples. To my students and colleagues in Frankenmuth, Michigan, Davison, Michigan, Flint, Michigan, Farmington Michigan, and Harlingen, Texas, you are all in these pages. To Nick, Alexis, and Jay, you have set your sails and your own journeys are underway. Don’t look back and vi never stop learning. I tun proud of )Knl and thankful that you were with me on my journey. You will always be BITW. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................... xi CHAPTER I ................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1 Characteristics of Learning Environments ................. 2 Conceptual Framework ..................................... 6 Contrasting Informal and Formal Music Education Practices ........................................................ 11 Musicality .............................................. 15 What Can Be Learned From Garage Bands: Collaboration and Democratic Music Making ................................. 18 Need for the Study ...................................... 21 Inquiry ................................................. 28 Limitations of the Study ................................ 30 CHAPTER II ............................................... 31 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................ 31 Musicality and Informal Music Learning Transmission ..... 32 Democratic Teaching Environments ........................ 39 The Rock Music Culture .................................. 46 Pilot Study: A Fifth Grade Garage Band .................. 52 Procedures ............................................ 54 Results ............................................... 55 Discussion and Implications of Pilot Study ............ 61 CHAPTER III .............................................. 66 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................ 66 Design and Researcher’s Lens ............................ 66 Participants and Setting ................................ 68 Data Collection ......................................... 71 Fieldwork and Documents ............................... 72 Observations and Interviews ........................... 73 Generalizability and Trustworthiness .................... 73 Analysis ................................................ 74 viii CHAPTER IV ............................................... 77 THREE VENUES FOR A GARAGE BAND ........................... 77 A Garage Band in the Basement .......................... 78 The Band Goes to Rock Music Camp ....................... 100 Visiting the Rock Music Camp ........................... 105 Band Rehearsal ....................................... 106 Teachers’ Lounge ..................................... 110 Group Lessons ........................................ 111 Garage Band Gigs ....................................... 114 The Middle School Gig ................................ 117 CHAPTER V ............................................... 123 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS ............................ 123 Teaching and Learning in Informal and Formal Venues.... 124 Basement Rehearsals .................................. 125 Middle School Gig .................................... 128 The Rock Music Camp .................................. 131 Informal Music Education Practices at the Camp ...... 132 Formal Music Education Practices at the Camp ........ 135 The Informal and Formal Music Education Border ...... 136 Communication .......................................... 139 Teachers as Facilitators ............................... 142 Democratic Music Education: Power Structures in the Learning Environment ................................... 146 Leadership, Power, and Trust ......................... 150 Democracy and the Aims of Education .................. 155 Musicality Development ................................. 157 Rock Music Culture ................................... 157 Mutual Respect ....................................... 160 The Skills and Techniques of Rock Band Members ....... 165 Family Support ...................................... 173 Summary ................................................ 175 CHAPTER VI .............................................. 177 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ........................................................ 177 Conclusions and Implications for Practice .............. 180 Music Teacher Education .............................. 189 Suggestions for Future Research ........................ 190 ix APPENDIX A .............................................. 195 KEY FOR DATA SOURCES ................................... 195 APPENDIX B .............................................. 196 PILOT STUDY DATA ....................................... 196 APPENDIX C .............................................. 197 DayJamS ADVERTISEMENT .................................. 197 APPENDIX D .............................................. 198 LANGUAGE ARTS ASSIGNMENT ............................... 198 APPENDIX E .............................................. 201 UCRIHS DOCUMENTATION ................................... 201 APPENDIX F .............................................. 208 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS .................................... 208 APPENDIX G .............................................. 209 DayJams SCHEDULE ....................................... 209 APPENDIX H .............................................. 210 DayJams DRUM CLASS LESSON PLANS ........................ 210 APPENDIX I .............................................. 211 CODEBOOK EXAMPLE FROM ETHNOGRAPH ....................... 211 REFERENCES .............................................. 212 Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure LIST OF FIGURES Community-Based Transmission Systems . . . . . 37 Pilot Study Participants from Same Neighborhood and School District . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Comparison of Tempo Issues between Pilot Study and Current Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Learning to Play the Instruments in the Garage Band. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Informal and Formal Music Learning Continuum .125 Skills and Characteristics of Garage Band Participants and Green’s(2002)Participants. . 172 xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION As I entered the room, I noticed all the music equipment; funny that I don’t say, musical instruments. There were four young people in the room: two girls, and two boys. I had been an elementary music teacher of two of the boys and of one of the girls, yet they didn’t even acknowledge me. They knew I was there. We began to talk as though I came over after school and went to their basement every day. I was struck by how much they acted like a rock band you might see on television. Very cool. They were busy. There was a little bit of playing from the guitar and drums as we waited for the fifth member to arrive. The guitarist fingered some familiar licks and enjoyed asking me if I knew them. To my ears one sounded like “Meet George Jetson,” but he smiled knowingly, told me what rock song it was and continued to play (pilot study fieldnotes, 2003) (Appendix A). Becoming a musician is a process; it is a unique journey for each individual. For some, this journey is filled with trips to music conservatories, studios and homes of private instrumental and vocal instructors, and school ensemble classes. Ensemble and private studio recitals, school performances, and community music programs are also a part of the musical world for many musicians. However, some become musicians through less traditional means, with little or no teacher direction. My own father, a self—taught harmonica player who would practice songs he heard on the radio until he sounded just like Larry Adler, was one such musician. I did not value his musicianship until recently, when I began to study a group of garage musicians in what became the pilot study for this dissertation. Beginning in fall of 2003, I observed a group of young students develop a popular music group. The opening of this chapter is an excerpt from my fieldnotes from this pilot study. Listening to the group create music that was meaningful to them exposed the intuitive knowledge that they possessed about music and the skills that they sought to learn and that they displayed as they developed into a band. Their methods and practices were not the traditional experiences of many formally trained musicians. Their method was different from my own and, in some ways, just as successful. As a professional music educator, watching these young musicians work made me want to understand more deeply both formal and informal music learning and music making. Characteristics of Learning Environments Many characteristics and conditions can be used to identify a music learning setting as formal or informal. The climatic, sociological, and psychological conditions, the venue, or place, where music is learned, the kind of music studied, and the methods used in these settings all help to identify the practice as formal, informal, or a mixture of the two. How we define the formal setting and practice is important to the way in which we study informal practices. Resnick (1987) contrasted the differences between formal, in-school learning, and informal, out-of—school learning. Her premise was that formal schooling is “a setting in which to learn rules” (p.15). She believes that students are not encouraged to bring what they have learned informally into the formal school setting. This does not support continuity between what is learned in either the informal and formal venues. Where does each type of education exist? In general, formal education is in a school; the school is the context in which music is learned and performed. Typically schools use standard—based curricula. Elementary students study music and perform in general music, choir, band, and orchestra programs, all of which are created and arranged by instructors and school administration. There is a difference between the performance and rehearsal settings that music teachers create and many real world performances, such as rock music gigs, that students seek out. Differences between in-school settings and real world settings may be understood by the function of each in culture. The function of music in a school setting is to provide a music education for all students. The function of music in society is broader and associated with the many purposes for which it is used. As students enter middle school, high school, and beyond, the disparity between school and the “real world” increases for the vast majority of students. Resnick (1987) specifically addressed the learning that formal environments promote. She believes that there are differences between school learning and other learning. School learning promotes individual achievement; students often work in group settings but they are ultimately assessed individually. School promotes psychological tools, such as language (Joiner, Faulkner, Littleton, Miell, & Thompson, 2000) and “pure mentation” (Resnick, 1987), which is what students can do without calculators, books, computers, or any other instruments or external support (Resnick, p.13). These tools may be used in schools, but they are usually put away during exams and tests. Many out of school activities are social experiences. Schools place a value on the individual’s ability to think on their own without the use of notes or computers. Resnick contrasts this with the tools students use outside of school as they participate in cognitive activities that are “shaped by and dependent upon the kinds of tools available” (p.13). For example, guitarists in a rock band may not be able to explain compression in air molecules in sound waves or differences in wave forms. However, they may easily use amplifiers, sequencers and computers to facilitate performing, recording, and editing their music. Resnick contrasted the individual accountability favored in the school environment with the social gatherings and group activities found in social systems outside of school. She reports that, in these social sytems, success is dependent upon how individuals work together and collaborate in all manner of performances. Mercer (1992) specified the formal in-school settings as ones in which the “meanings children attach to their learning - will, in part, be determined by their involvement with schools and other institutions of their society schools have their own body of cultural knowledge, and their own ways of communicating and legitimizing knowledge” (p.249). The methods used by music teachers in classrooms today are, for the most part, formal music practices. Strauss (1984) defined the formal paradigm of schooling as emanating from the industrialized West (p. 195). He believes that formal schooling in the West is intentional, out of context, and in a unique venue not Viewed as a part of a normal daily routine. Bowman (2004) described the formal music teaching environment as “frozen” and problematic, because of the emphasis on a high degree of technical polish that is not necessarily a part of the music practices found in informal settings (p.41). Jeffs and Smith (1990) observed that a definition of informal education always refers to a relationship to formal education (section 3, section vi). They propose that informal education should be analyzed for its positive qualities and not simply as another method to be used in the classroom. They noted that defining formal education by its relationship to informal education is important, but that informal education can be characterized “negatively as the bit left over” (section 3, vi). Conceptual Framework Dewey laid the foundation for a formal education that embraces informal education practices. Below is an excerpt from My Pedagogic Creed (1972). My Pedagogic Creed could be interpreted as Dewey’s definition of the ideal school. I believe that the school is primarily a social institution. Education being a social process, the school is simply that form of community life in which all those agencies are concentrated that will be most effective in bringing the child to share in the inherited resources of the race, and to use his own powers for social ends. I believe that education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living. I believe that the school must represent present life - life as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighborhood, or on the playground. I believe that as such simplified social life, the school life should grow gradually out of the home life; that it should take up and continue the activities with which the child is already familiar in the home. I believe that it should exhibit these activities to the child, and reproduce them in such ways that the child will gradually learn the meaning of them, and be capable of playing his own part in relation to them. I believe that this is a psychological necessity, because it is the only way of securing continuity in the child's growth, the only way of giving a back-ground of past experience to the new ideas given in school. I believe that it is also a social necessity because the home is the form of social life in which the child has been nurtured and in connection with which he has had his moral training. It is the business of the school to deepen and extend his sense of the values bound up in his home life. I believe that much of present education fails because it neglects this fundamental principle of the school as a form of community life. It conceives the school as a place where certain information is to be given, where certain lessons are to be ]earned, or where certain habits are to be formed. The value of these is conceived as lying largely in the remote future; the child must do these things for the sake of something else he is to do; they are mere preparation. As a result they do not become a part of the life experience of the child and so are not truly educative. “My Pedagogic Creed” Article II: What the School Is Additionally, Dewey (1990) started the University School (later Lab School) with four questions as his guiding framework. The questions are listed below: 1. “What can be done, and how can it be done, to bring the school into closer relations with the home and neighborhood life—instead of having the school a place where the child comes solely to learn certain lessons” (p.166)? “What can be done in the way of introducing subject- matter in history and science and art, that shall have a positive value and real significance in the child’s own life, and shall represent, even to the youngest children, something worthy of attainment in skill or knowledge, as much so to the little pupil as are the studies of the high-school or college student to him (p.167)? “How can instruction in these formal, symbolic branches-the mastering of the ability to read, write, and use figures intelligently-be carried on with everyday experience and occupation as their background and in definite relations to other studies of more inherent content, and be carried on in such a way that the child shall feel their necessity through their connection with subjects which appeal to him on their own account” (p.168)? 4. “Individual attention. This is secured by small groupings—eight or ten in a class-and a large number of teachers supervising.” (p.169). Dewey's understanding of education, encompassing a broad spectrum of the community, does not imply a disbelief in formal education. Dewey (1916) was a proponent of formal education. “Without such formal education, it is not possible to transmit the resources and achievements of a complex society” (p.8). However, he noted that a problem that comes with these ever expanding resources. Educators may risk creating a gulf when experiences are taken out of context in a formal teaching setting. He warned of the dangers of separating knowledge students gain at school from the knowledge they gain from experience. Dewey believed that the gulf between the two had widened due to the growth of knowledge, which included technical skills, in the preceding centuries. 'Dewey (1910, 1997) wrote extensively about reflective thought and specifically about continuity, a term from his theory of experience. The concept of continuity is important to understanding the connection between informal and formal learning experiences. Continuity is a powerful tool for learning; it is the creation of connections between each learning experience. The learner’s experiences, formal and/or informal, build on each other. Continuity is the idea that experiences grow from and lead to further experiences (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000, p.2). Past experiences interact with current experiences. The continuity or “variety and change of ideas combined into a single steady trend moving toward a unified conclusion” (p. 40) are important to the learning experience. What is in question is the quality and quantity of continuity between learning experiences and the extent to which continuity is created in formal and informal experiences. Experiences form not only who and what we are but, in education, learning and sharing our experiences and knowledge so that others may benefit. Students create a community of learners in which collective experiences may create new meanings. These ideas are the basis for social constructivism, for which Dewey’s writings formed the foundation. Billett (2001,2002) identified learning as goal— oriented experiential practices that are consciously intentional. He proposed that the use of the term informal learning encourages a view of learning that can de- 10 emphasize the human experience by focusing on the place and circumstances in which learning occurs. Contrasting Informal and Formal Music Education Practices Formal and informal practices generally use different processes, although they may best be defined as oscillating between polarities on many philosophical and psychological issues. On one end, formal education is usually teacher directed, whereas informal education is often peer-directed, often without a discernible leader. In many informal settings, the learner is not making an effort to learn; there is no metacognitive action to understand and remember. Finnegan (1989) compared the differences between participation in formal and informal music practices. Her ethnographic study in the town of Milton Keynes examined amateur musicians that created music for their own enjoyment. She examined the music culture by studying musicians ranging from rock groups to church choir members. She viewed the formal approach as sequential and publicly validated (p.136), while, in the informal approach, students are apprentices receiving on-the-job training (p.134). Campbell (2000) stated that “school is one (italics added) of the places in which children acquire 11 music” (p.57). She defined an informal music learning practice as existing in any place where there is music. She believes that children learn as a result of a wide range of experiences: in natural experiences with no one in charge, with teacher leaders in classrooms, and from other children. Children participate in all varieties of musical experiences through interactions with teachers, families, and friends in “social and religious communities” and mediated through “radio, TV, recordings, videotapes and films, CD-ROMs, and other late-breaking technological avenues” (p.57). In the last forty years, music classrooms have begun to incorporate a wider variety of music styles and idioms in the classroom. Today, formal music practices are not as closely associated with the kind of music that is taught in the classroom. Rather, these practices are represented by the manner in which students are taught music, in a structured environment with aspects of a dominant ideology, which can be defined as traditions held by most people in the society. Sarason (1990) noted that “the strength of the status quo--its underlying axioms, its pattern of power relationships, its sense of tradition and therefore what seems right, natural, and proper--almost 12 automatically rules out options for change in that status quo" (p.35—36). Returning to the idea of formal and informal practices on a continuum, teaching styles may be depicted as autocratic on one end and democratic on the other. Many students in formal education venues may not have had a significant role in specifying what they will learn. Traditionally, public school teaching has a variety of regulations and controls in the form of curriculum standards and benchmarks. Informal education does not have as set of standards to address or tests to guide jrnstruction. Teachers may use democratic teaching 1;)1rinciples in their classroom, but standards, benchmarks, and testing mandates impose certain restrictions and éaqueandas on students. Participation in informal education ‘B7tselfnnes is voluntary, and in some cases the participants C1rmal music tradition, “young musicians largely teach titleilitselves or ‘pick up’ skills and knowledge, usually with tl}1€3 laelp or encouragement of their family and peers, by V“atlczhing and imitating musicians around them and by making 13 reference to recordings or performances and other live events involving their chosen music”(p.5). Many of these informally trained musicians play in bands and clubs all over the United States. They have primary careers as non- musicians, and music making is an avocation. Prouty (2002) defined informal learning environments as employing self—constructed types of learning strategies. His study revealed an institutional jazz music education program that was closely associated twith out-of-school learning environments. Prouty’s (description of a Midwest university jazz program could be earl example of a formal music learning environment that 111j_ght be placed nearer to the midpoint on the continuum of ;igr1f0rmal and formal music education practices. In my pilot study (Jaffurs, 2004a), I reiterated 53- 531:atement by Sloboda (1994). If educators can describe t:1f1¢53 musical environment that students create to make music tililiEth: is meaningful to them, perhaps they can foster greater 53<:=]rlmfi_evement for all students. If educators can understand -t]:l‘53 scope of the experience and meaning that students CEI7€E=Eite through informal music making, perhaps they can E3I>IF>J_y what they have learned, and more students in their jEC’13Dnal settings will develop curiosity and desire to learn ‘lklei skills necessary to create music. 14 Musicality Ultimately, musicality and the development of musicality is what is being transmitted in both informal and formal music education venues. Jaffurs (2004b) discussed musicality as a “loosely used term with many meanings. It can be applied to a small child who chants a nursery rhyme, a harmonica player who plays by ear, a pianist such as Art Tatum, or a conductor like Toscanini. Some educators and philosophers believe that musicality is manifested in the technical achievements of musicians. CDther music educators believe that technique is secondary 51nd musicality is the level of expression a musician is éak>le to bring to a work” (p.4). Reimer (1992) described musical performers as eaq><19ressive and as having the ability to anticipate and predict where the music was going. Gordon (2003) believes that every human being is born with some level of a calE>acity to develop musicality. Gordon defined this CEEl]EDaacity as music aptitude. He believes that exposing a Cir3-jL.JLd to quality early childhood experiences is the best V'53552’ to ensure a child will come close to reaching their 13‘1:1—J_ potential. The extent to which someone develops rnxlsslicality would be a measure of one’s ability to audiate. I\‘J‘Ciiation is “hearing and comprehending in one’s mind the 15 sound of music that is not or may never have been physically present” (Gordon, 2003, p. 361). These perceptions about musicality demonstrate a range of definitions. Although man’s ability to think in sound, or audiate is an innate ability, Zimmerman (2001) believes that musicality develops more fully from the cultural environment. She suggested that musicality does not have a universal meaning and asked whether musicality in our culture is demonstrated through technical skills or a myriad of skills and achievements. Hargreaves’ (1996) and Swanwick and Tillman’s (1986) theories of musical development offers insight into ifcormal music education. Hargreaves (1996) described a c::c>ntinuum of the development of musical skills of children. (2)11. one end of the spectrum is a normative development that <:>c::<:urs without any special guidance, and on the other end -i—:E; .standard-based instruction provided by a music E;.'E.:>'EB<:ialist. Music education promotes expert development or ‘3- jliligh degree of musical skill and expertise. Hargreaves’ r1<3>3ETIrtative and expertise labels do not necessarily imply a 1“63‘U'eel of achievement. He points out that the danger with tlklii—ES model is in assuming that expertise only emerges with $3E>€3Cial training. Some individuals with exceptional musical a“Dilities have not received formal training. 16 Swanwick and Tillman (1986) created a theory of schematic stages of musical development. Like Hargreaves’ developmental phases, these concepts are based on Piagetian principles. The purpose of their study was to discover an “orderly unfolding of musical behavior” (p.305). This theory has four elements: mastery, imitation, imagination, and metacognition. Mastery is advancing from an interest in sound to interest in the controls of sound. Imitation is related to Piaget’s accommodation and is when a child attempts to recreate some aspect of the world around them. .Imagination is the transformation of objects; it is czreative play, with no rules or limitations. Metacognition LL£3 awareness of one’s thinking. Hargreaves’ and Swanwick and Tillman’s theories <:>:f? development of musicality beg the question of how we 1:Z€E!Eich the skills necessary for this development in formal ITIIJI:ELic education settings. Music educators such as Kodaly, C>itTWiEHf, Suzuki, and Gordon have developed theories and “ISEE‘tZquods that are sequential. All, in one way or another, t1‘317‘7’ee a similar purpose: to develop the musicality of Ch i ldren. Music educators support these methodologies by innIDILementing their practices in the classroom. They help to (iEE‘TEBlop the skills and knowledge students need for musical l7 achievement as described by the method and practice to which they adhere. Skills and achievements are defined and are not malleable as in the context of some “real world” performance settings. What Can Be Learned From Garage Bands: Collaboration and Democratic Music Making There was this kid in my band. I never really noticed him much. One day he gave me a tape and said, “I play in a band, we’re pretty good, you’ll like to hear us.” I took the tape and politely smiled at him thinking, right, they’re good, when do I have time for this anyway. I put the tape on the piano in my classroom and went back to my work. About two weeks later I was looking for something on .my piano and I noticed the tape. Feeling guilty I put the tape in my cassette player. A wonderful sound hit my ears. Ivan, I thought, these guys are really good. Later that week II gave the tape back to Joe, Joe Bon Jovi. D. Knauss (13ersonal communication, October 24, 2003). “Garage musicians” learn by their own initiative earrid participation in gatherings of like-minded friends who vquilat to create popular music. The popularity of these ggzzzfic1ups, within our culture and many cultures all over the h7<:>.lflld, is testimony to the motivation, musical abilities 51171<:i. accomplishments of these musicians. Many of these rujél-SSIchians have not been taught their garage band skills in a. ‘1E’c>rmal setting. Some of these musicians have participated 5513- iformal music education and there may be some overlapping and continuity between their formal learning and informal leaaiI‘ning. However, this group of musicians has often remained absent from secondary school music programs. 18 Garage musicians are collaborators. To understand their collaboration, it is necessary to understand their “specific cultural niche” and their connections to the broader social context (Littleton, 2000, p.249). Littleton notes that each cultural niche offers different opportunities and at the same time different constraints. Robinson (1999) studied the components that make up collaborative models. These are leadership, goals, resources, power, structure, and personal traits. His research focused on relationships between university and (community music schools. In a hypothetical formal music ssetting, he speculated about and defined collaboration as "fer more than the mere act of individuals working together (2)11 a specific project or goal” (p.5). He identified a lack <:>;f? collaborative models available for music educators. Paramount to group collaboration is the di Stribution of power, an understanding of which is 53:53 £3¢ential to democratic music education. Research on garage h3iEa-Ifi1<>rtant in “cooperative learning, thematic teaching, 19 child-centered curricula” (p.27). He defined democratic teaching ideals as intuitive and more then a choice between two or three options but an environment in which all are vested in the decisions and options. He believes this type of environment to be conducive to a shared distribution of power, through which ideas are exchanged and new concepts emerge and evolve. Woodford (2005) observed that, while educators support democratic teaching philosophies, in practice, some “autocratic educational models and methods continue to ;prevail in music teacher education programs and in public sschool music programs” (p.xi). Woodford (2005) argues for earn understanding and knowledge of ends or perceptions of 1;>c>ssible consequences from autocratic and democratic 1:);E7actices, and more globally, postmodernism and modernism, t:-<:> increase our knowledge and provide guidance. This ideal, ba sed on Dewey’s teachings, is that greater understanding CDJIE- 130th autocratic and democratic teaching models will F>5I:‘<:>‘Uide guidance for educational theory and practice. Recognizing the value of the freedom to pursue “113u53:ical identities, while acknowledging that a certain aIt'lCDLJnt of authority is necessary, is where reconciliation kbeat:vveen some formal music education and democratic teaching EDIEEicrtices should begin (Woodford, 2005). Woodford endorses 20 training of the reflective mind by teachers who are students “of the pupil’s mind” (p.91). Further, because democratic education is a socially constructed concept, it should change and grow with each generation’s culture. Need for the Study Music iji education should reflect time ways III which music is used in society, with students learning by involvement in creating, experimenting, recreating, discussing, researching, listening, analysing and appraising nmsic. IKE music is ix) offer something to all students, it is necessary to recognise music as it is in society, with all its genres, styles and purposes (Watson, A., & Forrst, D., 1994). Understanding all of the arenas of music learning _i_11. society should Ixe important ix) music educators, as it may help them to become more successful teachers. lI:1717\7estigating informal practices is not new to music E3C211_:1c:ation. As far back as Bartok and Kodaly, and perhaps €37‘7’éEtr1 before, music educators and ethnographers examined j-17713f3<3rma1 practices. However, the focus of much of the iJrlfiff<3rmal music education research has narrowed in the last thnty years. The research by Finnegan (1989), Campbell (1995), Fornas, Lindberg, & Sernhede (1995), Gay (1999), Green (2002), Allsup (2003), Rodriguez, (2004) and others 21 has described the informal practices of garage and popular musicians. Broadly, these studies examined time venues in which popular' musicians make their music. They revealed issues (If social constructivism, collaboration, democratic teaching principles, power relations, communication, identity, motivation, and musicality. Popular music culture has made inroads into formal music education for the past thirty—five years (Green, 2004). At first, popular music in the school curriculum was simply the inclusion of the popular music repertoire in the music classroom. There was little interest in the manner of delivery or teaching strategies that are a part of the popular music scene. Bowman (2004) believes that this remains the case, and that a large gulf exists between traditional music curricula in Western schools and everyday musical experiences and practices. However, the integration of jazz and other popular music in school curriculum can create a bridge between informal and formal practices. Wemyss (2004) discussed the inclusion of popular music in the secondary school music curriculum in Australia. She noted that popular musicians’ practices have “permeated Western educational structures and helped broaden understanding of a broad palate of music” (p.142). She believes that the 22 inclusion of popular music in the Australian music curriculum created a mutual understanding and communication between the school culture and the popular music culture. While the inclusion of popular music may have created a bridge between popular, informal music and I “school music,’ in some academic cultures, there may be other bridges and connections to make. Heath (2001) observed that the learning environment that exists outside of the normal school day, whether in the community, or as after school sports activities, has drawn little attention from researchers. Heath coined the term a “third environment” (p.17) to represent the learning environment that exists outside of school and home. The third environment is the “third arena of learning, that which takes place beyond classroom and home, is generally left unattended, minimally supported, and almost completely unexamined” (p. 10). He noted that participation in the third environment is an accepted and often important predictor of achievement and also is used as screening for entrants to colleges and universities. Yet, little attention has been given to who is participating in this type of learning, what it is, and how and if it is working. Researchers may find an important area of study in their own neighborhood. Students participate in a wide 23 variety of activities after school hours such as clubs, community programs, sports teams, street dancing, computer file sharing, and chat lines. Each of these third environment activities could be a focus of study regarding alternative learning environments. Community programs that are offered out—of-school to provide assistance for the development of youth have a surrounding base of research that has opened the public’s eye to the benefits of a “third environment” This third environment may be outside of school programs but is not necessarily informal and peer-directed. Robinson (1999) described characteristics of collaboration between community music making and formal music education settings. He believes that to be effective, community models, which are “transferable to many settings” (p. 38), are student centered, account for diverse learners, “adjust delivery methods accordingly,” and “allow for diverse approaches and styles” (p.38). Studying the transmission of learning that takes place in the third environment could provide an understanding of how knowledge from informal learning environments is acquired and sustained. Regelski noted, “It is difficult to ignore the vast importance of music of all kinds in every corner of society” (T. Regelski, personal 24 communication, March 06, 2004). He asked listserv members of the international journal MAYDAY why the music education research community is not studying the social settings of music learning. Regelski may have identified a gap in music education research, but he also fails to acknowledge that questions are being asked about informal music environments by several researchers.Yarbrough (2000) was commissioned by the Housewright Music Symposium Vision 2020 to respond to the question, “What should be the relationship between schools and other sources of music learning?” She proposed that educators looking for future trends should explore other sources of music learning. Green (2002) addressed the relationship between informal and formal practices. She identified three main questions that emanated from her study of fourteen rock musicians. To what extent do the formal and informal spheres of music education and learning exist in isolation from and ignorance of each other? Do the two spheres involve approaches that are irreconcilable, or do they complement each other? If the latter, could they be developed in tandem, without riding roughshod over the 25 nature of either, in ways that would benefit a larger proportion of children and young people (p.177)? An examination of the settings in which the members of the garage band learn music might reveal a deeper understanding of the learning in both informal and formal education practices. The objective of this research is to illuminate the meaning that these musicians extract from their experiences, rather than to discover a truth about a particular group of musicians in an informal setting compared to their counterpart in a school setting. This study documents the meaning of the musical experiences of a group of garage musicians. I will examine some of the pathways of learning music that three junior high students pursue. These musicians participate in formal and informal music education settings and in some settings that may be considered both formal and informal. More often than not, garage musicians are curious and have a drive and desire to create rock music. Is it accurate to state that they teach themselves? Have they really been left on their own? How do they work together, and is there a hierarchical structure? What are the environments they establish? Is there continuity and interaction between what they learn inside school and what they learn outside of school? What is the nature of the 26 communication between members of the band? These questions may help us to understand the garage musicians’ experiences. Most students are probably aware of the continuity and connections that exist between the formal in—school instrumental music class they had at 1:30 p.m. in school and the private trombone lesson after school. In both, there is interaction, or a recognition of a sequential, organized path from past to present experience. Individuals experience interaction and continuity as they proceed through the pathways of learning, such as the ones Finnegan (1989) discovered. Finnegan identified learning pathways of music, for example, the musicians that participated in church music ensembles. She discovered that these pathways extended to familial patterns and are influenced by parents and family. Finnegan found a difference between the influence of family in the rock culture and other genres she examined. In the rock world, she discovered a “stress on self-achievement through music, and the accepted mode of self-teaching made this feasible (p. 310). Finnegan’s (1989) term pathway was a “metaphor for illuminating certain features of local music and its implications for urban life” (p.305). The musicians she 27 studied represented many musical styles, such as jazz, folk music, and rock. The pathways that she described were the efforts, contacts, schedule arrangements, and places that these musicians sought to make music. Finnegan concluded that the music experiences were highly valued by the musicians in her study. A compelling revelation was that the musical experiences they pursued, whether as soloists, rock musicians, or other types of music makers, were viewed similarly. Though mostly unknown to each other, each gave unsolicited tribute to the importance of music in their lives as meaningful and valuable to their place in society. Inquiry The purpose of this inquiry is to improve music education by developing an understanding of the environment garage musicians create when making music that is meaningful to them, as well as the influences of the other venues of music making they participate in on their development of musicianship. The research of Finnegan (1989), Green (2002), Allsup (2003), Campbell (1995), and many others who initiated studies of garage bands, provided the impetus for this study. The following questions and sub-questions will guide the direction of this dissertation: 28 1. How do formal and informal music teaching and learning intersect? a. How do members of the garage band interact in either informal or formal music practices? b. Do the different venues in which the band participates reveal a continuum of democratic teaching methods and delivery systems? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching examined? c. How do garage musicians work together in a formal setting? e. How are informal and formal settings alike; how are they different? f. How do the participants View each setting? 2. How do members of a garage band, in an informal music learning environment, transmit knowledge? Do members of the garage band teach each other skills? 3. What are the music skills and achievements used by members of a garage band in an informal music teaching environment? 4. How does the collaboration between members of a garage band in an informal music teaching environment function? a. Is there a leader of the group? 29 b. Are there roles within the group? c. What types of communication exist in the group? Limitations of the Study The participants in this study are all junior high school males that were chosen based on their participation in a garage band. The results are not generalizable to other garage band settings or informal music ensembles. Further limitations of this study are that the subjects, who are former students of the researcher, might respond to questions by answering, to some extent, with what they thought the researcher wanted to hear. Both students and researcher may have a bias toward either informal and formal settings of learning respectively. It is recognized that two of the members of the band have taken private instrumental lessons intermittently throughout the study. This study examined the informal and formal experiences of the participants, and all participants’ experiences were viewed as important. 30 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW . the system of local music making is partially veiled not just from outsiders but even from the musicians themselves and ‘their supporters. Of course: in. one sense they know it well - these are not secret practices. But in another it seems so natural and given to the participants that they are often unaware both of its extent and of the structured work they themselves are putting into sustaining it. We all know about it — but fail to notice it for what it is. Finnegan (1989, p.4) The rock music culture found within informal music learning venues is the basis for this literature review. The salient themes and ideas that surfaced in the pilot study were instrumental in helping me to establish research protocol and refine my questions and problems. Within these contexts, I examined the development of musicality, democratic teaching, and teaching and learning specific to garage bands. Four studies provided information on transmission of musicality in the informal settings. Finnegan’s (1989) and Nettel’s (1944) studies uncovered a wide range of musical skills and practices in their communities. Blacking’s (1973) study was a focused account of the musicality he found in a community outside of his own. Szego’s (2002) global focus was an account of the research 31 communities’ view of transmission of music learning in many venues, informal and formal. Four studies provided examples of democratic teaching methods and philosophies. Berg’s (1997) study was an account of the implementation of peer collaboration within a traditional ensemble in a formal venue. Woodford (2005) provided a philosophical grounding based on Dewey’s democratic ideals. Allsup (2003) studied a garage band using Dewey’s democratic teaching reforms as a referential lens. Wiggins’ (1999, 2000) study revealed democratic teaching methods in a group of third grade composers. Three prominent studies revealed how rock musicians create music. Bennett’s (1980) text was an early account of the workings of garage bands and was a model for others who wanted to create their own garage band. Campbell’s (1995) ethnographic study demonstrated how garage musicians create music. Green’s (2002) study was a large case study of several garage bands and their members. Musicality and Informal Music Learning Transmission Finnegan (1989) examined the local music life in Milton Keynes from 1980 to 1984. She saw a split between the scholarly, professional world and the popular, professional world of music. She studied the importance of music to the people of Milton Keynes. Her study was to 32 touch “on controversial issues about the nature of popular culture .and the quality of people’s pathway in modern urban life” (p.xii). The informal settings that Finnegan (1989) discovered did not adhere to any specific methodologies, such as Orff, or a set of standards, such as those imposed by any outside authority; however, she did discover a natural and hidden structure with strong support from the participants. There were connections between the classical music world she found and the informal popular world. Both practices existed outside of a formal school setting, and both interwove private music lessons to their members. Each venue had pathways that were unknown to other members of other venues. The implications of Finnegan’s study are important to music educators and the sociology of music education. Interviews revealed differences between scholarly and popular worlds of music. For example, a 20— year old rock musician in her study disclosed that, at the age of 14, she became interested in learning to play the guitar and compose, and eventually become lead in a local rock group. Her formal music education was seen as separate and not her own. She reported that she had studied 33 classical music in school, “but this seemed quite separate from my own music” (p.137). Finnegan (1989) described the musicians in her study as “hidden,” because their practices, whether as rock musicians or church choir members were, on one level, secret or not easily exposed. These secret music practices were known in the informal music circles (Finnegan, 1989). An examination of informal music practices may provide a comparison between music transmission in the formal music practice and that in the informal music practice and reveal insight into the nature of musicality. Finnegan makes reference to Nettel’s (1944) text, and one can surmise that MUsic in Five Towns was influential to her work. Nettel’s.Music in the Five Towns (1944) was an early ethnographic study on the subject of informal music transmission and learning. Nettel investigated the musical culture of six, not five, industrial towns. He chronicled the development of folksong societies, emerging orchestras, and other groups within the communities of workers who sang and played for their own pleasure, without any formal instruction or organization. These informal groups were known for engaging in the popular music repertoire of the day. Nettel criticized the local trained musicians’ Views of these people and their music. He quoted an eminent 34 musician who equated social, inner—city problems with the music of the informal music groups. He disagreed with the judgment of their music as being nothing but a “commercial object, of snippets of slang” (p.2). He concluded that the music of these colorful townsfolk was not a sham, but was just as important as the better known music of the cities. In addition to addressing the quality in the informal music making venue, Nettel noted the separation between the music that the townspeople owned and the music that was provided by the trained musicians in the town. The importance of his study, Nettel believed, was in the documentation of a community of musicians that provided a historical account of a hard working class of people that were able to “triumph over adversity” (p.116). Blacking (1973) wanted to examine the musicality of the Transvaal Venda people of South Africa. He asked “How.MUsical is Man?” and revealed differences between his Western culture’s conception of musicality and what he found among the Venda people. His ethnographic study of the informal music practices of Venda people has significance for music educators. The entire community was shown to be musical through direct aural transmission. Blacking (1973) stated that he could not find one non-musical person in the entire community of the Venda people. 35 Blacking’s personal experience as a classically trained musician gave him a unique perspective on formal and informal music education. His study provided a clear contrast between two cultural perspectives. He believed that all people could maintain a level of musicality and that the significance of the informal practices found in the Venda community were that the enculturation of members allowed for the development of all. Enculturation is the process of becoming a part of a culture. Johnson (1995) defines culture as evident by the “accumulated store of symbols, ideas, and material products associated with a social system" (p.68). While contrasting the development of musicality in his own culture and the musicality development of the Venda people, Blacking discussed the function of music in a society. He felt that music’s function in a culture enabled the development of musicality. He also contrasted his own Western music with that of the Venda, viewing each as distinct. Music transmission was the subject of Szego’s (2002) conspectus of ethnographic and music education studies. Szego described studies such as Blacking’s as “community-based transmission systems” (p.718). Szego points out that most of the studies in his meta—analysis 36 were cultures outside of the researchers’ own communities. Several studies Szego discussed are listed in the figure below: Name of Researcher Date Location Investigation Mbanugo 1986 USA Aural transmission in junior and youth church choirs Garrison 1985 Cape Breton Scottish Gaelic fiddling ldmw Veblen 1991,1996 Ireland Transmission of Irish folk tunes Kreutzer 1997 Zimbabwe Melodic competence of children tmflno75 Figure 1. Community-Based Transmission systems Szego (2002) found that ethnomusicologists generally study cultural practices that are outside of the researchers’ community. Traditionally, although not in his meta-analysis, music educators, using ethnographic techniques, situate their studies in their own community. Generally, the ethnomusicologist’s objective is to understand practice and the music educator’s objective is to improve practice. Szego noted that this practice may be changing. Koops (2006) reported that“ethnographic information can transform methodology, repertoire, and curriculum, leading to culturally informed pedagogical practices” (p.32). She suggested that further research 37 would be enhanced by greater attention to the literature that each field offers. However, ethnographic methodology can be used by both ethnomusicologists and music educators to understand cultural practices. Further, Szego (2002) suggested that transmission and music learning does not always fall into neat categories, such as formal and informal education. She believes that these categories are solely connected to the place or institution. She recommended an alternative to the categories of informal and formal education. Szego suggested that Strauss’ (1984) terms of intentional and incidental learning be used to clarify modes of education. Intentional learning is when the learner wants and tries to remember, and incidental learning is when the learner does not try to remember but does because of rich, contextual connections. This suggests that the metacognition of students in formal education venues must be completely intentional if they are to remember because of a lack of rich or non-contextual connections. An analysis of the studies on music learning transmission revealed that a holistic examination of the cultures in which music is learned can provide deeper understanding of the music transmission practices in both informal and formal settings. Nettel (1944), Blacking 38 (1973), and Finnegan (1989) noted the importance of informal music making to the people within their communities. Their discussions centered around the music, whether it was, rock music, Venda music, or English folk music, and the transmission of the music within the culture being examined. Researchers and their participants viewed formal music practice as separate from their own (Koops, 2006). Finnegan’s (1989) participant stated that the rock music she played was her own music. The implication was that the school music did not belong to her. Finnegan’s (1989) study included local bands and church groups that played a variety of music styles, but traditional Western European classical music was not the music that most musicians performed. Popular music was the predominant music performed by the musicians in the informal studies I examined. Democratic Teaching Environments The interactive music making associated with garage bands provides a resource for learning about democratic practices. A discussion of these practices is important for understanding collaborative teaching environments and the benefits and disadvantages, if any, of shared power and open dialogue between members of a music 39 ensemble. Models of democratic teaching environments are important for children, especially if children are to reflect on life in our society and develop habits of mind, not for future living, as Dewey (1972) noted, but for the process of daily living. Berg (1997) sought to emulate the “peer interactions (that) enable students to collaborate as they might with others outside of school” (p.8). Her ethnographic study described the processes students use to develop successful rehearsal practices in a setting in which they initiated the activity. Using ethnographic techniques, she collected data as students participated in rehearsal settings that were student-directed. She hoped to uncover peer-to—peer collaborative models that are alternatives to teacher-to-student models. Using these models, music educators might be able to facilitate richer musical experiences for their students. The participants were members of two high school chamber ensembles from two different schools. Berg collected video and audio data over a five month period as she observed participants solving problems in rehearsals. She identified four themes: musical topics, the type of music rehearsed and number of music selections, verbal and non-verbal activities, and student activities. Her findings revealed that members of both 40 groups were challenged and motivated by peers. Berg believed that this was due to a requirement in each ensemble for members to clarify, elaborate, and justify problems. Berg’s study raises questions about democratic practices and the relationship between students and teachers in formal practices. This area is of interest because of the lack of a leader/teacher in many informal practices. The power structures of music teaching practices are evidenced by these relationships. Teachers may control the “access to (or denial of) repertoire, through interpretation and relative mastery of repertoire, and through the contexts in which mastery was displayed” (Szego, 2002, p. 716). Woodford (2005) noted that democracy in music education may indicate a change in power and control that some may feel is dangerous. However, he feels that personal freedoms and the need to instill a ”corporate responsibility” (p.102) is paramount to the aims of education. He encourages music educators to take this risk and his book, Democracy and.MUsic Education, concludes with the following statement: Music content with lessons in democratic citizenship in which children are taught to question authority 41 while seeking the truth is one potentially potent means of revitalizing music education while making it more relevant to government and the public (p.103). Wiggins (1999/2000) examined characteristics of shared experiences of third grade students who composed music. She supported groups of children working to solve musical problems as opposed to individual composing. She concluded that students benefit from being a member of a group and that this actually promoted autonomous thinking through the interplay of a group of learners (p.86). She asked educators to include learning environments that model out-of school real-life situations that are “holistic problem-solving experiences” (p.17). Allsup (2003) based his study on the democratic teaching reforms of Dewey. The study took place in a small city in upstate New York. Nine students from grades 9 to 12, with a minimum of an intermediate level of experience on a musical instrument, were chosen for the case study. The goal of the project was to examine the process of composing. The students would help to design the study, establish rules and procedures, and analyze the data. The students met twice a week after school for eleven sessions. This was equal to approximately 28 hours of interaction. 42 At the first session, the nine high school instrumental students met and chose to split into two groups. The first group decided not to work with their own band instruments but elected to use electric guitar, keyboard, and drums. The researcher labeled this group as a type of “garage band.” The second group used their primary instruments and chose to compose two types of music, classical and jazz. Pedagogically, the researcher wanted to examine the overall musical growth of the participants, individually and collaboratively. Philosophically, he wanted to see if the project was in line with democratic education principles. Allsup defined his philosophical inquiry further as having two parts: (1) participants created and implemented the design of the study, and (2) participants analyzed and reflected. Allsup used a tape recorder to collect fieldnotes and interviews. He also collected email communications. He described the types of aural interviews he conducted as “musical/verbal interactions, spontaneous discussion, quasi-formal group interviews, all stages of compositional process, and exit interviews” (p.29). The “garage band” group worked in an improvisatory mode in the early stages of composing. There 43 was non-verbal communication and musical communication between the members of the group. Members reported that their individual input was important to the process. “There is an expectation that each group member brings special qualities that enhance a musical work in such a way that the piece is greater for having been shared” (p.30). This concept prompted self-awareness of the members about their own strengths and weaknesses. It also promoted a sense of caring about what each member, whether weak or strong, had to say and contribute. A finding with this group concerned identity. Allsup found that the boys in the group seemed to be unaware of any issues with gender. The girl in the “garage band” group was aware of having to make changes in her behavior to “fit in” with the boys in the group. The second group identified itself as wanting to do something different from the first group. They also denounced the music of the first model as being simple, with little substance. When they began to compose, they had difficulty identifying their ideas and worked slowly and independently when they composed the classical piece. Notating their composition was also a laborious task that, once completed, stopped the composition from developing any further. 44 Peer experience and character qualities, such as care and concern for others, were primary themes that emerged from these two models. The “garage band” musicians worked in a cooperative manner; the classical musicians did not but began to when they composed music in the jazz style. Students found that they needed to have group members who had experience and expertise with the music they were trying to create. They also found that being kind to one another and caring about each others feelings contributed to musical and social growth. The researcher observed that the most profound type of peer learning did not involve technical skills, such as guitar fingering. Learning took place as students discovered what would work with what they already knew, for example, creating a chord progression. Allsup referred to democratic teaching as intuitive and as having deeper philosophical purposes than just offering students choices. In democratic teaching environments, both teacher and student are on equal ground. Ideas are shared and new ideas evolve and are constructed because of the shared efforts and goals of both the teacher and students. Fieldnotes from Allsup’s study gave evidence of the change in perceptions by some of the students about the 45 role of the teacher. One student described the teacher as a I “coat,’ or a lab researcher doing experiments on subjects. This student eventually changed his beliefs about teachers being “up here when we’re down here.” “You changed throughout the entire study, you went up and you went down, it was really weird” (p.34-35). Research on democratic practices centers on power relations within a group. Understanding the relationships between the members of the group guided my interpretation of the communication between the members of the band. It also provided a lens through which to examine the contrast between leaders within the group, in an informal setting, and leaders in formal settings. The Rock Music Culture My son played percussion in school ensembles and youth orchestras. He also organized a rock band that met regularly at our house since it is more difficult to move a trap set than the other instruments. When I went down to the basement to do laundry, I often found scraps of paper with bits of lyrics and manuscript paper with chord progressions and rhythm patterns on the floor. My basement was like a laboratory. My son and his friends (who had varying “formal” musical backgrounds) used whatever knowledge they had to solve musical problems of interest to them. (Janet Barrett personal communication, October 24,2003) For many years, Bennett’s (1980) On Becoming a Rock MUsician was one of few volumes on “how” to create rock music. Bennett recognized the disparity between the 46 way rock musicians and classically-trained musicians learn. He stated that popular “musicians in modern settings find it necessary to develop an awareness of the soundscape which surrounds them” (p.111). He refers to classically trained musicians as elite, note-takers. Classical musicians assess their product, but their goal often is to match the composer’s intent as reflected in the notation of the music. Popular musicians commonly use recordings as a guide for how they want the music to sound. Campbell (1995) conducted an ethnographic examination of garage bands and the creation of music within the rock band culture. Campbell reported that the “phenomenon of the rock band has been largely over-looked as a culture and context for the study of music teaching and learning” (p.13). She stated that the inclusion of rock music is not given serious consideration in the music curriculum in the United States (p.12). Her study of nine members of a rock band revealed that the early stages of the development of rock musicians begins with the dilemma of acquiring instruments. The location and rehearsal schedules were also of importance in the beginning stages. Campbell discovered that rock musicians had early influences from family and school music programs. 47 Campbell (1995) also found that students acquired their musical skills and song writing abilities through interaction with other members, but, just as important, independent practice played a vital role in the creation of the music. “Music of the listening for song-getting occurs independently and prior to rehearsal, with group members sitting alone in their homes, playing the CD or tape repeatedly” (p.16). Campbell’s observations revealed that the musicians warmed up by playing old songs in their repertoire. New compositions developed from group discussions about the structure of the piece, lyrics, and harmonic parts. She identified a musical leader who transmitted his knowledge and communicated with “musical, verbal and visual cues” (p.17) as the group played. The group’s processes were wholly contextual as the group followed the musical leader as they played and sang new repertoire over and over (p.18). Campbell related this to Vygotsky’s expert-novice relationship. She also maintained that the musical leader was not viewed by the other members of the group as a teacher figure but as a guide, even when a gap of competence existed between the leader and other musicians. 48 Campbell concluded that composing and technical skills develop in rock group’s collective experiences, as well as independently. The process of copying songs from CDs and other media sources served to give the rehearsals a structure, as members of the group attempted to emulate songs they heard by repeated performances in rehearsals. She defined the role of the musical leader as “expert,” “on—site transmitter” (p. 19) and model. The implications of her study are expressed as the need for further study to expose the musical development as “psychological and a socially interactive process” (p.19). She also concluded that, if rock music was to be included in the classroom, it should be in the doing of making rock music and not in a curriculum that could destroy it by heavy analysis. Her concern was that a rock method practice could cause it to become locked into a set form without room for growth and creativity. Green (2002) conducted a multiple case study that provided rich insights into informal music learning practices. She studied fourteen rock musicians who ranged in age from fifteen to fifty. These musicians participated in music in an informal, non-traditional manner. They imitated other musicians, and studied recordings and performances. Green found these musicians to be self- 49 motivated. They are “vernacular musicians in general, who have acquired their practical skills primarily through aural learning practices” (p.73). Green reported that the musicians in her study acquired the skills and knowledge they needed in three ways: (1) through a listening and copying process, (2) individual practice, and (3) learning in a group of peers. Participants listened and copied in an imitative manner. Green (2002) reported that practice sessions were sporadic (p.97). The sessions varied widely from several hours each day to none at all. Several participants reported practicing scales and arpeggios for hours and hours; others preferred practicing songs to technique. She found that the participants acquired theoretical knowledge in one of two ways. Either the participants used published technique books or they acquired a tacit understanding by combining music elements in a stylistically appropriate way. Green discovered through interviews that the musicians used modes, although they might not be able to label them. She described “technicalities” as the understanding of the make—up and relationship between “musical style, genre, history and other factors pertinent to a wider sphere than one particular feature or piece of music” (p.93). 50 With regards to collaboration, Green (2002) found that peer learning sessions may or may not be led by a member of the group. A leader may model a new chord or “lick” or the group may work together, jamming and re- creating a popular work. Some groups may work independently, bringing songs and ideas back to the rehearsals, but “peer directed learning and group learning are nonetheless likely to be of significance” (p. 77). Green (2002) discussed the developmental and innate qualities of musicality inherent in the rock musicians she studied. An examination of these abilities, values, methods, motivations, and experiences revealed that her participants possessed the following skills: 0 Listen - ability to glean information for copying music. 0 Evaluate — ability to judge correctness, modify and evaluate continually. 0 Play - ability to perform standard chord progressions. This ability advances over time. 0 Detect - ability to identify timbre qualities in the music they copy. 0 Recognize - ability to identify many styles and be sensitive to individual styles. 51 0 Proficiency - ability to perform on an instrument or by singing. 0 Perform — ability to play a wide repertoire of tunes or songs. 0 Reproduce - ability to perform exact imitations of songs. 0 Compose — ability to compose songs as they go along, arrange and contribute creative ideas. 0 Read — ability to read notation to jog memory. 0 Improve and Grow — desire to continually seeks ways to widen knowledge. 0 Communicate - ability to communicate with others, verbally and non—verbally. Green’s (2002) study provided the impetus for my pilot and current study. Initially, my primary interest was the method of transmission that young musicians employed as they created and performed rock music. Pilot Study: A Fifth Grade Garage Band In 2002, using ethnographic techniques, I conducted a pilot study to describe a developing “rock group” and the factors that contributed to its formation and development. The study was an investigation of the environment that students create when making music that is meaningful to them and took place in a large, northwest 52 suburb of Detroit, Michigan. There were five members of the garage band ranging in grades from 5 through 9. As an elementary music teacher and researcher, one of the students in my class informed me that he was writing songs. I asked about the songs, and he volunteered that the music he was writing was for his “rock band.” He also said that he wrote lots of songs for fun with his family. After the members of the fledging rock band were identified, I phoned all the parents of the members of the band and discussed the research process. After receiving approval to proceed from the parents, I contacted the members of the group and briefly described the study to the potential participants. I explained that my main interest in the project was in discovering and describing how the members of the group developed a rock band and composed music. I asked if I could observe and record several rehearsals and interview and record the participants after the rehearsals. There were five participants from three families in the study. Figure 2 describes the relationships between the members of the group and the researcher: 53 Siblings Siblings Keyboard Drummer Lead Guitar Singer Bass Guitar Student Former Former Student Student 5th grade 8th grade 8th grade 6th grade 9‘h grade Figure 2. Pilot Study Participants from Same Neighborhood and School District. Procedures I visited the home of keyboardist and drummer in which the rehearsals were held, and engaged in several forms of data collection. During the visits, I observed the group rehearsing a piece, gathered fieldnotes, and recorded an interview after the rehearsal. I recorded the rehearsal and then asked the participants to watch the video. I used a think-a-loud protocol to discuss with them what had occurred in the rehearsal. The participants responded to questions as they arose in the conversations during the interview, rehearsal, and while watching the video. I asked questions regarding the following: instrument selection, number of members, leadership, compositional methods, rock group preferences, schedules, process of composing, and parental influence. Informal interviews with the parents of the participants also served as a source of data. My 54 relationship with the parents of the rock group deepened. Previous to the study, I had met these parents briefly at school functions, such as open houses and parent/teacher conferences. Teresal, the mother of one of the participants, invited me to attend the open house for a summer rock camp, where I subsequently spent several hours. I observed parents and students interacting with friends they had met at the camp the year before. Parents and “potential rock band members” talked with each other and played “sample” keyboards and guitars while parents paid tuition fees. Results The participants’ interviews, video observations, and think-aloud protocol procedures revealed themes of formal music instruction, informal music instruction, musicianship, equipment, and relationships (Appendix B). They also revealed a form of improvisation that I referred to as “doodling.” I defined doodling as the sporadic and intermittent playing of musical licks and ideas that had nothing to do with the music that the musicians were rehearsing at the time. The theme of informal music instruction revealed that members of the group identified themselves as equals 1 The name of the mother of one of the participants has been changed for confidentiality. 55 with no one in charge. The importance of musicianship within the group was revealed by the musical references, which centered on tempo, balance, and simple chord choices and melodic licks. The members struggled with how to create lyrics as they simultaneously performed. Although they created some of the lyrics and music while they rehearsed, parts of the pieces were created independently outside of the rehearsal time. “Whenever I’m home and I get a new song in band, when I’ve done band or marching band, depending on whether or not I like the song, I take the notes off and put it on guitar and see how it sounds” (participant interview, November 18, 2003). Campbell (1995) discovered that, in the early stages, a developing rock band is concerned with how they will acquire their instruments and equipment. The students in the pilot study referred to how they bought or were given their instrument many times. The musical instruments and sound equipment that the rock band owns requires a significant financial outlay. It is understandable that this would be of concern to beginning rock musicians. It is in this area that parental and family support is most noticeable. The parents of this group of students purchased the instruments, arranged and paid for lessons, and, in the case of two of the members, paid for and furnished 56 transportation to a summer camp experience, “Day Jams” (Appendix C). When they were asked questions about what instruments they played or what music they enjoyed listening to, the band members mentioned their school music programs as well as private music lessons. One participant believed that his school music instruction had helped him, especially in learning to read music. I wondered how he would have answered the question if someone other than his music teacher asked the question. Perhaps he thought that this was what I wanted to hear. At the end of the interview, I asked one participant about the notation for the music he was playing in the rock band. He was silent and pensive, as if he had never thought about the fact that the rock band did not use any form of notation. The theme of musicianship was important because of the innate abilities and observable achievements of these young musicians. During the rehearsal, I observed the playing skill levels of each of the members of the band. There was a four-year age span among the participants. I identified the keyboardist, drummer, and singer as being technically advanced for their ages. The keyboardist and drummer could play several other instruments. The lead and 57 bass guitar players were in early stages of learning how to play their instruments. A secondary level of emergent themes was identified as peer learning and peer critique. Although there were many more occurrences of peer critique, which at times appeared to be arguing, peer learning was often subtle and hard to recognize. A glance from one member of the band to another to verify notes or chords was easy to miss. Arguing or yelling at another member that the note or tempo was wrong was more obvious to the observer. “I think we need it, none of our guitarists can play chords yet.” “You’re coming in at the wrong time!” (video observation, November 19, 2003). The members analyzed mistakes and gave suggestions for improvement, often harshly. Three members of the band asked for help and advice from each other throughout the rehearsals. There was almost no praise or exchange of positive feedback during any of the rehearsals I observed. The informal practices of peer learning and critiquing are impressive when viewed in action. This beginning band had a repertoire of two songs. Their dialogue during the rehearsal revealed that they listened to all the instrumental and vocal parts, especially with regard to the text, volume, and form of the two pieces. 58 The band members said that there was no leader of the group and that they all composed new music together. At this point, the band did not perform covers; their music was their own. The democratic actions of the band were apparent. Collectively, they chose where they rehearsed, the style of music they wanted to play, the instruments they wanted to play, and the length of the rehearsals. There was a feeling that they were all in this together and that they all contributed to the creation of the music they composed and performed. However, as in Campbell’s 1995 study, there was a discernable leader or “on-site transmitter.” The youngest member of the band, the keyboardist, was asked the most questions by the other members and gave directions to the group throughout the rehearsal. The researcher never observed this member asking for advice or inquiring as to how something “goes.” All of his remarks addressed how the music should sound. In the “think aloud protocol” he told the bass guitarist, “well, you kinda need chords.” He never appeared to be frustrated with the lack of skill or technical abilities of his fellow band members. However, he did tell one member that he needed to fix a part, because he had heard him attempt it “thirty times.” 59 The identification of an expert in the group or “on-site transmitter” is important with respect to the issue of musical independence. All of the students in this band had been or were enrolled in private music instruction. Two parents had musical backgrounds, appreciated rock music, and played instruments. Szego (2002) stipulated that “wherever control of musical resources is at issue, power relations are invoked.” Since control of musical resources was not an issue, the power relationship between the group and the group’s expert was not seen as domineering or controlling. These musicians were learning in more than one venue, as some of the participants took private lessons or had taken them in the past. All were active in school music programs. As Prouty (2002) discovered, the intersection between informal and formal music education is not always clear. The parents of these musicians were also keenly interested in their children’s musical development. Is it accurate to say that these musicians “teach themselves?” With the exception of me, these students had not told their classroom music teachers that they were playing in a rock band. Quite by accident, I discovered that one of the participants was writing songs in a band. Do music teachers convey that the music room is their space, with 60 their information, and that pupils can not possibly understand it? Should educators emulate a setting completely chosen by pupils? Should we let them choose their partners, their instruments, and the music they want to make? How many times has a music teacher been asked how to “fix the song,” as in the rock band rehearsal, so that it matches the way it should sound? Discussion and Implications of Pilot Study In the pilot study, I examined the environment that young students create when making music that was meaningful to them. I hoped to understand how they began the process of creating music and to describe the roadblocks and bridges that they encountered in the beginning. Green (2002) noted that musical enculturation, influences of parents, and first instruments are all a part of the beginning “experiences and opportunities that tend to be in place at the start of the learning process” (p. 20). The initial encounter with “my garage band” was a result of several observations, structured interviews that followed a set of questions, fieldnotes, and video recording. I reviewed the data and drew conclusions from emerging themes. My relationship with the participants was that of researcher/teacher and observer. 61 This foray into the informal garage band culture allowed for reflection on the themes and meanings of these experiences. This beginning study was dramatic, as I moved back and forth between school and home environments. I would visit the home of the participants, observe them in a rehearsal, and teach an elementary music class in which they were present the next day. I negotiated the purpose of my visits with the parents of the participants. This was suggested by the design of Allsup's (2003) study. His subjects established procedures. I observed the band over several months, and I communicated with parents regarding the participants’ schedules and worked around school functions, sports, music lessons, religious studies, and family vacations. Recently, I received an email from a parent of one of the band members. The email attachment was a language arts assignment that one member had composed on the merits of playing in a garage band and how a song they composed about being bored ended up on national radio (Appendix D). This parent revealed the musical experiences that had been provided for both her children. She was intuitive about the nature of my interests as she described moving in and out of school music experiences, private instrumental 62 lessons in the community, a rock music camp, and the variety of ways that her children participated in music. She related the story of how her son had changed from traditional piano lessons with a teacher with a large studio, to those with a young rock musician who gave a few lessons “on the side.” She told me of the discoveries she had made about her children’s musical development and described the strengths and weakness of the formal and informal music practices as she supported her children's musical experiences. The pilot study helped me to understand the structure of the learning environment these students created. It enabled me to contemplate the learning environment that existed in my own classroom. It also helped me to understand the motivations, influences, and some of the ways children create music from their own culture. By understanding how children construct a method for teaching themselves, music teachers may discover alternative methods for creating a meaningful learning environment. Understanding how children problem solve and create knowledge through social interactions built a shared knowledge between the student and teacher (Bamberger, 1991). In a subtle, unspoken way, my understanding and appreciation for these students/garage musicians changed. 63 Other implications from this study may be in the importance of contextual learning. Learning that is related to the context may be more meaningful for the learner than music presented in an abstract method, or out of context, not in a setting in which it would normally occur. The pilot study helped me to deepen my understanding of how children create music in a setting that is meaningful to them. It led to more questions for further investigation on the nature of the environment they create and the differences in environments in all the settings in which they learn music. Are democratic teaching practices a part of every venue in which they participate? In the pilot study, I stated that the participants chose their music, their instrument, and the time of their rehearsals. How does this compare to the choices they make in other settings? Are they teaching themselves? I also reported that the place that learning occurs may not be important for defining informal and formal practices. Does the place or environment affect music learning? Are the lines between informal and formal music practices blurred? The experiences of the members of the garage bands are intertwined across their community with both in- school and out-of—school experiences. These are 64 “educational landscapes” (Clandinin and Connelly, P. 18). My research represents more than a snapshot but a holistic view that is temporal, beginning three years ago and continuing through the writing of this dissertation. This narrative inquiry was a “collaboration between researcher and participants, over time, in a place or series of places, and in social interaction with milieus” (Clandinin and Connelly, p.20). 65 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS Design and Researcher’s Lens The subject of this investigation is a garage band of young musicians. It is an extension of my pilot study. After reading Green’s (2002) study of rock musicians, I became interested in the development of musicality. I contrasted my elementary music classroom and my own formal music education with the informal education of the members of Green’s study. It was during this philosophical investigation of the nature and meaning of musicality that I developed my pilot study. The purpose of the pilot study was to discover the factors that contributed to the formation and development of the garage band. I hoped to observe the environment the members of the band created as an observer. Bogdan and Biklen (2003) described the observer’s role as being on a continuum. On one end, the researcher is more detached, simply observing, and, on the other end of the spectrum, the researcher is participating in the activity with the participants. My role in the pilot study was more that of a detached observer. In the present study, I was also an observer, however, I was also asked by the participants to record audio sessions of performances and 66 create CDs of the band’s music. As a sound engineer for the group, my role moved toward the participant side of the continuum. I collected data for the pilot project over several months. The pilot study allowed me to observe the setting the students created. I moved back and forth between the music classroom and basement rehearsal room. In the classroom, I was the music teacher of two of the participants and former teacher of another. In the basement of the home of the participants where they rehearsed, I was the researcher/observer. Previously, I would not have described these students as having a great interest in music. I became aware, however, of differences between their involvement in both formal and informal settings. As the formal music teacher, I wanted to understand how the materials they were using in the classroom crossed into the musical life they were experiencing outside of the class and vice versa. The pilot study led to more questions and the need for further study. I am interested in Dewey’s (1990) reference to “the subject-matter of the curriculum” (p.185) as material that was not always “translated into life- terms, but is directly offered as a substitute for, or an external annex to, the child’s present life” (p.202). I 67 wanted to further my understanding of the democratic teaching environment, music skills within the band, the methods and forms of music transmission, and the bridges and boundaries between the informal and formal music environments in which they participated. Participants and Setting Several of the members of the garage band in the pilot study relocated or were no longer in the band. The original band had five members, three boys and two girls. There are three boys in the current band. Bill Cosby, WonTon and Oswald are names the participants chose for use in this study to ensure confidentiality. Bill Cosby and WonTon are in the sixth grade, and Oswald is a freshman in high school. Bill Cosby and Oswald are brothers and were participants in the pilot study. WonTon is a new member of the band. All were my former music students. This study took placein a large, northwest suburb of Detroit, Michigan. The setting for this study was a naturalistic one. Data was collected and the participants were observed in the home of the drummer and bass guitarist, which is where the garage band rehearsed, 68 DayJamsz, a summer camp that all three of the participants attended, and a middle school performance. The participants entered into this research project voluntarily. A written informed consent and assent was requested of the participants and their parents (Appendix E). They were informed of the purpose and problems of the study in the consent and assent form and at the conclusion of the third and final interview. During the pilot study, I communicated often and in-depth with the mother of one of the participants. For this dissertation study, this parent coordinated the participants’ schedules and assisted in helping me to arrange times for observations by phone and email correspondences. She notified me when the group was rehearsing and contacted me when the group was asked to perform at their middle school. As the “gatekeeper,” she kept me informed of the activities and interests of the participants. She continues to inform me about the band’s activities. I informed the participants of my intention to record fieldnotes and collect data. In both the pilot study and current dissertation study, communication between me 2 The rock camp is sponsored by several large, well-known guitar, electric keyboard, guitar, and drum manufacturers. 69 and the parents of the participants was frequent and informative. Emails, phone conversations, and chats before and after the rehearsals extended the observations. The parents had stories to tell and provided a rich source of information into the past experiences and impetus for the students’ interest in forming a garage band. Initially, I did not discuss the nature of this dissertation study with the members of the band. I was concerned that I might interfere with the setting that they had established. I did not want to ask questions that would not provide too much information and lead to responses that were reiterations of the question. Kvale (1996) noted the dangers of asking leading questions with children. However, he also reported that leading questions may be used to validate the answers and, if used repeatedly, may in fact, check the reliability of the responses. Further, an interview produces data created by \\ both the interviewer and interviewee. An interview is a conversation in which the data rises in an interpersonal relationship, co-authored and co-produced by interviewer and interviewee” (Kvale, p.159). Subsequently, some believe it is best practice to inform the participants of the guiding questions. I chose to share the guiding questions with the participants at the final interview. 70 Data Collection Ethnographic techniques such as fieldnotes, video recordings, artifact collecting, and interviews were used for the current study. Ethnographic techniques were appropriate because of the nature of this study as a longitudinal, narrative record. Clandinin & Connelly (2000) discuss the use of field text as data in narrative inquiry. This type of data supports narrative as the “objective representation of research experience” for the study (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p.93). My relationship to the participants, who were former students, was important and shaped “the nature of the field texts and establish the epistemological status” (p.94). My age, gender, class, and status may also have affected the perceptions of the participants. The purpose of this study was to discover how members of a garage band interacted with each other in and out of informal and formal settings and at the boundaries of these environments. The guiding questions helped to delimit the interviews and, to some extent, the fieldnotes. Informal and formal music education paradigms drove the formation of the design of this study. I investigated both formal music venues and informal settings in which they participated. 71 Primary data collection techniques employed in the study were fieldnotes, interviews, artifact collection, and video taping over a one year period. Interviews and observations were arranged with the parents of the participants. Because of the age of the participants, I stipulated that each session would not last longer than one hour. Interviews were conducted and recorded digitally using a Panasonic digital camcorder. Fieldnotes were recorded in Microsoft Word documents using a lap-top computer. Artifact collection included photographs, recordings, programs, and materials from various venues. Live performances were recorded using SOUND FORGE® 7.0 professional audio editing software, a mixer, and microphone. Fieldwork and Documents I took fieldnotes that described the field experiences from my perspective. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) encouraged the use of “a range of documents” in an inquiry. The participants were asked to take snapshots with disposable cameras, provided by the researcher, of places in which they believe they learn music. Photographs are a type of field note or artifact collection (p.106). Initially, email and phone correspondence with the mother of two of the participants provided further data. 72 Observations and Interviews I observed and recorded garage band rehearsals using a video camcorder. At the conclusion of each session, I conducted a guided, but informal, interview. I gave the participants an overview of the kind of questions I would be asking them but, after the interview began, I was open to changing the direction or order of the questions, depending on their responses. I encouraged the participants to discuss the rehearsal and used orienting questions in a conversational interview. After using specific questions for the pilot study, (Appendix F) I discovered that the participants often replied with restricted, short answers. Recognizing the co-authorship of an interview, I felt that a more flexible approach was needed; sometimes I asked pointed questions, and sometimes the questions were guided by the direction of the conversation. Generalizability and Trustworthiness This study took place in several settings, and the same guiding questions were used throughout. Results may deepen an understanding of informal music settings, such as summer music camps and any place where informal music making exists. Although the results are not generalizable, Bogdan and Biklen (2003) believe that the 73 qualitative research method is important because it helps researchers discover other settings and subjects to which the findings might apply (p.32). Data source triangulation of the data was possible by comparing the two observations (DayJams music camp and the performance at the middle school) with three interviews. Additional triangulation was accomplished by comparison of informal interviews with parents and instructors, and artifacts. Artifacts that were collected were programs that the participants created at camp, photos taken by the researcher and parents, lesson booklets acquired at DayJams music camp, and photos taken by the participants themselves. Analysis triangulation was possible through a peer review process involving a doctoral student who was also active in ethnographic research. Member checking was also incorporated into the research protocol. Participants were given the transcripts to read and editorial rights to change anything that they believed did not accurately represent their thoughts, beliefs, or opinions, including typographical and spelling errors. Analysis As the data was collected, coding categories were identified. Bogdan & Bilken (2003) suggest families of 74 codes. Of these suggestions, there are four types that may be used for this study. First is the “setting/context code.” This code family is used to provide a broad range of information on “setting, topic, or subjects” (p.162). According to Bogdan & Bilken (pp.162-163), this code may include the following: descriptive literature about the setting, subject, or topic, such as pamphlets and brochures, statements describing the subject, setting, and how the setting fits into the community. The second code family is “definition of the situation codes” (p.162). This code is the perception of the setting as defined by the participants. For example, “influence of school” could be a code in this category. The third code family is the “subjects’ ways of thinking about people and objects (p.163).” This code family represents the subjects’ understandings of each other, of outsiders, and of the objects that make up their world. The “activity code” (p.164) is the fourth family code and describes the regular occurrence of a behavior or task. The data for the narratives was obtained from the observations and interviews I conducted during and after the band’s rehearsals, at the DayJams rock music day camp, and at the middle school performance for their peers. All transcripts of observations and interviews were formatted 75 for the Ethnograph (1998), a qualitative data analysis program in which data files are listed in projects. The “garage band” project had five sub-projects. These five sub-projects were individually coded: three interviews that took place after rehearsals, the observation at DayJams, the rock music camp, and the middle school performance observation. The codes were created as I read through and marked each section. Memos were added and flagged, mostly as reminders for specific sections of the data that I felt were important. I assigned designations according to the type of data, such as field observation or interview transcript, venue, and date (Appendix A). From these codings, I created representative vignettes. Each vignette is a fictionalized account to help the reader synthesize the themes (Graue & Walsh, 1998, p.223). I pieced together the story using my own account of the observations, interviews, and direct quotations. A narrative voice is used as the format for relating these stories. The stories are used to illustrate the themes and to link the theoretical ideas with my interpretations. 76 CHAPTER IV THREE VENUES FOR A GARAGE BAND The narratives that follow were created from the observations and interviews I conducted during rehearsals in the basement of the home of two of the garage band members, at the rock music camp the band and I attended over the course of two days, and at a middle school performance. Each vignette is a “literary construction” (Barone, 2001, p. 35). I pieced together the stories using my own account of the observations, interviews, and direct quotations. The data included in this chapter most clearly illustrate the themes that eventually emerged from the analysis, in addition to providing the clearest understanding of the venues themselves. The garage band’s story began with a comment that Bill Cosby, a fifth grade student at the time, made as he left my music class. I remember that it was an offhand comment and have wondered many times since what was it that made me stop and ask him to repeat what he had said. We had just finished a unit on composition and Bill Cosby said, “You know Mrs. Jaffurs, I write songs.” I said, “What did you say Bill Cosby?” He said, “I write songs with my family, we make up songs and I have a band.” I said, “You have a band?” And so it began. 77 A Garage Band in the Basement 3 I remember the first time I visited the band at the home where they rehearsed. I was met at the door by Teresa, the mother of two of the band members. I remember thinking how gracious she was to let me into her home. You discover so much about people when you visit their homes. You find out what they hold dear. You get to know their pets, what they like to eat for dinner, what books they read, and so much more. It’s rich and precious because you have been allowed in. I always entered the house from the front and proceeded to walk by the living room where there was a spinet piano with a trombone usually propped against it. The doorway to the basement was off the kitchen, and music would emanate from below. They were always playing when I arrived. It was loud, rock music, mostly drums. No matter how many times I visited the garage band, in the basement, the first few moments were the same. I would walk down the steps and there would be no acknowledgement that I had arrived. I became accustomed to this over time. It was not rude; they were busy playing or composing, and stopping would have interrupted the flow. 3 In the following literary construction the narrative text is italicized, while direct quotations from raw data are not italicized. 78 The basement was finished, fully carpeted, with two partitioned rooms. There was some furniture, but mostly there were wires and cords. The tangled mass of connections to amps, guitars, and microphones made it difficult to walk into the room. While I struggled to walk around the wires, the guys walked freely, stepping around the wires with dexterity. The room where they played was small, and the music was deafening at times. The musicians had defined their own spaces in the room. Oswald, on drums, was at the back wall of the room: WonTon, lead guitar, was always to the left of the drums: and Bill Cosby, on bass guitar, always stood to the right of the drums. WonTon was confident, a good guitarist and knowledgeable about popular bands. Bill Cosby was a classmate of WonTon’s. He played trombone, keyboard, guitar, and bass. He had strong feelings about the way their music sounded and had high standards for the group. He was the most intolerant when mistakes were made. He expected the group to be good. Oswald, a solid rock drummer, was the oldest, quiet, thoughtful, and intuitive. He enjoyed recording the group using a sequencer and digital audio editing program. During rehearsals, he listened intently to discussions between Bill Cosby and 79 WonTon and usually made suggestions about the form of each piece. Oswald: Well sometimes, uh, Bill Cosby will try to think of something on his bass guitar. SJ: What is the overall structure of your music? Oswald: Chorus. WonTon: Chorus. Bill Cosby: Intro, verse, chorus. All:(Talking at same time) Verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, end. SJ: Ok, does it always have to be the same? All: No, the last song wasn't the same. Bill Cosby: No. Oswald: Well our last song was. Bill Cosby: No, our last song was, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, well, kind of (puts his head in his hands as if he’s thinking hard about it). SJ: How do you decide? Bill Cosby: It just kind of falls together, you just think up the tune and then one follows the other. This is the verse this is the other. SJ: How do you decide who will have the chorus, who will have the verse? WonTon: Sometimes it just sounds like it. 80 Oswald: That's the structure of most songs (I.BR.11/13/05). They were good teachers, all of them. They were patient with my questions. I asked them about power chords, the groups they liked and disliked, how they tuned, and more. They never flinched at a question; even when they knew I knew the answer. SJ: What's the difference between a riff and an ostinato? WonTon: I mean, uh, (laughing) A riff is like just the same, like just the same things (I.BR.2/23/06). There was never a feeling of a power play among them. I watched them compose and interviewed them half a dozen times over the last three years. Bill Cosby usually made the final decision about the direction of a piece, but he shared the role of composer with WonTon. SJ: How do you give each other ideas? Who keeps it going? Bill Cosby: Well WonTon kind of. WonTon: (finishing Bill Cosby’s thought) I write the songs. Bill Cosby: WonTon thinks of an idea, we add on to it. 81 Bill Cosby: He thinks of the music for the chorus and the verses, then. we figure it out, maybe add some fill. . And then. Oswald: Just kind of plays what the music feels like. Sometimes I usually in fact most of the time if WonTon comes with something that I kind of like but I think it could be better I say, “play that chord a couple more times, or make that last longer.” Bill Cosby: Yeah. There was a tiny bit of that today. We were writing a new song. SJ: It sounded to me like you were all writing it. All: Yeah. WonTon: I write words. SJ: You get the idea? Are you going to write the words to this one later? Is this how you usually do it? WonTon: It's sort of like chunking it together. SJ: But does it usually go in this order? (Pointing to WonTon, Oswald, and Bill Cosby) You, you, you? (Meaning that this was the order in which they developed each piece). All: yeah..uh kind of . . Bill Cosby: Sometimes we're just playing it, you can’t say, “WonTon, go home, write lyrics.” 82 WonTon: I can make up lyrics right in the middle of we're playing it. Bill Cosby: (Sarcastically) That’s what we've done every time. WonTon: Just gibberish (sings “yuh buh buy” and makes a silly face). All: (Laugh) (I.BR.11/13/05). During the last interview the compositional process surfaced again. SJ: So who’s got the song in their head? Bill Cosby: I think of it. Oswald: No. SJ: In general, who’s got it? Oswald: Mostly WonTon. Oswald: Most of the stuff he writes by himself at home. SJ: and then you come in and you tell them. WonTon: (head down, just thinking). Bill Cosby: (Interrupting) I think it’s kind of weird, it’s like when we’re together we don’t really...I mean our songs are all right together it’s pretty good but I think when I’m alone or WonTon’s alone it’s easier, you don’t have anyone telling you fast or slow or how you should play it. You can think on your own and keep practicing it and eventually get that one. 83 WonTon: and like honestly, 9 out of 10, there’s going to be a little bit of a change in it. WonTon: So you might as well be prepared for it, so like what I do, I try like writing little variations of it, so that just in case we do the changes (throws out hands) uhh (I.BR.2/23/06). This communication was different from what I observed in the pilot study. In the pilot study, there was much more attention to learning to play the instruments, and they argued when I observed them throughout the composing process. There were continual problems with the band’s being able to play together. This seemed to be due to the wide range of technical ability between the members of the band. Some of the pilot study band members were still learning how to play chords. Additionally, some members of the band did not understand the musical problems, such as playing together and starting the piece all together in the same tempo. These were not issues with the current band. Discussions of tempo were focused on how fast the song should be. The bass and drummer may have wanted to rip through a section, but they understood the lead guitar part and accommodated. WonTon was capable of playing with the group and matching tempo, but understood his technical limitations. 84 Pilot Study Garage Band Basement Rehearsal O.BR.2/23/06 11/18/03 Bill Cosby “Why do we need a (to WonTon) metronome?” “Well how fast can you play the beginning?” Oswald “That was wrong Trying to get again!” his intro sticking to match the tempo. Bill 4 (Is playing bass guitar), tempo is much slower than the rest of the group but continues to play, ignoring the rest of the band. Veronica speed is too slow (Yelling), “Oswald! Stop” WonTon “Dude, I can’t play that fast.” Figure 3. Comparison of Tempo Issues between Pilot Study and Current Study. Bill Cosby seemed the most frustrated of all during the pilot study period, especially with regard to learning to play the instruments. ‘ 4 The names of the pilot study participants were changed for confidentiality. 85 Participant Pilot Study Interview(11/18/03) Oswald “Veronica and I took guitar and singing lessons for about a month, I took lessons but we haven’t.. with marching band and everything else, and her dancing four nights a week, we haven’t been able to do it.” SJ “Do you think you need the lessons?” Veronica “No, I think we’re good.” Bill Cosby (sternly) “I think we need it, none of our guitarists can play chords yet.” Oswald “I don’t prefer to play chords.” Bill Cosby (rolling his eyes) “Well, you kinda need chords.” Figure 4. Learning to Play the Instruments in the Garage Band. I did not observe the current band argue; they disagreed, but did not get angry or upset, and they worked it out. The whole compositionalerocess was much less stressful than with the pilot study band. They seemed to know what each other was thinking, how the melody should ride on the bass and drum sections, and how to connect the bridge section before and after a chorus. I was amazed at how little they verbalized their decisions. They communicated through the music, back and forth just as they did during their interviews. They easily moved back and forth as they finished and started ideas for each other, 86 often speaking at the same time. This is how they make their music. The group discussed the differences between the first band and the present one. WonTon was not a member of the pilot study group. SJ: How is this group different from your last group? Oswald: Well uh. Bill Cosby: Well our guitarist plays chords, that's one difference. WonTon: (smiling) and I can (gives peace sign). SJ: So being able to play the instruments is important. All: (Laugh). Bill Cosby: And another big thing is we have three people (now) as opposed to six and I mean me and Oswald are really free at the same time. SJ: Ok, so there's scheduling problems with more people. SJ: (To Oswald) It seems that you're talking more now than with the last band. Do you agree with that? Oswald: Oh, I talk more? Maybe it's because I feel that we're better. WonTon: (Sarcastically) Yeah, three songs. Oswald: Yeah, three songs. WonTon: (Whispers) Better guitarists. 87 Oswald: Yeah, better guitarists (I.BR.2/23/06). They acknowledged each other’s contributions to their music and the strength of their independence. Yet, there was some contradiction between the independence they valued and the acknowledgement and appreciation for teachers and people who they felt helped them acquire their musical abilities. SJ: I know how this is different from what you do at school. You're not at school and the instruments are different. Duh, I get that. All: (Laugh). SJ: And you're playing in a different style. But in the way you're learning; do you think you're learning? Bill Cosby: At school? (nods head to the left quickly) WonTon: It's just uh, you know. SJ: Are you learning here? Bill Cosby: Well, we're sorta learning how to fix amps (laughs). WonTon: And homemade repairs on basses. SJ: Well that's part of it right, you have to learn how to take care of the instruments. WonTon: Duct tape comes in handy. SJ: 5%) ok, “that's something' you're learning. You're learning, and there's some of that at school. The band 88 director is working on your instruments all the time. People break things. All: Yeah. SJ: You can't play if instruments don't work. So what else are you learning? WonTon: Just like accepting ideas and trying them out. SJ: So is that something you're learning? Oswald: Learning how to work together. WonTon: Yeah, that's really important you need that, you can't be screaming your butts off at each other all the time telling them what to do. SJ: Ok, so there were schedule problems with a lot of people. Bill Cosby: Well we all lived on the same street last time so it was sort of easy. . . practices, we didn't always have everyone because Veronica was always at (yelled) “dance”. SJ: So I want to ask you one more question about what you're learning here. You said the instruments. . . Oswald: (Interrupting) Teamwork. SJ: Yes, you said that, what else are you learning? Oswald: Leadership skills. SJ: Tell me about that. WonTon: You just need to speak your mind. 89 Bill Cosby: If you have an idea, say it. WonTon: Yeah, don't hold it back (in a shaky voice) oh, I'm scared. SJ: How is this different from school? WonTon: You're just going with the flow. Oswald: You can write your own stuff. WonTon: You're not really letting anyone tell you what to do. It's like you make up what you want, you play what you want, and the teacher can't stop you from doing that. Oswald: With a teacher you can't do that. WonTon: Yeah, with a teacher you can't do that, without one you can. SJ: Do you think that makes your music better? All: Oh yeah. SJ: How does it make your music better? Oswald: Well, if we were to play a song in band, it would be written professionally by a guy who. WonTon: is dead now. Oswald: Maybe, and who gets paid for this but we just write our own stuff, we think that it's good we don't know if other people think that it is good. WonTon: I don't really care. (Looks at Oswald) If you think that it's good, then it's good. 90 SJ: Alright. Do you think you learn more here than at school? WonTon: It depends on what you mean by learning. SJ: Do you think you learn more here than at school, answer with a yes or no. All: No. SJ: Why? Oswald: There's no one to teach you anything. There's no leader. SJ: There's no teacher. So do you think you're learning anything here? WonTon: There's no teacher to supervise you, but I don't know. SJ: Imagine that you could bring your band here, your school band. Imagine that you could bring them here to do maybe a DayJams camp. Do you think they could do what you're doing? WonTon: Well, maybe (names a classmate) could. Bill Cosby: Some of them play guitar, keyboard, and bass. Oswald: You could have a jam session with a trumpet. WonTon: Like jazz. SJ: Do you think they'd be able to do what you're doing? 91 Oswald: Yeah. WonTon: Well. . . if they can play an instrument and know notes then they might be able to. It's not just playing your instrument. It's getting along and stuff. You may be the world's next Jimi Hendrix but you gotta get along with your band. SJ: What makes Jim Hendrix Jimi Hendrix besides getting along with his band? Oswald: He's really good. WonTon: He was really good. SJ: Define good. WonTon: He was just an incredibly good guitar player. SJ: Ok, so he was technically good. What else? Oswald: He practiced a lot. SJ: Ok, that's good. I don't know if I'll ask you more questions. WonTon: Ask us some more. SJ: Ok. You don't think you're learning music here? WonTon: No, there's no teacher to tell you how to play. You're not really. Bill Cosby:(Interrupting) Well, I do think we’re learning, but in a different way. WonTon: (Agreeing) in a different way. Bill Cosby: We're not learning facts, we're 92 learning. . WonTon: Opinions. Oswald: A band director guy from DayJams a few years ago, a funny looking guy, and that’s exactly what he did. He didn't let us write the song at all. SJ: And he didn’t come back. Why do you think he didn’t come back? Oswald: He didn’t like us. SJ: Where did he teach? WonTon: See that’s. . . like you don’t have to Ina a teacher you can just be a professional. . . This summer. . . Oswald: He owns a music store (referring to instructor at rock music camp this summer) Bill Cosby: Yeah, what he did, he told me, you just start with a bass line. I played something on the bass and we just went from that. WonTon: You can’t have any limitations to music, you can't like let me tell you something (pointing) do that, do that, do that, you don’t discuss it. SJ: You think there are things that I don't know that you know? Oswald: What bands do you listen to? SJ: Not very many(I.BR.ll/13/05). 93 WonTon is passionate about the bands he listens to ard has developed the ability to categorize and rate the playing ability of the bands. He can also identify a wide variety of styles within the popular music culture and can discuss the synthesis of these styles within each band. WonTon: Do you know the band Fall Out Boy? WonTon: Emo with punk. Emo started in 80’s with term called emotive Bowie he sings, in the 90’s Emo died. That’s what we called it. In the 90’s Nirvana and Grunge came out, Emo died, 90’s it came back, a little, Current, came back, in the past 5 years, some people listening to it and Dashboard Confessional reinvented it. In Midtown re-defined it. Before ii: was electronic, Mull} techno influences, it is thicker and acoustic now. You won’t see a person in the 80’s going to the Techno. WonTon: Have you ever heard of band Current? Current is heavy metal mixed with punk mixed with Emo (I.BR.11/13/05). At the last interview we talked about so many issues. . . school music, teaching, their musicality, musicianship. As they spoke I thought about how young they 94 were and yet wise. They are wise because they admit what they don’t know and that they are always searching. Each time I said goodbye at the end of an interview or when I heard them play, I thought, well, that’s probably the last time I’ll talk to them, interview them, hear them play. I’ve been pleasantly surprised when Teresa emails me about another gig, or invites me to a bah mitzvah or birthday party. SJ: Who were the people that influenced your music ability? WonTon and Bill Cosby: (together) Parents. SJ: I wrote down people that taught me, teachers, parents, people that asked me to sing at church all the things and people that helped me to become a musician. WonTon: (hesitating) Well II think that tine bands help us, they give us a guidelines to help us to know what and who we’re going to be. Bill Cosby: Ms. W, middle school teacher, asked me to bring in the tape from Eagle and so I brought it in and a couple of people asked me to play on the last day of school and so that just pushed us to be a little bit better. WonTon: It’s playing leiflmNN: of all your friends you know. 95 SJ: and that felt different than when you performed at the elementary school. WonTon: Yeah, I mean we didn’t know anybody at the elementary school and if you messed up well it’s all good you’re barely going to see any of them again. Oswald: Plus most little kids will like you even if you’re bad. WonTon: Yeah, it was better because it was a punk rock atmosphere, like everybody was standing up (referring to the middle school gig). Bill Cosby: and we had curtains and lights. WonTon: As opposed to everybody sitting (at the elementary school). SJ: How do you think I can help those elementary students become better musicians? WonTon: Well I think that, I got it in my head, but I don’t know how to say it. . . Maybe bring in some different music, like different varieties. Who likes this, who likes that and then what I think you should do is like let them write a piece like that. Bill Cosby: It’s helping them learn to work with a bunch of people. 96 SJ: But WonTon just said that he goes home writes the music and he brings it back in and you work with it and it never becomes exactly what WonTon brings in. Bill Cosby: That’s how it is pretty much. SJ: Do you think you can become a musician in elementary school? Bill Cosby: Yes. WonTon: Yes, that’s when I started playing guitar. I started like. Bill CoSby: I mean you can like, you don’t have to be really good at something to be a musician. You just have to like. . WonTon: (finishing) respect it WonTon and Bill Cosby give each other high fives. Bill Cosby: you just gotta know it. Oswald: (Laughing) Yes. Bill Cosby: I think you’re just kinda born with it, I don’t really know. SJ: (to Bill Cosby) Do you remember when I asked you how you learned the guitar? You said that before you had even picked it up you just knew you were going to be able to play it. Bill Cosby: (nodding) I mean, I’m lucky, I can just pick out a whole lot of things in a short amount of time. 97 SJ: What do you think about your own musicianship? What do you think that need to be musical? Oswald: Rhythm. SJ: What else? WonTon: Good friends. SJ: What can I do that can help students learn music at school? SJ: What could your band teacher do right now that would be different that would be more? All: (Laugh),(Talk under their breaths). WonTon: He could pick out way different pieces. SJ: Popular music? Oswald: But he doesn’t let the kids choose. SJ: Why do you think he's choosing that music? Oswald: (Whispers the title of a piece that I can’t understand). Bill Cosby: I hate that song. SJ: Why do you think he chose that music? Oswald: Because it’s challenging. Bill Cosby: But it’s not, it’s like fourth grade music, the trombone part is two notes. SJ: I want to make a band like your garage band, should I do that? 98 Bill Cosby: Like writing their own songs? But I don’t think you should because that would be like completely disorganized. SJ: Do you think they have the ability to do that? WonTon: Anybody has the ability to do that. S: If you didn’t have music in school would you still do what you’re doing? Bill Cosby: I think it would be harder because I learned all the terms. Oswald: And all the rhythm. Bill Cosby: All the notes. SJ: School music has helped you? Tell me what you really think, not what you might think I want to hear. WonTon: I think it helped with rhythm and a steady beat. Bill Cosby: Yeah, for percussion it probably does help a lot. Oswald: I think that might be pretty cool (referring to earlier idea). Bill Cosby: I think that might be good because there’s a lot of people that can’t play a note. SJ: They’re still learning the instrument. Oswabd: Well they just don’t really care. People that aren’t good, it’s because they don't care. 99 Bill Cosby: If you don’t take band you have to take choir. WonTon: Makes a face. Bill Cosby: And what if you totally can’t sing WonTon: Absolutely ridiculous, it’s like that’s just another way the man’s bringing us down(all laugh). Bill Cosby: I mean, I think some of the. . . there’s two parts. There’s facts you have to know and then there’s like your own creative side like. Like you have to know some things but other things. Bill Cosby: You don’t really need to lunnv or you can find out on your own. Not like stuff that has to be teaching by the book. Taught. WonTon: (sings) Teachin’ by the book. SJ: Ok, anything else you want to say? Bill Cosby and WonTon: No. SJ: Will you invite me to your gigs? All: Yes! (I.BR.2/23/O6). The Band Goes to Rock Music Camp This account occurred in the fall of 2003. I contacted the parents to ask permission to send home information about the study, and one of the parents was a rich source of information about her children’s musical experiences. Without realizing it at the time, it provided 100 a framework for my research. Issues of power, informal and formal education, democratic teaching, and musicality were embedded in this vignette. Surprisingly, with one exception, these were the main themes in every venue I would observe. Bill Cosby’s mom, Teresa, drove Bill Cosby to his regularly scheduled piano lesson. She described the piano teacher as being highly structured and “very into posture and positioning and theory, reading music, a much sought after teacher. Bill Cosby hated her; he agreed to go to the second year but refused to play at her recital, his first. You don't quit with this teacher.” Teresa proceeded to describe Bill Cosby, in relation to piano study, as a rebellious child who was very unlike my personal perceptions of the student I taught in elementary.music classes a year before. She blamed herself for the problems he encountered with the teacher saying, “I’m not sure that I’m connecting him with the right people.” She laughed as she recounted one particularly revealing lesson. She drove him to the lesson and he got out and ran around the house, refusing to go inside for his lesson. She chased him around the outside of the teacher’s house, trying to catch him so that he would take his lesson. When she finally caught him and made him go inside for his lesson, she said that he 101 refused to talk to the teacher and just grunted. “Her recitals, she has a huge group, a very talented teacher. We didn’t make that kind of a connection.” Teresa said she felt like “this awful parent,” but she knew he loved music. “The truth was he loved playing; once he knew the song it was fun; he hated the learning process; it was an ordeal.” Eventually Teresa quit taking Bill Cosby to the piano teacher. She said that they just didn’t make the right connection and that she found a 24-year-old teacher who could teach Bill Cosby what he wanted to learn. After purchasing an electric keyboard, arrangements were made for lessons. She felt these were more successful because her son wanted to learn to play the keyboard and play in a garage band. The new teacher taught him how to fake it, to read chords, and to play a melody in one hand with chords in the other. I first heard about DayJams, the rock music day camp, from Teresa. She discovered this national summer camp supported by several music industries. She checked out their website, attended an open house, and enrolled her two sons. The camp advertised that those who enrolled would be allowed to play rock and roll together. She was very anxious to tell me about the camp. She was especially interested in the teachers at the camp and contrasted her 102 .perceptions of the private music teacher she had employed to teach Bill Cosby piano lessons with the teachers at the camp. Teresa said that they had gone to the camp the year before and wanted to return again. She really liked the director. She described him as a hippie that was “a joy to be around, so much fun, into this” (personal communication, November 6, 2003). 3 Two years later, I was able to acquire permission to observe the members of the band as it had been reconstituted while they attended DayJams. I Visited the web site to find out all I could about the camp. I also attended an open house that was hosted by the camp a few months before it began. The advertisements stated that the DayJams participants would work with “professional musicians and teachers in a friendly and creative environment” (DayJams, 2006). At that time the fee for the camp was $550.00 for one week, and $1005.00 for two weeks. The industry sponsors that provide the instruments for the camp also offer some scholarship aid. I thought at this point that those who attended the camp were randomly placed in a group on the basis of what instrument they wanted to play. Groups consisting of a keyboardist, drummer, guitarist, and vocalist were chosen randomly. VOila! A rock band was formed. 103 I met the new camp director for that summer’s camp and discussed how the bands were created. She told me that the camp instructors studied the DayJams applications before the workshop began and placed campers in groups based on their requests, musical experiences, gender, and age. I have chosen to refer to the DayJams_participants as campers, not students. The three garage band members from this study had asked to be in the same band. They also requested that a mutual friend, who sang and played keyboard, be included also. This request was granted. Ideally, each band had a drummer, keyboardist, lead guitarist, bass guitarist, and singer. However, in some cases, a band had two musicians on the same instrument. Bill Cosby, WonTon, and Oswald were joined by their friend who played keyboard and sang vocals, and by an additional drummer. I observed several DayJams’ bands with additional instrumentation in each band. This was due to the number of campers who enrolled that summer. Each band decided how they would share the additional instrument when composing, rehearsing, and performing. My visit to the camp revealed that the groups met together throughout the day and wrote original songs. Each band performed two of their original compositions on the last day of the camp. Teresa told me 104 about the concert and gave me a Video of fifteen rock music bands that performed the summer before. Visiting the Rock Music Camp walking into the school in which the camp was held made me keenly aware of my researcher’s lens. The only music I heard was a.MOzart duet, “La ci Darem” from the opera Don Giovanni, which was blaring from the custodian’s office. As an undergraduate music major, I sang this duet in an opera workshop production. I thought about the differences between my formal music education and that of these rock musicians. The camp director gave me a schedule, and I was surprised to find a structured camp day (Appendix G). The day was divided between band rehearsals, group instrument lessons, lunch, recreation, art, and a whole camp activity that varied from day to day. Band rehearsal was the rehearsal of each rock band. There were fourteen bands at the camp, each with five to seven members. I asked her what the criteria was for becoming a camp instructor. She said that instructors were all performing rock musicians; none of them were certified teachers. There were two band rehearsal periods each day of camp. I associated the term band rehearsal so much with the traditional school ensemble that I expected to find a large group of rock musicians in a semicircle of chairs. I 105 imagined all the lead guitarists on one side, the bass guitars behind them, and the drummers ringing the back side of the circle. Instead I found the three garage band members located in a classroom playing in a band of five. The desks and chairs had all been pulled to the side of the room. The instructor acknowledged me when I walked in the room with a nod; the rest of the band did not seem to notice me and continued to play. The three garage band members, Bill Cosby, WonTon, and Oswald, play bass, lead guitar and vocals, and drums. They were joined by the keyboardist/vocalist and an additional drummer. The group’s additional drummer was a new acquaintance and appeared older than the rest of the group. Because there were two drummers, they traded off throughout the rehearsal. This was the fourth day of the camp, and they had obviously worked out how they would share the drums. The band had composed two songs, and each drummer played one of the two selections. Band Rehearsal The teacher was sitting in a rocking chair; he had long grey—hair and ear plugs in his ears. He was wearing jeans and casual shoes and was pointing to the whiteboard when I walked in the room. He was tapping the beat in his feet as he pointed to a chord progression 106 someone had written on the board. NOne of the players were smiling. Instead they were looking intensely at their instruments, not at the board or the chords. They were all playing electric instruments, bass, keyboard, and guitar, except for the drummer. The instructor walked over to the keyboardist at one point and appeared to be asking him a question. He stopped the group and tried to talk them into a slide for the end of the piece; they added the slide and then told the instructor that they did not like it. WOnTon played a familiar lick with a slide and the instructor smiled and acknowledged that he also knew the piece. The drummer raised his hand and asked the instructor if they were going to perform the songs they had written. There were several other questions, mostly concerned with aligning the music with the vocals, and the instructor worked with the vocalist for a few minutes while the rest of the group played and doodled on their instruments. The instructor eventually sang the song with the instrumentalists playing and modeled how the vocals and accompaniment fit together. There was constant sound in the room throughout the rehearsal. The instructor seemed to vacillate between roles of a collaborator, observer, and instructor. I felt that, at times, he was in the way of the camper’s 107 creativity, that he had an agenda. I was not sure if they liked what they were playing or how it was developing. The first piece was a rock song. The second piece had a jazz style to it, maybe punk jazz, if there is such a thing. At one point, the drummer who was sitting out for the selection, grabbed the pointer and was pointing to the chord progression on the whiteboard as they played. He made a mistake, and the instructor grabbed the baton from him and continued. There were discussions about writing out the lyrics for the vocalist. The instructor was patient and understanding as they played, and he waited for them to start each time. He seemed to understand why they were playing all the time, often playing all kinds of music scraps and just doodling. I wondered how many instructors would have stopped them misconstruing their actions as being off—task. The band seemed to be linked to the instructor more than to each other. When someone had a problem, the instructor addressed it and the rest of the group appeared disinterested. Others did not contribute suggestions or listen to any of these individual teacher—student communications. As they began the second piece I noticed that the instructor was more animated. He had suggested a 108 choreographed introduction and a musical bridge section that he told them was called minimalism. The group did not seem too excited about either of these suggestions, but they went along with them. He gave many directions and they complied, although he was open to their suggestions at times. He asked them to listen to their intonation on one section; he helped them tighten up the parts so that all the instrumental parts were together rhythmically. He also showed them to how to incorporate minimalism into a rock piece. The rehearsal ended, and the group was instructed to find their way to the art class, in which they were designing a CD cover, a program, and t-shirt logos. The camp director had dropped in to ask the instructor a question, and I asked her how she found the instructor. She said that he taught music in a small, local music store and that he was a fantastic guitarist. After the band left, I spoke with him. The instructor told me that he owns a music store, directs rock music ensembles, teaches private guitar, and has several ensembles of home—schooled students. Some of these ensembles are rock bands and some are more traditional with a wide variation of instrumentation. He plays guitar in jazz, rock music 109 ensembles, and banjo in a civil war era music group. I asked him why he had wanted to include the minimalist section in the rock piece that the group I had observed was composing. He said that several of the campers in the rock band he had worked with earlier had come to the camp with a punk groove but that their song wasn’t going anywhere, so he thought that the minimalist section would help move the piece. He said that he writes his curriculum for his home schooling groups the night before their lesson and that the lesson is shaped by what they’ve done before. He said that he writes all the music for them but doesn’t like them to know how much he has written, “it takes some finesse to let them think that they wrote it themselves.” I noticed that he had never addressed his band members by name, and I asked him the ages of the members of his band. He did not know their ages. Teachers’ Lounge I went back to what was the teachers’ lounge at the school and found the instructors of the camp having lunch together. The campers were eating lunch in the school's cafeteria. The camp director sat down next to me, and we discussed the teaching styles of the instructors at the camp. She suggested that I visit several other classes so that I could observe a variety of teaching styles. She 110 spoke about one teacher in particular that taught rock guitar lying on his back. “The kids are totally into it; he gets the older kids, he wants to change the direction of their lives. He has been here since the beginning. He is a professional musician. All the players in his class are “rippin’ good;” he helps them label, (to give a name to what they are doing, for example, to know that they are playing a seventh chord). A lot of our teachers learn how to teach here. They develop their own methods, this is their learning to teach, the program is shaping their teaching style” (camp director, personal communication, 6/14/05). Group Lessons Twice each day the campers attended instrumental group lessons. This would be similar to sectional rehearsals in a school band setting. I observed the drumming lesson. The drummer from the garage band was sitting in the back of the room. He was twirling his drum sticks. There were 9 other drummers in the room. The instructor spoke very rapidly. He seemed excited about teaching the class. His “lesson” was a mixture of short demonstrations, simple assessments of each drummer’s ability to play the technique or skill he was teaching, momentary lectures about rock drumming style, and brief 111 asides or personal conversations with the group about what they liked to listen to, what they had for lunch, and other issues that were not always related to the music they were practicing. This was a drum lesson, a drum class, and a rock drum sectional. He gave specific instructions on technique and spoke about how a drummer keeps the music flowing. The drummers were all over the room; one drummer was sitting in the back of the room quietly drawing a picture, two were sitting in desks, five were sitting in a row of chairs that faced the one drum set in the room, and one was standing in the middle of the room. There was a relaxed atmosphere. The instructor pointed to the board on which he had drawn several rhythm patterns. He told the drummers that his lesson was called the moveable backbeat. He told them that it was a version of a previous punk beat they had learned. Oswald, the drummer in the garage band was sitting quietly. He was trying out drum patterns on his lap. The instructor asked for volunteers to try out one particularly difficult pattern on the drum set. He designated the level of the patterns and kept pushing them to try the next level. He spoke to them as if they were other rockers in his band, equal members of a band. He asked if they had ever thought about the rank order of the 112 sounds that a drum kit produces. He suggested that they think about how this would apply to a recording. He invited the group to voice their own opinions and they responded with ideas about snare, backbeat, and ghost notes. He responded to various student suggestions by asking one quiet student, “What do you think about what I’m saying?” After a lengthy discussion he suggested that, “There are not enough things for all the ears to hear, some things are to be in the mix. So many times people try to make it all heard; some things need to be felt.” Responding to an inaudible student comment he replied, “Don’t sacrifice that; that was cool. Does everyone understand the moveable backbeat? Elements don’t change but you move the backbeat. I don’t want to bust your bubble; many think that fill and other things are important. Any questions about this?” A student entered the room at the end of the discussion and asked how.many arrangements there were of moveable backbeat. The instructor moved to the drum set for the first time and played variations of the moveable backbeat. Suddenly, the group spontaneously began to stand and leave the room. He never told them that class was over or that it was time to go. They just started moving out of the room; he was playing, and they just got up and left! The instructor did not seem to care. As they left he said, 113 “Ok, this is island music” (referring to what he was playing). One student gave him a quick hug before he left and asked him if he would be available for private lessons. As the class transitioned between periods, I asked the instructor several questions. I noticed that there were DayJams method books scattered around the classrooms. I had not observed anyone using the books, but several campers carried them. The drum instructor told me that they had been created the first year of camp but that no one used them. He said, “I don’t use those at all; they’re not helpful at all.” He said, “I asked them (the campers) on the first day what they wanted to know and we wrote a list on the board, and that is what I have been doing (O.DJ.7/l4/05), (Appendix H). I was struck by the contrast between his approach to teaching and my approach as the private piano teacher I had once been. I had had an agenda, which was to get through the method books I used. The method book determined the approach and teaching, not the students. Garage Band Gigs Three years ago, the garage band in my pilot study was invited to perform at the elementary school where two of the five band members attended. The band members jokingly referred to this invitation as their first gig. 114 Parents arranged for the band members to miss school on a Friday morning. They packed the band’s equipment in one of the parent’s vans, and delivered drums, guitars, keyboards, microphones, amplifiers, and the necessary plugs and cables to the school. The band played three pieces at an assembly for approximately four hundred students. The music that the band played was the entire original repertoire of the band. It included the first piece that the band wrote and one that I had observed them compose. I remember that the students were quiet throughout the performance, clapped politely, and filed out of the gym silently. A year later, still as part of the pilot study, the band was asked back for a repeat performance at the elementary school. The band’s personnel had changed; there were now three members and none were elementary students. The lead guitar and bass guitar players were in the sixth grade, and the drummer was a freshman in high school. The band set up to perform and rehearse before the assembly. There was a lot of excitement in the building about their appearance. As students walked by the gym door, they would peak in, smile, and point to the band. Several teachers also poked their heads into the gym; they waved to the band members and said that they were excited about hearing the 115 band play. Even the secretaries from the school office left their cubicles to come to the gym and listen momentarily before running back to their desks. Thirty minutes after the band set up to play, the school began to file in to the gym. They entered silently and sat in rows on the floor of the gym. Many of the students smiled, clapped their hands together, and danced as though they were listening to a strong beat that accompanied a rock song. The band asked me if they could introduce themselves. They did not want the principal or anyone else to introduce them. They wanted to be treated as guest performers who ran their own show, not as students playing for their peers. Several times during their performance, students began to clap and cheer spontaneously. They were admonished by the principal and told that they had to be silent. I remember thinking that I understood that order had to be observed, but having a rock band play at a school was like putting a carousel in the middle of the gym and telling the students to watch it silently. Just as having a carousel in the gym would be an invitation to students to take rides, a rock band performance at school invites students would want to cheer and dance to the music. This time as the band left, the students waved goodbye to the band members. As 116 students filed by me, many asked if they would come to school and play again. In June of 2005, Teresa contacted me by phone and told me that the band had been invited to play in June on the last day of school. They would play for the sixth grade class at the middle school where two of the band members attended. She said that one of the teachers at the middle school had heard about the band and asked Bill Cosby if they would like to perform. They agreed to play three selections. The.Middle School Gig There was a palpable excitement in the air. As I walked through the front doors of the middle school I passed several parents; they were laughing about something. I walked into the front office to sign in and a smiling secretary nodded and then turned away. This was a definite sign that things were much looser than usual, because normally I would have been asked what business I had at the school. It was clearly the last day of school. I left the office and headed down the hall. Rock music coming from the direction in which I was walking grew louder and louder as I approached the gym. The band was playing on the stage as I walked into the gym. It felt odd being with them in their school. 117 I knew very little about their music making here. I knew they were in the school band program, but I was very removed from this venue. The band was rehearsing one of their compositions on a large stage. The space must have felt enormous compared to where they normally rehearse. On stage they had ten or twelve feet between them. They did not look at each other as they played. They were focused on their own space and looked out to the open gymnasium. There were three students on the stage running around and moving microphone stands. This was a stage crew; they were friends who got out of class to help them set up. The parents of the band members were standing at the back of the gym. They approached me and we talked about what a nice opportunity this was for the band. Teresa, Bill Cosby and Oswald’s mom, said that the band had had a difficult time getting ready for the performance. “They had creative differences all week long. I didn’t think that the ‘pressure of the performance would make them so agitated. They changed songs several times, up to the last minute before they played” (6.0.6/10/05). I turned toward the stage and walked forward, listening to the music they were rehearsing. I recognized several strains from a piece they had worked on in a 118 rehearsal a few weeks earlier. This time, however, there weren’t any starts and stops, any questions of “well, do we put a bridge in or not?” It was very automatic; they were on overdrive and playing loudly. When they stopped playing, it was to move a microphone stand or ask about the balance of sound between the instruments. Bill Cosby looked nervous. He was speaking rapidly and loudly, not normally his style. They were all jumpy; in fact, WonTon was jumping up and down. Oswald, on drums, seemed the most unaffected, but these weren’t his peers. He was a freshman in high school. What did he have to lose if they messed up? But no, WonTon and Bill Cosby, they had a lot at stake. A woman approached the stage from behind me; she was wearing a badge that identified her as a teacher in the building. She moved quickly to the stage and told the band to gather around her and asked for the curtains to be closed. I jumped up on the stage and followed the band as they huddled around her. I found out later that she was one of the sixth grade teachers and had invited them to play. She’d gotten them this gig. She told them what they needed to say in their introduction and that, most importantly, they needed to thank the principal for letting them play. She told them how to stand at their microphones, when the curtain would open, what to do when their classmates came 119 in the room, and more, although I couldn’t hear her because she was talking quietly, whispering. I sensed that she didn’t trust them completely. She mentioned that the students would not be allowed to move up to the stage. She was worried about losing control of the audience. . . maybe the band too. From behind the curtain, I heard students entering the gym; there was lots of laughter, and loud, excited talking. The band moved into their positions on the stage wings, and the teacher readied herself to introduce them. Bill Cosby, on bass guitar, looked at WonTon on lead guitar, and said “the key is right.” They were very ‘particular about how the curtain would open and how they would begin to play. One of the stage crew students informed the teacher that they’d already arranged for six of their friends to introduce and announce the band. Her body language said that she was disappointed but she agreed. However, at the last minute she grabbed the microphone and walked around to the front of the stage. There were about one hundred students in the gym all looking up at the stage. They became very quiet at this .point and it was strange. In fact, the whole area had suddenly become quiet. I got the feeling that both the performers and the students were not sure how to act; these 120 were their friends, not really a “real” rock band that had come to play for them. The teacher asked the students not to move any further forward from where they were standing and handed the microphone to another student. The student announced the name of the band, and I realized that they had changed their name again; they’ve had three names. The curtain opened and they ran on stage. WonTon was waving his arms, screaming. They looked like a rock band; they stood with one leg forward and backs arched as they brought their guitars into playing positions. The lights came up on the stage, and a microphone shrieked momentarily in feedback. If I’d been a reporter, I’d have written the following account: “Suddenly, the musicians ran on stage and the fans began to scream. A bass line to blow your woofers erupted, and a singer whose mouth was attached to the mic moved to the music, making the fans scream louder. It’s loud, it’s hot in the room, people are packed together trying to see the stage. It’s a rock concert.” Their music was overshadowed by the noise from the audience. There is lots of room in the gym, but they were packed together tightly, trying to get a View of the stage by standing on tip toes. The drums and bass pounded and the singer’s lyrics meshed into an inaudible drone, but 121 it didn’t seem to matter. The song ended and the audience screamed louder. WonTon asked the audience if they would “like to hear another one?” Students brought out signs they’d been hiding behind their backs. Some were painted scraps of cardboard with the band members’ names painted in red and blue. One was done on a computer and had the band’s name emblazoned in red. A student announced that the band would play a song that the group Green Day wrote. The audience clapped loudly. Teresa, who had been standing beside me, said, “You should have come to the rehearsal so that they would have kept focused.” They looked pretty focused to me. However, Teresa’s comment helped me to realize that the gig expanded the band’s focus beyond the music. Their preparation for the gig was a foray into the broader context of the rock culture as they prepared to present a live rock concert. The diversity of all of the informal and formal venues they experienced provided a depth of meaning and offered many strong themes. In the next chapter I will explore these themes and elaborate on the band’s understanding of what their experiences meant to them. 122 CHAPTER V ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS This study examined the musical lives of three garage musicians in three informal and formal learning venues. The band shared mutual goals and the understanding of a specific musical culture. In all three venues, the goal was to make rock music. This singleness of purpose overarched every aspect of this study. Their desire to create an authentic rock band, creating original music for performances, separated them from most formal music education settings in which the focus is on a wider variety of styles and most of the music performed is not composed by the students. The data from this study were gathered from three settings; basement rehearsals, a summer rock music camp, and a middle school auditorium. The data consisted of fieldnotes, interviews, pictures, and recorded music from performances and rehearsals. Initially, I placed the data into two setting categories: informal and formal music education venues. I read fieldnotes and transcriptions of interviews over a year-long period. The fieldnotes and interview transcriptions were coded using The Ethnograph (Qualis Research Associates 1998), (Appendix I) by highlighting the section of text and assigning a code name 123 to it. Some sections were designated with a single code and others with multiple code names. The sections were printed and examined for trustworthiness of coding. As a means of triangulation, an outside reader who was a doctoral student in music education and also involved in research on informal venues examined the coding sections. Informal and formal venues were themes in all three settings. Also, communication and the power structures in a democratic music education learning environment emerged as primary themes within the three settings. Teaching and Learning in Informal and Formal Venues As Campbell (2000) stated, children “acquire music” through a wide range of experiences. The band members acquired their experiences from both informal and formal music venues. As mentioned, they were enrolled in formal school music programs. The basement rehearsals were an informal venue; the rock music camp and the middle school gig were a combination of informal and formal music education venues. As Campbell (2000) and Gardner (1999) noted, informal and formal music education may be best described as on a continuum and not as dichotomous. A scale representing my perception of this continuum and the venues I observed is below and an explanation of the placement of each venue on the continuum follows. 124 The Garage Band's Informal and Formal Music Learning Venues Middle School Gig Basement Rehearsals 4' > Informal Formal Music Music Venue Venue Rock Music Camp Figure 5. Informal and Formal Music Learning Continuum Basement Rehearsals The basement rehearsals were the central, most significant learning venue for the band and were primarily an informal music venue. In these rehearsals, the band developed its identity, both musically and socially. The band was created by a group of children all living in the same neighborhood. A comment made during the pilot study revealed that Bill Cosby was credited with the initial idea for the band. “Denise: Oh my gosh, I just remember that Veronica came over and said, “I know how to play the guitar, and Bill Cosby was all like, let’s like make a band.” 125 Bill Cosby: My dad brought that (pointed to old amplifier) over from my great grandpa’s house” (Pilot Study, Basement Rehearsal 11/18/03). The basement was a safe, nurturing place. It was home. There are many additional criteria that established it as an informal learning venue. The band members rehearsed and composed their music with no one in charge. Membership in the band was voluntary. The band scheduled the rehearsals; they decided when to meet, what they would rehearse, how they would rehearse, and the length of the sessions. Prouty (2002) referred to “self-constructed type of learning strategies” (p.3) in association with informal music education practices. This was evident in the band’s implicit format for the rehearsals that they created. They learned their instrumental technique on their own time, practicing and, in some cases, taking some private lessons, and attending the rock music camp. Their rehearsal plan was that each rehearsal was structured by the form of the music; once the chorus or verse was written, they would write the bridge to the next section. Each rehearsal began with WonTon playing a newly composed piece that he had prepared for the rehearsal. Bill Cosby and Oswald would then arrange a bass and drum part. The rehearsal sessions were somewhat formulaic. This contributed to the fluidity 126 of the sessions and created little need for speaking. This fluidity was also evidence of Strauss’ (1984) term, incidental learning. I never observed a member of the band ask another member to remember a phrase, or repeat a melody. The members of the band retained the music effortlessly. Szego (2002) suggested that this classification should be used to clarify informal venues and any mode of education. Their compositional process seemed to flow without large plateaus of stopping and starting to problem solve. Wiggins (2000) reported that children working together to solve musical problems can be successful in groups. This was true of the band; their group collaborations were successful. However, the initial composition was an individual endeavor. Finnegan (1989) found that individual achievement was important to the rock musicians in her study; however, Resnick (1987) reported that informal practices generally valued group participation over individuality. I never observed the band create more than one song at a session. When they felt that the piece was completed, they stopped. If they were planning a performance, they would also rehearse the songs they were polishing. Every rehearsal lasted until they had completed 127 composing their new piece, which was approximately one to two hours. There were times when they had to stop, dinner was served, or someone had an appointment, but generally there were no constraints on time. Koops (2006) noted that lack of time restrictions was usually part of the informal music learning process (p.44). The basement rehearsal narratives verified the importance of the self-constructed venue to the band members. WonTon's statements were evidence of how they felt about their own agency, “You're not really letting anyone tell you what to do. It's like you make up what you want, you play what you want, and the teacher can't stop you from doing that” (I.BR.11/l3/05). Middle School Gig I placed the middle school gig closer to the formal music venue end of the continuum. The band emulated a rock music performance within a formal music setting. The middle school was a formal venue with teachers and administrators in positions of authority over students. The teacher tried to intervene and direct the introductions and announcements before the performance. Also, the teacher told the band the school’s policies, including how close the audience would stand, and how long the performance would be. The band members had planned their entrance and 128 had asked a group of students to introduce them. As the teacher gave instructions to the band members about the performance, listing what they should say, and then what she would say, the band members and the students who had been asked to give the introductions listened quietly. This interaction between the teacher and the students was a reflection of power relations, and a tense moment occurred when the band told the teacher that they would make their own introductions and she grudgingly nodded in agreement. In this interaction, informal and formal learning met at a border. The term “border” can be used to represent where there is a struggle when two opposing positions overlap or meet. Giroux (1992) stated that borders “create pedagogical conditions in which students become border crossers in order to understand otherness in its own terms, and to further create borderlands in which diverse cultural resources allow for the fashioning of new identities within existing configurations of power” (p. 28). The band and teacher crossed into Giroux’s (1992) “borderland” and arrived at an understanding because of their proximity and willingness to be a part of the venue. The administrators invited the band to perform, and the band agreed to perform in the school setting. 129 The band attempted to replicate a rock music concert at their middle school. The cultural practices of a rock band concert were striking, when observed against the culture of a school setting. Formal parameters that surrounded the concert were the school building and gym where the concert was held. Many of the ingredients for a rock concert were present: rock music, a stage, lights, sound equipment, screaming fans, space for an audience, and a performance that was guided by the musicians. The administrators and teachers supported their music making. However, teachers were authority figures who set boundaries for and limitations on the students attending the concert as well as the musicians. There were restrictions on the amount of time that the band performed; they were asked to play for no more than fifteen minutes. The audience was also restricted to the students in the sixth grade and not the entire student body. The middle school gig was preceded by a period of rehearsals. This is a common practice in both formal and informal music education settings. Like many formal music ensembles, they rehearsed and polished their music for purposes of performing it. They planned their performance; they choreographed what they would wear (jeans and t- 130 shirts), designed their entrance, and prepared opening remarks for the audience. Rock music is popular in the preteen and teen culture, but it is not commonly performed as the sole genre of music on a school music program. As with most popular music concerts, the audience at the middle school gig seemed to demonstrate a strong preference for the music that was played at the concert as well as an admiration for the performers. The audience had a level of experience with the music that was going to be performed that day. This is the music to which they listen. I heard many students talking about various popular music groups as they walked into the auditorium. When the group announced that they were going to play a selection by the group Green Day, “the II audience clapped loudly, nodding to each other in recognition. The Rock.Music Camp I placed the rock music camp at the midpoint on the continuum between an informal and formal venue. The rock camp sought to emulate the practices of rock musicians by replicating authentic rock music making venues. Generally, the informal scenarios of rock musicians are created in the spaces for their rehearsals, such as a garage or basement, with four to five band members. The 131 band members usually recruit friends and schedule their own rehearsals. The camp manufactured informal scenarios for young musicians who wanted to create rock music. Four to five rock musicians were assigned to a space of their own, a classroom, where they met for scheduled rehearsals to compose rock music. Although some established bands enrolled at the camp, many campers did not know anyone when they enrolled. Informal MUsic Education Practices at the Camp Rock bands generally create their music in informal venues. Although the camp was held at a high school, it took place during the summer months when most traditional schools are not in session. There were fourteen individual bands at the camp with campers between the ages of nine and fifteen. All of the bands were multi-aged, but generally the older band members were in the same bands. The director told me that she used age as a criterion for distributing the campers among bands. She said that she tried to avoid placing campers that were the youngest, nine, and the oldest, sixteen, together. However, I observed a three to four-year age span in each band. The campers identified themselves as musicians. All of the instructors and administrators at the camp 132 referred to the campers by the instrument they played; they were drummers, keyboardists, vocalists, and guitarists. While school band directors may also refer to their students by the instruments they play, at the rock camp, it was implied that these musicians were drummers or vocalists, not students learning to play an instrument. In all of my discussions with directors, instructors, campers, and parents, no one ever referred to the musicians as campers or students. This may be different from how many music teachers, parents, and students in formal settings articulate roles in the school music programs. Lamont’s (2002) study suggested that children do not consider their musical involvement at school to be connected with the role of musician. Further, they did not consider their music making in general music classes to be connected with instrument study. The camp had administrators, a schedule, and instructors for the various sessions. The camp directors and instructors were all members of rock music bands and had practical knowledge about performing in a band and creating original music. They were all members of and participated in informal music making. They created an informal music education venue with aspects of a formal setting, in a school building with schedules, instructors, 133 and a hierarchy of instructors. The camp's activities and structure were illustrative of what the camp’s coordinators felt was important to an informal setting. With the exception of the administrators at the rock music camp, all of the instructors that I observed were not a part of a formal music education program. Rather they were practicing musicians. During an interview after a basement rehearsal, one of the former teachers at the camp from the year before was mentioned. SJ: And he didn’t come back. Why do you think he didn’t come back? Oswald: He didn’t like us. SJ: Where did he teach? WonTon: See that's. . . like you don’t have to be a teacher you can just be a professional (I.BR.11/l3/05). Although I asked where the teacher taught, WonTon’s response was that someone who was teaching did not need to be a formal teacher employed by a school district. WonTon’s statement about being a “professional” implied that the teacher was a professional musician. WonTon’s statement was not a new one for music educators. O'Flynn (2005) also referred to this division between “professional/amateur and musician/non—musician” (p.194). 134 Formal Music Education Practices at the Camp How we teach music in formal settings is not normally determined by the musical cultures of the society or how music is practiced outside of the formal setting. What components of the camp venue were formal? Formal music education was defined by Strauss (1984) as emerging from the “industrialized West” (p. 195). He stated that the formal, Western paradigm of schooling is “deliberate, carried on out of context; in a special setting outside of the routines of daily life” (p.195). There are several music education practices held in school, most often associated with the formal environment, that were observed at the camp. The camp was held at a school. There was a hierarchical tier of staff members, administrators and teachers and a schedule for sessions with an assigned teacher in authority. As in many formal educational venues, there was a structured schedule of ten periods each day. The camp had a hierarchical tier between the instructors and the campers. A clear division between the campers and staff was most noticeable at the lunch period. The campers ate in the school cafeteria, and the instructors met for lunch in the teacher's lounge of the school in which the camp was held. 135 The teachers at the camp were in leadership roles. In the first session, the instructor did most of the speaking, and the band members did not verbally interact with each other as much as in the other settings I observed at the camp. Throughout the entire band class session they never spoke to each other but listened to the instructor. Their undivided attention to the instructor curtailed communication among the band members. The Informal and Formal MUsic Education Border Parents and friends attended the final performance on the last day of the camp. In both venues, formal and informal, a concluding performance following a series of rehearsals and practice sessions is common.The juxtaposition of both informal and formal music learning environments created tensions. There were tensions with the role of the camp instructor and in respect to the ultimate decisions in selecting how the music developed as it was composed and performed. These are the tensions Giroux (1992) acknowledged in his discussion of effective learning environments. Who had the power was not always clear at the camp. At times, the instructor pushed for his way, at times he acquiesced, and at other times the band agreed to go along with his idea, even though, judging by the looks on 136 their faces, they did not want to. The instructor made several decisions for the band about style, tempo, melody development, and form. During a class session I observed, the instructor pointed to the chord progressions he had written on the white board. He moved to the beat as he sat in a rocking chair, pointing to the board, even though “they were looking intensely at their instruments, not at the white board or the chords” (DJ.O.6/l4/05). Later, when the instructor joined the band, the band’s second drummer, who was not playing at the time, grabbed the pointer and pointed to the chord progressions. The instructor took the pointer away from the drummer, establishing visible authority over the band. After the band left, the instructor disclosed the fact that he wrote the compositions for the camp and said, “it takes some finesse to let them think that they wrote it themselves” (DJ.O.6/l4/OS). However, when he introduced the idea of a minimalism section to the group, they seemed to make fun of the instructor. “WonTon broke into a variation of “Turkey in the Straw” on his guitar” (DJ.O.6/l4/05). I believed that WonTon played the groups’ rock tune with the Turkey in the Straw variation to show that he could play their song in the style the instructor suggested. Although 137 no one verbalized this, the instructor knew immediately that this meant that they did not want to include the section he had recommended. He acquiesced, and it seemed to minimize the teacher’s status and blur the line between the teacher and band members/learners. However, this interplay also heightened the teacher’s dual role as a band member, whose opinion was respected and valued equally with other members of the band. Although at the time of my observation I believed that the communication between the campers was not as strong as with their communication with the instructor, on reflection, this pertained only ‘to ‘verbal communication. The campers easily shared their opinions with the teachers, often disagreeing' with instructors on. musical decisions, but they did not share these ideas verbally' with each other. The rock camp band consisted of two additional new members who were not normally a part of the garage band and only at the end of the session, when they were packing up their instruments, did they all speak to each other. However, there was evidence of non-verbal agreement between the members of the band as demonstrated when they deleted the minimalist section. The communication in the basement rehearsals was continual and more obvious. Their communication was fluid; 138 both unspoken and spoken. Verbal communication between the members of the band in the camp setting seemed to be somewhat restricted. One explanation for this could be that some of the members of the band did not know each other prior to meeting at camp. Communication Communication among the members of the band emerged as a theme and was important to their success as musicians in an ensemble. They used verbal and non-verbal communication that was both oral and musical. There is a large body of research on verbal and non-verbal communication. For the purposes of this paper, generally, the non-verbal communication I observed was eye contact, body movements, and facial expressions. The oral communication between the members of the group in all three settings was minimal but effective. There was immediate understanding of each communication as demonstrated by the responses, which were usually musical and required no additional clarification. During basement rehearsals, the band played and spoke little to each other. WonTon would point his guitar in the direction of Bill Cosby and play something, and Bill Cosby would reply by playing on his bass. Oswald was not a part of this interaction; he played throughout the 139 exchanges between Bill Cosby and WonTon or was quiet, listening to what Bill Cosby and WonTon played. Morgan, Hargreaves, and Joiner (2000) discussed this type of musical communication. Their premise was that some thoughts can not be verbalized and that, within the context of music composition, “another medium exists for representation of thoughts and presentation of ideas” (p. 53). They proposed that knowledge may be expressed through other means besides language. Addressing music composition processes explicitly, they described a “musical discourse” in which children work in groups toward a common purpose and can “project their thoughts and ideas directly on to the musical instruments rather than verbalising them” (p.53). The group's unspoken communication may have been why there was no verbal greeting when I arrived to observe the group. I was not in the sphere of the musical discourse. Although the band members at the rock camp did not seem to be as mentally connected with each other as they did when they rehearsed in the basement, there remained evidence of non-verbal communication. When the teacher was making suggestions, they seemed to have a shared understanding about what they wanted. The unspoken connection between the members of the band became apparent 140 to me when the group was unwilling to add a minimalist section to their composition. They did not openly discuss their opinions about including it, but agreed simultaneously and without speaking. However, the disconnection with the instructor changed when the instructor picked up his guitar and joined the group. This brought the instructor into the circle of the band. His role vacillated between an instructor, who listened and advised, and peer musician in the band. The instructor suggested ideas and, at times, pushed for these ideas, but the band members did not seem to feel any pressure to follow his directions. I observed the same shared understanding between the drum teacher at the camp and the group drumming class I observed. The example below demonstrates this by sentences left dangling and by the manner in which the group spontaneously left the room with an obvious prearranged understanding that was not verbalized during the class I observed. Instructor: (Playing drums as he is speaking) So many times people try to make it all heard, some things need to be felt, what do you think about what I’m saying. I don’t sacrifice that,(directing this comment 141 to a camper), that was cool,(to a camper who was playing on another drum set). The students just start moving out of the room; he’s playing and they just got up and moved out of the room. Instructor: doesn't care. . . (this comment directed to a camper) Ok, this is island (referring to the music style he was playing) (DJ.O.6/14/05). Even the question, “What do you think about what II I’m saying, was in response to what he was playing, not what he had verbalized. His reference to the island music he was playing also stemmed from a comment that a student made in the classroom earlier about the way the music he was playing sounded. Teachers as Facilitators Teachers as facilitators emerged as a theme in this study. The group actively sought to learn more about playing and performing rock music. In the basement rehearsals, they appeared to be self—sufficient. They created their own music and garnered the instruments and equipment they needed. However, the band also spoke about the teachers and teaching they experienced outside of the basement rehearsal venues. 142 Oswald: He owns a music store (speaking about the instructor at the music camp). Bill Cosby: Yeah, what he did, he told me, “you just start with a bass line.” I played something on the bass and we just went from that (I.BR.10/05). Green (2002) stated that informally trained rock musicians “largely teach themselves or ‘pick up’ skills and knowledge” (p.5). However, the existence of an instructional staff at a rock music camp is a departure from the authentic practice of rock music making. The instructors at this camp served more as facilitators than teachers. The drum teacher’s plans were developed from a discussion on the first day of the camp of what the drummers wanted to learn. The teacher showed me a list of topics and ideas that he had written on the white board, all of which were generated from the discussion. There were percussion terms and styles about which the classes had asked him (Appendix H). His lessons followed this list, which served as an outline of topics. The narrative account in the drum class illustrated artful teaching. The instructor was not hurried; he referred to what he had written on the board, but always with the understanding that the campers had inquired about what he was teaching. It was obvious that he 143 was the expert; he demonstrated this by playing examples during the lesson. He earnestly solicited their input and participation. This perpetuated an undercurrent of shared understanding in this venue, which is especially remarkable considering that the group had been together for only one week. There was an easy flow of communication between the instructor and drummers in the class and no sense of a power imbalance in the classroom. The drum teacher was a professional musician and easily modeled and demonstrated what he taught. He addressed specific skills and technical aspects of musicianship as they came up in the course of the activities of the class. He also addressed issues of blend and balance within an ensemble as well as drumming technique. Attention to skills and technique made me aware that the groups had attained a level of musical accomplishment and that the teachers were trying to facilitate their groups reaching a higher level. There seemed to be no baseline for acceptable performance, but rather a forward drive to improve at all times. This continual assessment is another example of an area of tension between formal and informal venues. Assessment in formal music education venues is usually announced. The music making stops and is assessed. Assessment are tied to 144 a specific standard, for example, “perform the following II rhythm pattern,” or “sight sing the example. Informal music education venues usually assess their progress continually against the standards of professional musicians. The drum instructor was keenly aware of his role as a teacher. He was reflective about his teaching and spoke candidly about his teaching abilities. He had a reverence for professional teachers and answered questions about what he did in his class readily, seeming to ask my approval at times and my interpretation of his teaching styles. Teaching skill was something he wanted to attain, a craft and a privilege. Additionally, the drum teacher mentioned that he worked on the craft of teaching on yearly visits to Guinea. He is a professional musician with several different performing groups, including one that performs African drumming. He told me that his yearly goal was to save enough money to travel with his family to Guinea and study drumming. He stated that he studied teaching from master teachers in the communities he visited in Africa and that he hoped to continue to learn from them. The teaching skills that I observed at the camp were profound because the instructors had not been formally 145 trained. They had plans and objectives, but as practicing musicians themselves, they understood the need to let the students have a voice in the decisions about the music they composed. Their facilitation allowed me to view their teaching practice by the processes they used and the manner in which they delivered information to the groups with whom they were working. Democratic Music Education: Power Structures in the Learning Environment Democratic music education in this study has two contexts. The first pertains to the power structures and democratic teaching ideals as demonstrated by music teachers in their classrooms. The second is the larger, broader aim of music education and education in general. Democratic education was Dewey’s conception. Power structures and democratic music education ideals also were addressed by Allsup (2003), Woodford (2005), and Wiggins (1999/2000). I observed differences in the power relationships in basement rehearsals, the camp, and the middle school gig. In the basement rehearsals, the band members created and performed music without the direction of a teacher or someone in charge. As in Campbell’s (1995) study, the musical leaders were not Viewed as teacher 146 figures, but as guides. Campbell noted that musical leaders were not acknowledged, even when a gap of competence between the musical leader and musicians existed. Bill Cosby usually had the final say in musical decisions, and I suspected that he was the one most “in charge” or functioned as the group’s manager. This was apparent with comments such as the one Bill Cosby made to WonTon as they made their entrance on stage for their middle school gig. As they stepped onto the stage Bill Cosby looked at WonTon and said, “the key is right” (G.O.6/lO/05). Their generally equal balance of power was in sharp contrast to the traditional school setting in which the band played its gig. In that setting, teachers and administrators were clearly in charge. At the middle school gig, there was a power imbalance between the teacher who was in charge of the assembly and the band members and students. The teacher gave explicit directions from a position of power; however, the band listened to directions but, as in the first session of camp, the band did what they chose to do. Although I did not ask the teacher about her behavior, I believed that many middle school teachers are sensitive to issues of power relations between young teens and adults in authority. 147 While not as sharp a contrast, the rock music camp exhibited some aspects of a dominant ideology that may be associated with formal music practice. The members of the band seemed aware of this and were critical of a teacher who imposed restrictions on the group at the camp the year before. Oswald: A band director guy from DayJams a few years ago, a funny looking guy, and that’s exactly what he did. He didn’t let us write the song at all. WonTon: You can't have any limitations to music, you can’t like let me tell you something (pointing) do that, do that, do that, you don’t discuss it (I.BR.2/23/O6). I noted that the first band class that I observed was led by a stronger teacher leader. However, there was some sense of autonomy among the participants at the camp. This was evident by the following interactions I observed in one of the band classes: Guitarist: “What happens after this?” Bass: “What do we do?” Drummer: “Ok guys, let’s play.” Instructor: “Ok guys, what do you want to do?” (DJ.O.6/14/05). 148 Individual voices were valued. Campers were free to disagree with ideas or suggestions from either the teacher or other members of their band. Suggestions from the group were valued and immediately tried out. The camp instructor’s comments regarding letting the group think that they composed the pieces did not seem to be what actually happened in practice. In fact, the group had a significant voice in the decisions during the compositional process about the music they composed. This instructor went back and forth between playing guitar with the group and functioning as part of their collaboration, and being the teacher in charge. The role change I observed was similar to issues imbedded in Allsup’s (2003) participants' statement that “you changed throughout the entire study, you went up and you went down, it was really weird” (p.34-35). The garage band members did not verbalize any awareness of the difference in status between the instructors at the camp and teachers in a formal venue. However, the role of the instructor and the power relationship between him and the band did change. Once he joined the group, no one asked him questions or questioned anything he did, as they had before. 149 While the first teacher participated with his band more frequently, his role as teacher and leader was most prevalent. The second teacher in the drum class did not participate with the drummers in his class, yet his role as teacher/leader was not as clear. He created a lesson plan based on what they had told him they wanted to learn on the first day of class. He did not sit or stand in a central location in the room but within a group of drummers that were scattered around the room. His tone and demeanor was conversational and matter of fact. There was a definite feeling of respect for this teacher that was not as prevalent in the first classroom. When he spoke, the drummers listened, often nodding in agreement and talking with the person next to them about what had been said. He seemed interested in what the drummers in his class had to say and wanted their ideas and experiences shared. He taught what they deemed important. Leadership, Power, and Trust There was a contradiction between the valued independence of the members of the group and belief in the necessity of a teacher. This contradiction seemed to be focused on the teacher's knowledge and not associated with the manner in which they teach. WonTon said that it was important to be allowed to create what he wanted and that 150 teachers stop the process. Further, he stated that the independence from a teacher enhanced the product. Yet, later, when I asked the group about their learning, formal and informal, in unison, the entire group said that they learned more at school. SJ: Do you think you learn more here than at school, answer with a yes or no. All: No. SJ: Why? Oswald: There's no one to teach you anything. There's no leader. SJ: There's no teacher. So do you think you're learning anything here? WonTon: There's no 'teacher' to supervise you, ‘but I don't know. Later, the gromp wanted me to cmmtinue the interview and I reiterated the question. WonTon: No, there's no teacher‘ to tell you. how to play. You're not really. Bill Cosby:(Interrupting) Well, I do think we’re learning, but in a different way. WonTon: (Agreeing) in a different way. Bill Cosby: We're not learning facts, we're learning. 151 WonTon: Opinions (I.BR.2/23/O6). There is an inherent conflict between the role of the teacher in the formal setting as the one who shares knowledge, provides direction to the course of study, and directs the process and sequence, and the students in an informal setting who guide their own course of study. The band’s discussion above demonstrates that they are aware of this conflict. They value the teacher’s content and process but simultaneously understand that the shared experiences of the group, their ability to listen to “opinions” and glean ideas from their musical interactions, even though leader-less, is also valuable. Even more conflicted is their use of the term teacher interchangeably with leader. Do leader and teacher mean the same thing? Does a leader, in their minds, dictate the process and content of the lesson? In the informal venue, they felt that they were learning through their interactions with each other. In the formal venue, they felt that they gathered the knowledge they needed to play their instruments. The narrative described a band director who restricted their creative process. After sharing that this teacher had not come back to the rock camp, they noted that the teacher that they had the following year had given them tools, a bass line, and 152 then let them compose over the bass line without any restrictions. Paradoxically, the teacher who they described as giving them information without restricting their creative process was the instructor who wanted the group to include a minimalist section in their composition, because he felt that the punk groove that they had come to camp with was not going anywhere. He had said that it took finesse not to let the campers know that he had written the song, yet the song they eventually composed was not what he had intended. The significance of this paradox is that the band members valued the instruction of the second instructor they encountered at the camp, even though he was a leader who had a specific content that he wanted to teach and, even if for a short time, tried to use his authority to get the group to agree. He gave them valuable knowledge but delivered it within a range of authoritative power, eventually letting the group have final say in the direction of their composition. In both the camp and middle school gig experiences, the issue of trust could be a motive for the teachers’ behaviors. The teacher at the middle school wanted to ensure order during a school assembly. Ultimately, she trusted that the arrangements that the band had made regarding their introduction and announcements 153 before they performed would be appropriate. The camp instructor at the first session may not have trusted that the experiences of the campers was adequate and felt that he needed to give them help by composing the music and then letting them think they created it. Also, the instructor was interested in teaching the group about minimalism, and his request that the group include a minimalist section was a means to an end. The instructor wanted the group to succeed; he had a plan and an objective. He presented the plan sequentially, one step at a time. This was much like a traditional formal classroom. My story described the power relations at camp between the band and the instructor for the first session. This narrative demonstrated what Robinson (1999) revealed about collaborative groups. He stated that hierarchical structures are not conducive to successful collaborations and that collaboration requires flexibility to maintain creativity. The fact that the instructor in the story went along with the group and took the minimalist section out of the song, and that the group listened to his input about minimalism, and even the country music lick that he suggested, illustrated flexibility and collaboration by all involved. Successful collaborations share common goals and preserve the integrity of each individual in the group. 154 This offers insight into understanding the success of a teacher within a class of collaborative learners. It also revealed what may be most different between informal and formal settings: the role of the teacher within a collaborative classroom. This is an area of consideration for blurring lines of tension between informal and formal music education practices and to take what is best from both venues. The conversation between the participants in this study revealed that they valued the teaching and learning they received in some formal venues. Democracy and the Aims of Education From the broader perspective of democracy in education, Dewey’s (1972) Pedagogic Creed provides a template for the band's overall practice. The band’s basement rehearsals were supported and nurtured by the family, home, school, and neighborhood, and community environments. These experiences were not in a single path but an intricate, complicated web, as Finnegan (1989) also discovered. I witnessed continual growth and progress over the three years I was with the band. Their music making grew from a small group of young, inexperienced musicians, to a group of young musicians with a shared goal of performing authentic rock music. They reached out to their 155 school community and beyond, becoming more and more independent in their choices and decisions. Dewey’s (1916) Democracy in Education denotes a democratic conception of education as being a social life with members allowed to pursue mutual interests freely and fully. Dewey's conception of democratic teaching practices within the school is aimed towards the development of habits of mind. He distinguishes the difference by defining an “undesirable society” as “one which internally and externally sets up barriers to free intercourse and communication of experience” (p.99). From their basement rehearsals, the band members extended outward, progressing towards more sophistication in their ability to collaborate, compose, and refine a system of performing. They shared a mutual respect for each other which contributed to continual growth in their musical development. The continuity between all the aspects of these experiences became clear when they would speak back and forth with each other, starting and finishing sentences for each other and jumping from one idea to another. An example of this was when they were speaking about an instructor they had had the year before, and then segued into a description of one that I had also encountered. I would not have been able to follow their 156 flow of thoughts had I not shared some of their experiences with them for this period of time. Further, and perhaps most importantly, they appreciated their independence and the freedom to create their own experiences. Musicality Development Rock MUsic Culture The development of musicality was a central theme of this study. Every other theme was subordinate to the central purpose of the group, to develop the skills they needed to become rock musicians. Their communication, the teaching facilitators I encountered, and the informal and formal teaching venues were all under the umbrella of a young rock band of developing musicians. The development of musicality for the members of the band was aligned with the practices of the rock music culture. What skills does a musician need to be a successful rock musician? The musical skills and achievements that the band demonstrated as I observed them were technical proficiency on keyboards, guitars, and drums, which are all associated with the culture. They are all, to some degree, aural musicians, able to glean the information they needed by listening. Individual abilities were pronounced and varied, but there was no apparent 157 hierarchy within each band based on ability, as is sometimes done in traditional school bands. O’Flynn (2005) discussed the relationship between musical culture and learning music. He identified “intermusicality” as an “understanding of musical life in any given society: people pick up and learn all kinds of music in a variety of ways” (p.199). His premise was that music educators may be trying to examine musicality from too narrow a View and that a wider focus on social practices could create connections to the communities and beyond. The band member’s musicality was a kaleidoscope of skills, achievements, and unique characteristics related to the rock genre. The individual musicality of each member of the band was tied to their social context. The band members played rock music that they composed. They jammed at rehearsals, listened to and copied music, and, when the opportunity was available, they performed for audiences of their peers. Understanding the social context of a band that created rock music was important because it revealed some of the characteristics of the music in our society and the variety of ways people may learn music. These characteristics of a societies’ music are related to 158 Green’s (2000) and Blacking’s (1973) larger question about the function of music in society. That is, that musicality in a society is determined by the function of music in that society. The band’s musicality was determined by their experiences with rock music and the rock music practice. These practices became their own: playing power chords, playing without music notation, jamming with friends on the same music hour after hour, playing loud music, using amplification to create distortion on guitars, running on stage for their performance, and jumping off the stage when they finished their performance. It was not only what they did, how they played and performed, but what they knew rock music to be. Some might argue that it is impossible to list traits of musicality due to the variety of skills and achievements associated with music cultures from all over the world. An understanding of a View of musicality in context is what Blacking and Green are referring to when they relate culture to musicality. The rock musician's skills are tied to the genre. When we think of rock music, we see a group of musicians “jamming” and playing a “gig” It is this connection between the culture of rock music and musicality that is important. In another genre, such as solo classical performance, the ability to collaborate with 159 like-minded friends might not be as strongly associated with the musicality of the musicians. The rock music genre lends itself to spirited performance. The energy and enthusiasm that defines rock music is another example of the connection between the musicality of the musicians and rock culture. The music that the garage band composed and performed was driving, loud, fast, and energetic. It is a spirited genre, and they performed it with the energy required. .Mutual Respect The band’s friendship and mutual respect was related to their musicality development in several ways. The band members were like-minded, they shared mutual interests, and their collaborations were seamless as they communicated verbally and non—verbally. Allsup (2003) also found that the personal qualities of sensitivity and kindness contributed to the musical and social growth of the band. The band’s camaraderie was apparent by the joking, teasing, and occasions when they said something that was a private understanding between them. The ability to get along with each other and work through the music they created was a theme that resurfaced many times across all three venues. 160 WonTon: Well. . .if they can play an instrument and know notes then they might be able to. It's not just playing your instrument. It's getting along and stuff. You may be the world's next Jimi Hendrix but you gotta get along with your band (I.BR.2/23/06). WonTon mentions the ability to play concurrently with the ability to get along with others. Why was the ability to get along with others so important? Playing and performing with others at an equal level or better improves skills. In the pilot study, I noted that Bill Cosby was critical of some of the skills of the members of the band. He said, “I think we need it, none of our guitarists can play chords yet” (video observation, November 19, 2003). This statement, and the interview responses below, demonstrates the difference in mutual respect they currently have for their band, and the feelings they had for the pilot study band members. Green (2002) also discussed the value of strong interpersonal skills and the importance of getting along with other band members. SJ: How is this group different from your last group? Oswald: Well uh. Bill Cosby: Well our guitarist plays chords, that's one difference. 161 WonTon: (smiling) and I can (gives peace sign). SJ: So being able to play the instruments is important. All: (Laugh). Bill Cosby: And another big thing' is we have three people (now) as opposed to six and I mean me and Oswald are really free at the same time. SJ: Ok, so there's scheduling problems with more people. SJ: (To Oswald) It seems that you're talking more now than with the last band. Do you agree with that? Oswald: Oh, I talk more? Maybe it's because I feel that we're better. WonTon: (Sarcastically) Yeah, three songs. Oswald: Yeah, three songs. WonTon: (Whispers) Better guitarists. Oswald: Yeah, better guitarists (I.BR.2/23/O6). An examination of the evolution of the band also demonstrates the relationship between friendship and musicality development. The ability to get along and mutual interests were how they began to make music together as members of the pilot study band. As the band’s practice sessions became more intense, some of the members of the 162 band were not able to meet for rehearsals, and this became a tense issue as noted in both the pilot study and current study interviews. The group also began to argue about members’ technical abilities. Rehearsals dwindled and some of the members left the original band. At this point, WonTon, Bill Cosby’s friend and classmate, joined the band. The new band now had three members, two brothers from the original band, and a friend who lived in the same neighborhood. Rehearsals became easier to schedule because of the size of the band and close proximity to where the members lived. The change in band’s membership meant that the group was without a bass guitarist. Bill Cosby, who had played keyboard, switched to - bass guitar. An analysis of the group revealed deep connections and compatibilities between the members. They spend time together outside of their music making venues and share passions and interests. They like the same music, the same musicians, and are of the same faith. WonTon and Bill Cosby are the same age and attend the same school. Oswald is two years older and at the high school that WonTon and Bill Cosby will attend next year. WonTon, Oswald, and Bill Cosby demonstrated strong interpersonal skills. They valued their friendship 163 and ability to work together. Teresa mentioned that the week prior to the middle school performance the band had to work out their “creative differences.” Their successful performance at the school was proof that they had worked these differences out. Their popularity, as proven by the screaming students at the middle school gig, with signs held up as fans would at a real rock concert, also demonstrated that a certain degree of interpersonal skills existed between the group and their peers in general. During an interview in October, 2005, I asked what the band would look for if they were interviewing a new member for their band. Oswald replied, “not being a jerk, getting along with us.” Over a year later, the band spoke again about interpersonal relationships. Bill Cosby: I think that fighting is really bad cause when you’re in a band. WonTon: (Interrupting) Well like the number one rule is that you gotta get along. That’s how groups break up. Oswald: That’s what happened to Guns and Roses actually. Bill Cosby: If you fight, it ruins the practice. SJ: So the friendship and camaraderie are important? Bill Cosby: Lately I’ve been trying to get along better and not get mad at WonTon. WonTon: (Smiling) Hey you! 164 SJ: Why do you get mad at WonTon? Bill Cosby: I get mad at Oswald. SJ: Why? Bill Cosby: He’s my brother Oswald: (speaking to Bill Cosby) It’s okay to get mad at me. SJ: It seems to me that you get mad at him for musical reasons. Bill Cosby: Yeah. Oswald: Yeah. SJ: Why? Bill Cosby: Because we disagree on schematics because a lot of times we have different ideas on how the song should be. Sometimes it’s like a tiny little detail (I.BR.2/23/O6). This discussion demonstrated how mindful the band was of the relationships between the members of the band and how important maintaining positive relationships were to the success of the group. The Skills and Techniques of Rock Band.Members The band understood the idiosyncrasies of the rock music genre. This, as well as a certain degree of music aptitude, enabled them to compose their own rock songs and listen to a song by the group Green Day and 165 create an imitation of the piece. All of the band’s music, with the exception of the song they copied, were composed by the band. WonTon and Bill Cosby have played lead and bass guitar for several years. Both guitarists use a wide variety of chord progressions and play above the level usually associated with students their ages. Oswald, on drums, plays authentic rock style with a substantial variety of patterns. I have observed Bill Cosby’s and Oswald’s skills improve over the past three years. The examination of the rock camp, a non- traditional teaching venue, was an opportunity to view the skills and techniques that some music instrument manufacturers (the camp sponsors), administrators, directors and teachers felt were most important for the development of the musicianship needed to be a rock musician. Broadly, the rock camp had the following major goals: to compose original works, develop an ensemble or rock band, improve playing technique by offering group instrumental lessons, and performing original rock music at a rock concert on the final day of the camp. I listed the musical skills and achievements Green (2002) noted and compared these with the skills the band demonstrated at the middle school gig (see pg.54-55). Green’s (2002) fourteen rock musician participants revealed 166 what they valued as musicality. For these musicians, musicality was the following: 1. the ability to “play with feel, sensitivity, spirit” (p.107), 2. to play with a high degree of technical ability, 3. to possess interpersonal skills such as “friendship, shared taste, tolerance, and the ability to listen to each others’ ideas” (p.114). What was the nature of the musicality needed of the individuals in the group for rock music making? There was a wide range of skills demonstrated between the members of the pilot study and the present band. As mentioned, the pilot study band members were three years younger and just learning to play their instruments. At times, the singers in the pilot study band struggled with intonation problems and maintaining a steady beat (see Figure 3). The bass guitar player was a beginner, and Bill Cosby, who did not play bass guitar at the time, was enlisted by the rest of the group at one of the band’s initial rehearsals to show another member of the group how to play chords on the bass. Veronica: “I need the guitar part, you guys. Bill Cosby: “I can’t play the guitar, I make up the songs, Why are you all looking at me (to help her)?” “Oh give me the guitar, is this an E?” Ok, that's all I need to know.” Five minutes later, he was showing 167 her how to finger her part on the guitar (Pilot Study, Basement Rehearsal, 11/18/03). Contrasted against the young, pilot study members of three years ago are the technical accomplishments of the current members of the band. Most dramatic was WonTon’s tactile command as lead guitarist. WonTon danced and moved while he sang and played at the middle school gig. Green’s (2002) participants identified technical achievement on an instrument as one of three traits of musicality. Bill Cosby wrote the songs for the pilot study band. He was the critical ear for the group, always serious and sincere about the integrity of the music. SJ: (to Bill Cosby) Do you remember when I asked you how you learned the guitar? You said that before you had even picked it up you just knew you were going to be able to play it. Bill Cosby: (nodding) I mean, I’m lucky, I can just pick out a whole lot of things in a short amount of time (I.BR.2/23/O6). Bill Cosby demonstrated the ability to play many instruments. He never took a guitar lesson or a keyboard lesson, yet played with a significant level of achievement. He also told me that he played trombone in a brass trio with another group of friends. 168 WonTon composed the songs at home before the rehearsals. At rehearsals, he would play the song he had composed for Oswald and Bill Cosby. After listening, Bill Cosby would begin to play the song, and then begin to work out a bass line. Oswald would create a drum part for the piece after he heard Oswald and Bill Cosby play together for a short time. It was a quick process: within several minutes Bill Cosby and Oswald had a working accompaniment for the song. This was similar to Green’s (2002) examination of peer learning sessions. She discovered that although groups may work independently, the “peer directed learning and group learning” (p.77) as they pieced their ideas together, was most significant. The manifestation of Oswald’s musicality was in his command of the backbeat. He was the driving rhythmic force of the band. He easily adapted to whatever composition WonTon brought to rehearse, playing through several changes in his repertoire of accompaniments. He told me that he liked to listen to rock music and gleaned ideas from what he heard. He was a solid drummer, and, when WonTon or Bill Cosby would ask him to change the tempo, he easily complied and was consistent. Oswald also had an in-depth knowledge of the genre. This was important and understood between the 169 members of the band. WonTon would begin to play his newly created melody, and Oswald intuitively played an accompaniment. I never heard WonTon or Bill Cosby disagree with Oswald’s choice of accompaniment, and I attributed this to his experience and knowledge of other rock groups and the style in general. I do not know how WonTon’s role as composer and lyricist evolved, because originally Bill Cosby composed the music for the pilot study band. This may have developed because WonTon became the lead guitar and vocalist, and, traditionally, that role is often extended to that of composer in rock bands. Bill Cosby’s compositions were created during rehearsals, but WonTon worked on his independently and then brought them to rehearsals. All three members of the band arranged the songs. There were several areas of musicality that were apparent from observations and interview responses from WonTon. WonTon was a composer and lyricist. He was able to copy a wide variety of popular music. He would “doodle” during rehearsals, playing licks and sections of pieces that he had heard on the radio or from his own music collection. When I asked the group what they would look for if they were interviewing for another band member, WonTon 170 said “knowing more chord variety, playing different things” (I.BR.10/05). He imitated chords he heard and valued the knowledge. He addressed my question about the difference between my knowledge and his knowledge by asking me what groups I listened to. When I showed the group the picture of the white board at the rock music camp with the names of the modes and told them that it was what music students studied in college, WonTon sang a little ditty of his own with the lyrics, “teachin’ by the book.” His response signified an understanding of the difference between his aural knowledge and “book learning.” None of the three musicians in the band used music. When I asked WonTon what notes he was playing on his guitar when he demonstrated how to play power chords, he seemed embarrassed. M: (looks at the guitar) It’s a power chord. S: Tell me what notes you’re playing. M: I haven’t done this stuff in a while (I:BR:10/20/05). All were aural musicians; they listened to rock music and copied what they heard. As they played, their heads tilted right and left and they listened intently. They never asked each other how they sounded; they critiqued themselves and 171 listened across the sound of the band, modifying and customizing their sound continually. The garage band was able to accomplish many advanced musical tasks. This was impressive, especially in light of their age. They created original rock music, they collaborated and discussed changes and ideas with adult maturity, and there was little disagreement or unwillingness to change when someone had a different idea. and All but two of the skills, achievements, characteristics of Green’s (2002) participants were the same. The figure I created below lists the skills and characteristics that were shared by both groups. Green’s Participants(2002) & Garage Band Participants(2006) Listen — ability to glean information for copying music. Proficiency — ability to perform on an instrument or by singing. Evaluate - ability to judge correctness, modify and evaluate continually. Reproduce - ability to perform exact imitations of songs. Play - ability to perform standard chord progressions. This ability advances over time. Compose - ability to compose songs as they go along, arrange and contribute creative ideas. Detect - ability to identify timbre qualities in the music they copy. Improve and Grow — desire to continually seeks ways to widen knowledge. Recognize - ability to identify many styles and be sensitive to individual styles. Communicate — ability to communicate with others, verbally and non—verbally. Skills and Characteristics of Garage Band (2002) Participants. Figure 6. Participants and Green’s 172 Two of the achievements and skills that Green’s participants attained were not shared by the garage band members. Green’s participants had a wide repertoire of tunes and songs. The garage band has a repertoire of approximately a dozen original songs and one piece they copied from a popular music group. The group is young and composing original songs takes time. The second skill not shared by the garage band members was the ability to read music. At the time of the study, the band had no need to read music. They write their own songs and can remember what they write. However, this may become a problem if they begin to perform more and need a larger repertoire for longer performances. They may discover a need for notating the music and reading it as a way to trigger their memories. Family Support As Green (2002) found, the band members elicited the support of their families, friends and community. This cannot be understated. The value of the relationships and connections between family members who played rock music, the music instructors at camp, the teachers who gave them performance opportunities at school, and the lessons they learned from their formal music experiences all contributed to a continuity that enabled them to grow as musicians. 173 Their success was testament to Dewey’s belief that what “the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children” (1990, p.7). Their music learning was largely supported by their families. Oswald and Bill Cosby’s father and WonTon’s mother were all guitarists in rock bands when they were younger. Their home was a safe, nurturing environment. Parents purchased their equipment and instruments, and enrolled them in a rock camp for additional lessons and classes from teachers whose main credential was that they were practicing rock musicians. When I observed the middle school gig, the parents of the band members met me at the door of the gym before the concert began. They were there on a weekday at 2:00 p.m. All of the parents of the band members took time off of work to deliver the instruments and equipment they needed to perform. The band acknowledged the support they received from their parents. S: Who are the people that influenced your music ability? WonTon and Bill Cosby: (together) parents (I.BR.2/23/06). 174 As mentioned earlier, I gave each band member a portable camera and asked them to take pictures of where they felt they acquired their music from. One camera was lost and the other camera was used on a vacation by mistake. However, there was one picture that WonTon took that was a picture of where he felt he had acquired his music. It was a picture of his mom, smiling as she played her electric guitar. Finally, it was Teresa who understood and then questioned the music instruction and assistance she and her husband were giving their two sons. In an initial interview she said, “We weren’t making that kind of connection, I wasn't sure I was connecting him with the right people” (Teresa, personal communication, November 6, 2003). Her intuition, and all the parents’ search for the right people to make the right connections, helped the band to learn to play their instruments, participate in a rock camp, jam in basement rehearsals, and perform for a middle school gig. Summary The members of the band study the style of the music they perform. They listen to the type of music they are playing on the radio and often discuss the artists and music. They are immersed in the culture of a garage band. 175 They understand the performance practices, the transmission practices, and even the commercialization often associated with rock music concerts; at the middle school concert last year they sold t-shirts with their band’s logo. The function of the music in the rock culture found in this small garage band was that it provided an avenue for three friends to create an environment in which they could create and play their music. They acquired the instruments and equipment they needed and developed the skills they needed to create their music. The members of the band crossed back and forth between formal and informal venues. The connections they made, the continuity, between both venues is what Dewey (1972) expressed in his Pedagogic Creed as a “psychological necessity”. At times, the venues could not be easily defined, but were a combination of both informal and formal teaching and learning venues. The central themes were verbal and non—verbal musical and oral communication, teachers as facilitators, democratic teaching environments and the power structures within them, and musicality development. Secondary themes of the learning environment and authority, the aims of education, rock music culture, mutual respect, and family support emerged from the data. 176 CHAPTER VI SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH My study of a young garage band began in 2003. The participants in the study were my former elementary music students. After discovering that they were members of a garage band, I observed them in their basement creating music together. I soon discovered that there were many other places where they created music together. I hoped that, by examining these various venues, I could examine how they developed their musicianship and what teaching models, if any, they supported for music educators. The garage band members actively sought venues in which they could make their music and refine their processes. The band flowed back and forth on the continuum of informal and formal learning venues. My observations, fieldnotes, and interviews revealed common themes of communication, teachers as facilitators, democratic teaching environments, musicality development, the aims of education, rock music culture, mutual respect, and family support. The themes that emerged from this study could easily be chapters in a text on the philosophy of music education. Most noteworthy is that this music education philosophy book would be co-authored by three young men in 177 a garage band. How we teach, why we teach, what we teach, who we teach, and who teaches were all questions that in some way were answered by what I observed and recorded. Additionally, the manner in which the band embraced a slice of their own culture, a music-making culture, and recruited the assistance of parents, teachers, and community, was a model for music education. The band members’ musicality was manifested by the skills and achievements they demonstrated. Left alone, these were the abilities they chose to pursue. Highly motivated by the rock musician model, the band members earnestly pursued the ability to create original, authentic rock music. They viewed their practice as separate from their formal school experience, but they valued their formal school experience and credited their success, at least partially, to both informal and formal experiences. The nearly leader-free, or perhaps, leader rich collaborations that I observed when they composed music in their basement rehearsals could be a model for any music making ensemble, in or out of school. Their success was partly due to the friendship and camaraderie within the group. The ease with which they collaborated allowed them to share ideas with each other equally, verbally and non- verbally, and was important to their success. 178 The role of an instructor for the bands at the rock camp was not always clear. Issues of leadership, power, and trust emerged during my observations of the teaching and learning in this venue. While there were tensions between one instructor’s authority and the band at camp, the fact that there was tension suggested that he understood the problem of an autocratic teacher telling a garage band what to do. I felt that part of his insistence on composing the music and letting the band think that they composed the music was that he wanted them to be successful. In a short time the camp instructors established a relaxed, non-pressured environment in which the campers could be themselves. I believed that part of this was due to the size of each group at the camp. I observed teachers that Woodford (2005) described as of the “student's mind.” The instructors were rock musicians, and that is what each camper wanted to be. They had the knowledge, skills and the experience of the practicing rock musician. Here, as Dewey sought, the knowledge they gained at the non-traditional school was not separate from the knowledge they gained from their experiences. The camp instructors spoke freely about their efforts to be good teachers and looked at me throughout my visit for approval in their methods. It was a 179 humbling experience. What I witnessed was the artistic teaching that Eisner (2006) described in the following statement: Artistry is not restricted to the fine arts. Teaching well also depends on artistry. Artistry is the ability to craft a performance, influence its pace, shape its rhythms and tone so its parts merge into a coherent whole. Artistry 1J1 teaching depends (H1 embodied knowledge. The body plays a central role; it tunes you in to what's going on. You come to feel a process that often exceeds the capacity of language) to describe (p.45). Conclusions and Implications for Practice If we could capture the essence of this approach and bring it to our classrooms, would we? Should we? In many schools across the United States there already exists a structure for students to participate in formal music education. When comparing the musicality of the members of the garage band and the motivation and commitment to learning how to become rock musicians, some might say that the formal education system is not as effective or efficient as an informal approach. Further, many informally trained musicians elect not to be a part of the formal music programs. What can we learn from their methods? 180 Democratic teaching environments, student agency, and constructivism are often discussed as ideals and philosophies to follow but little is written about how these practices can be sustained in the classroom. Music teachers should consider structuring music ensembles that model some of the practices of the garage band. Their model offers a way to encourage musical inquiry and recognizes and values the individual voices of each ensemble member. WonTon said that it was the “opinions” of each member of the group that mattered. A democratic learning environment begins with a teacher who is willing to step aside, to go off the script or lesson, and facilitate. The stickiest part of creating a democratic learning environment is in becoming a facilitator who guides the learning yet knows when and how to step in and scaffold instruction. The white board (Appendix H) at DayJams was a tangible example an instructor providing the knowledge the group needed. It also demonstrated how both teachers and students co- constructed the learning environment, which is important in a democratic learning environment and leads to socially constructed knowledge. This co-construction was also demonstrated at DayJams when the first instructor and the band members worked through their differences and created a 181 composition that the whole group wrote, not one that had been worked out beforehand. Teachers in this type of learning community step in and out of their role as teacher and become facilitators. The garage band started with a group of friends. Initially they planned and spent time thinking about their goals and wishes; they “bought in” to the idea of being a garage band. Like the garage band, students should be free to develop and define their musical roles. Music teachers wanting to emulate this type of music ensemble should allow ample time for this beginning stage and throughout their programs in an on-going process. Teachers should ask students in their ensembles to define their roles, and the roles of the other members of their ensemble. These inquiries may reveal why members joined the group, their expectations, and the nature of the interactions they expect between teachers, students, and peers. Three members of the pilot study band did not continue with the garage band largely because of a lack of commitment. Students may find a discussion about the commitment they have to the group and the commitment they expect from others in the group beneficial. Large ensembles often meet in smaller groups that are usually more manageable. However, the members should spend time learning to communicate with 182 their ensemble, as one group, constructed the same way they will make music together. On-going discussions and class meetings as friends and acquaintances may be the first step towards more productive musical communications and vital to their success and growth as musicians. The garage band members were free to offer ideas and share their thoughts. The teacher can help to create a learning environment in which students can take risks, sharing metacognitive thinking about what they know and need to know without fear of rejection. A mediated dialogue amongst students and teachers about the shared goals and necessary steps needed to achieve them, helps to shed light on student agency. When WonTon told Bill Cosby and Oswald that he couldn't play the piece as fast as they were playing, it showed a level of trust and understanding as he admitted what he didn’t know. It also revealed a willingness to admit when he was wrong and a desire to remedy the situation. He wanted to play faster, but technically, he couldn't. WonTon’s personal agency was exposed; the responsibility he took, and the way he self— regulated his actions, as he monitored and evaluated his actions. Teachers may need to work with students on building positive relationships. This is vital in a 183 pluralistic democratic environment in which everyone is not “like—minded,” and where the class diversity provides rich resources of ideas. The importance of a cooperative group that can relate on the same level, appreciate the abilities of each other, and respect each other was mentioned over and over by the garage band members. This level of cooperation can be altruistic as members help each other. This is highly motivational and may encourage more student agency. The musicality of the members of the band was related to the skills and achievements needed to create or re-create rock music. The approach that the band took was formulaic. They learned the basic form of rock music, the technique they needed to play power chords and traditional drum accompaniments, and created simple melodies over the accompaniment. They continued to improve their skills by continually creating new works and copying music. Oswald noted that, if the band needed a new member it should be someone who knew how to play more chords. Green’s (2002) participants mentioned that they began to reach outside their rock genre for ideas. They began to appreciate classical compositions by Mahler and Bach for the richness of harmonic structure. 184 Perhaps our approach in formal music classrooms and rehearsals is backwards. Many music teachers begin with classical music and then, later, if time allows, students get to hear a popular song or two. Educators might rethink the heavily classical approach we use with our students and begin with popular music with its small ensemble, basic formal structure, and limited harmonic accompaniment. I am not suggesting using popular music for the aim of “getting to” the “real” music (i.e., classical). Popular music in the music classroom might provide a motivating and real world connection for our students that is more accessible to young students and increases understanding of a wider range of music. Regelski (2004) proposed that educators help students by creating an environment in which the students’ actions are guided by intentionality, in which students understand the purpose and goal of an activity. For the band, the goal was creating music. Many music classrooms today incorporate music composition into their curriculum. However, these young musicians drew from music they knew, creating connections to their culture. Drawing from the garage band’s model, when composing music with their students, teachers might consider allowing students the option of forming groups 185 with friends or composing individually. Students also need ample time to compose and create their work. Each member of a musical ensemble needs a clear auditory image of the music they are creating. Helping students to define the genre, or more broadly, the sonic palette they want to emulate is vital. The music material they use affects the outcome of their compositions (Kratus, 1991). The garage band wanted to emulate professional recordings. Bringing our attention to the sociocultural experiences of our students demonstrates how we value their enculturation (Green, 2002). Creating music that is a part of the student’s culture may provide the intrinsic motivation to continually push for more and more improvement, never setting a benchmark or moment when “we’re done.” Always, as the band demonstrated, concerned with making the music better. Regelski (2004) stated that “musical intentionality is fostered when real-life models of musicking are at stake and where part of the intention is to be musically more “grown-up” (p.15). This builds student’s agency and gives purpose to learning. Regelski believes that “in-school simulation of out-of—school activities and roles” (p.15) can make this happen. The band certainly modeled many of the behaviors of a mature band 186 and demonstrated what was possible for a small group of young musicians. Interestingly, in some of the venues they made their music, what they accomplished was Regelski’s statement in reverse. Their “out-of-school activities” and roles had “inschool simulations.” The garage band reaped the rewards they found in the community resources available to them outside the walls of the school. Teachers should mobilize these resources. Parents and family members are a bridge between the school and larger community. Many music teachers have large numbers of students and getting to know all their families takes time. It begins with a phone call, an email, or a request to share their musical experiences with a class. Teachers may be surprised to find just how rich and varied these family member’s musical experiences are, and how much they have to offer our students. This is only the beginning; connections should be made between what students learn in school and out of school. All learning should be valued and should not be viewed as separate. Such an education, as Dewey noted, builds lifelong learners. The garage band knew where to go for assistance. We should ask our students who they would seek help from, if left on their own. We might discover, as I 187 did, that they are already involved in music making endeavors. Connections could be made between the more experienced groups and our students. Educators may find even more resources beyond the walls of the classroom. Collaboration with experts opens up a broader knowledge base for students and also connects students to a more meaningful, authentic setting that may be more relevant. This is not a new concept, and I am not the first to suggest that we look outside the school to our communities and elicit involvement from the larger community of learners. Dewey (1990) explored this idea in his Chicago University Lab School which opened in 1896. He questioned how educators could bridge learning between school, home, and neighborhood (p.166). Educators should consider the manner in which they deliver knowledge to students. Teachers need the skills and knowledge they are teaching. They should consider a range of musics, such as gospel music, that rely on informal processes. Teachers should draw from student’s experiences and arrange peer—directed experiences. There is a range of teaching styles and delivery systems from a teacher in an authoritative role to a constructivist approach with a teacher as facilitator. Relinquishing power 188 and trusting students helps to create a venue for student centered learning and peer collaboration. Music Teacher Education How can music teacher education programs support these ideas? Many students in music education programs may not have experienced constructivist classrooms or democratic learning environments. It is difficult to put into practice something that you may have only discussed theoretically. The range of delivery methods, the philosophies behind each, and the strengths and weaknesses of each should be a part of new teacher education. More methods teachers should model this approach. The teacher creates a democratic environment in which students take the lead in their learning. One example of this approach in higher education would be inquiry projects, as opposed to teacher-assigned projects. Students pose questions about an interest, find and interpret the information they need, and report the findings. New teachers should observe classrooms that promote democratic teaching environments and constructivist practices. As the instructors at the camp demonstrated, a focused study of teachers as facilitators may help young teachers understand how they can best serve students. 189 In higher education, members of democratic music ensembles take responsibility for their learning. The director facilitates and is not the sole source of information at rehearsals. For example, during rehearsals students are continually listening across the ensemble, offering suggestions and interpretations. The instructors I observed at DayJams were members of existing semi—professional and professional performing bands and ensembles. They stepped into the bands they were working with at the camp, picking up the music aurally, improvising and composing along side the rock band. This verified the importance of training teachers that are musicians who can improvise and compose, understanding music, not only theoretically, but aurally. Suggestions for Future Research We weren’t making that kind of connection, I wasn’t sure I was connecting him with the right people. (Teresa, personal communication, November 6, 2003) Narrative research reveals the researcher. Why did I tell the story of the teachers at the rock camp? Why did I choose to tell the story about the teacher at the middle school gig? Early in this study, Teresa’s comment regarding the differences between the traditional teachers she found for her son's music lessons had a great deal to 190 do with my focus on the teaching and teachers that were part of the venues I observed. She used the pronoun “we” because it was not just that her children were not making the connection; it was that she and her husband, and even the community, could not make the connection. Dewey said, “The range of the outlook needs to be enlarged” (1990, p.7). Teresa’s statement summed up the essence of my inquiry. How can we provide meaningful connections with students so that we may provide a more effective learning environment? Lamont’s (2002) study revealed that students viewed their participation in instrumental and general formal music education as un-connected to the role of musician. The rock band camp naturally referred to every musician at the camp as guitarist, keyboardist, singer, etc. Referring to our students as metallophone players will not dispel this perception. However, this reveals a problem in our formal system. Is it as simple as referring to our students as musicians? The band members in this study believed that their involvement in formal music education helped them to become the musicians they are, but not completely. There is a need for further research. The informal and formal music education practices I observed 191 were spread across a continuum. Creating a popular ensemble in a formal setting may help educators understand the strengths and weaknesses of the informal approach and allow educators to identify the parts that should or should not be replicated. Further research on rock music camps, which are becoming more popular across the country, may also shed light on informal approaches in a formal setting. The teaching skills of teachers in informal settings may reveal areas of teaching that are overlooked. The two teachers at the rock camp had different styles. Both were accomplished musicians and had definite ideas of what should be taught; yet they felt that they lacked some of the necessary skills to teach. This is an area of concern for many new and seasoned teachers. What are necessary teaching skills? Is there a world View of these skills? The drum teacher in this study visited Africa each year to study teaching--not drumming, but teaching. What were the skills and methods he found? The informal venues in which students create their own learning environments may be a rich source of information for music educators. An examination of the benefits of small ensembles, such as garage bands, may also improve the practice of ensembles in general. Areas for investigation may be the differences in skills and 192 achievements found in informal and formal venues. The development of musicality is important to every music educator. An investigation of the relationship between the mutual respect of members in a band and their musical development may help music educators facilitate student musicianship. Finally, the communication between members of small ensembles should be investigated. Observations and data of the musical, non—verbal communication between members of music making ensembles may open a window into successful collaborations for musicians. My inquiry began with a statement that one of my students made to me as he was leaving a class. Learning about the ways he and the members of his band participated in informal music making brought me out of the classroom and into other learning environments. These venues provided a means for me to learn more about my students. I visited their homes, got to know their parents, their siblings, their pets, and the places where they went to learn more about music. These were all important to them. If we want to create meaningful connections for students, we must be willing to understand the whole child, not just the child we see in our classrooms. 193 APPENDICES 194 APPENDIX A KEY FOR DATA SOURCES Field Note . (F Interview . . (I Observation . . . . . . . . . (0 Current Study . . . . . . . . (C Gig . . . . . . . . (G Basement Rehearsal (B DayJams . . . . (D Example: SJ: Why did he say that? WonTon: I don't know. FN.BR.l/11/06. (fieldnotes from basement rehearsal on January 11, 2006). 195 APPENDIX B PILOT STUDY DATA Primary Themes Data Source Pages Theme Description 4= Nov. 19, 2003 think-a-loud protocol Relation- ships #4 11 references 1,2,4 Friendships, disagreements, conflicts you can't always have your way, some people want to, if we get through all the arguing the song will be really good. Laughter, (arguing) helps to get your point across Musicians hip #4 30 references 1,2,3,4 Analyzing the piece you can't hear my pitches, we were trying to get the timing right, you're too loud Bill Cosby Formal #4 2 references References to private, outside of the group, your dad was gonna help Veronica with the school instruction chords, he plays guitar, he tried to help me too Informal #4 7 references 1,2,4 Learning to play from each other without This looks like the show referring to "Making” anyone in authority A Band TV Show discussions about rock music Equipment #4 2 references References to mics, amps, keyboards etc 196 APPENDIX C DayJams ADVERT I SEMENT NATIONAL MUSICfi WORKSHOP W! Bring your dreams of being a rock ‘n’ roll star to life at DayJams! Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a more advanced player, DayJams offers you the opportunity to study guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals. You’ll work with professional musicians and teachers in a friendly and creative environment. DayJams was created for kids between the ages of 9—15 by the National Guitar Workshop (NGW), the nation’s largest summer music program. Since 1984, NGW has been teaching musicians at overnight programs across North America and Europe. Through DayJams, NGW’s outstanding program is available for younger students at day camps in their own communities. Our professional staff of music teachers, art teachers, and counselors is committed to providing a safe, fun-filled week of music, creativity, and fun.(DayJams, 2006). 197 APPENDIX D LANGUAGE ARTS ASSIGNMENT Participant Name December 22, 2004 Personal Anecdote (School Writing Assignment) Wrong Turn Millions of screamin’ fans, live T.V. audiences. It was Wrong Turn. Ok well, maybe not millions, and well, maybe not live T.V. audiences. But Wrong Turn had their first gig. I was in the fifth grade and my band, Wrong Turn, and I got to play at (school name), my elementary school. One day in music class, Mrs. Jaffurs, our music teacher, asked us if anybody did anything with music outside of school. I told her that I have a band. She asked if she could come over and watch one of our practices. “Um I guess so,” I said. So there she was watching (pilot study participants) and me. She asked us if we wanted to play at (school name), So the following Friday, Wrong Turn played at Eagle. Personally, I think we made a “wrong turn” starting the band, but I guess it wasn’t all bad because we ended up on the radio. Mrs. Jaffers had some friends in the radio business. She told them about our band. The radio 198 people decided it might be a good story (they must have been desperate). They came over and interviewed us, and heard us play. We ended up on MPR, Michigan Public Radio. The band began one day when everybody was over at my house. We were really bored so we went into our music room. We decided to write our song about being bored. We almost finished it on the first day. I played keyboard, (participant name) played drums, (two participants’ names) sang, and (participant name) played guitar or bass. Sometimes we sounded as if you gave a bear a drum set and a moose a microphone. Over time, obviously, we got better. We may have been the most improved band anywhere. Now I am in a different band with my good friend (participant for proposed study’s name) and my brother (participant for proposed study’s name). We have written many songs. And we are a lot better. I think that we are going to play at (school name) too. We don’t have a name yet. I has also given up keyboard and switched to the bass guitar. It was as if it was saying to me, “Who needs a keyboard any way? Play me, play me.” We actually made a C.D. We are sending it in to a competition. The top eighteen bands get to perform. We haven’t heard back from them so I don’t think we made it. 199 Music is a major part in my life. I am always listening to music. I think that being in all these bands really makes me appreciate all the other bands that I listen to. I can’t even imagine ever being that good. I could go on and on about memories about music. Music has changed my life. 200 APPENDIX E UCRIHS DOCUMENTATION The Intersection of Informal and Formal Music Education Practices A Research Project Dear Parents/Guardians and Students, I am currently a graduate student at Michigan State University. As part of my coursework, I will be videotaping and interviewing several groups of students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades who are interested in forming a popular music group. The students will be videotaped rehearsing in self-selected groups and recorded afterwards during an interview. The videotaping of the rehearsal and subsequent interview will not exceed one hour for each. Participation in this project is voluntary and will not adversely affect evaluations or classroom experiences. Students may decline to participate and/or refuse to answer questions at any time during the study. There is a potential risk of being identified when being videotaped. However, no reference to the students by name will be made during the video taping or tape recording. The results will not contain students’ names; privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. All videotapes will be erased at the conclusion of the project. 201 Using information from this project, I hope to be better able to learn how music students can better achieve in the development of their musicality. Please complete the form on the next page. If you have any questions regarding this project please call me at Eagle Elementary School or my voice mail at 426—1190. Any further questions you may have regarding being a subject in this study, please contact, Peter Vasilenko, UCRIHS Chair, 202 Olds Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1046, ucrihs@msu.edu, fax: (517) 432-4503. Thank you, Sheri E. Jaffurs, Eagle Elementary School Music Teacher 202 Consent Form for Parent/Guardian of Student Participant in Music Research has permission to be Name of Student videotaped during a rehearsal with a music group. Signature of Parent/Guardian has permission to be tape Name of Student recorded during an interview. Signature of Parent/Guardian Assent Form for Student Participant in Rock Music Research Project I give permission to Mrs. Signature of Student Participant Jaffurs to videotape my group during a rehearsal. I give permission to Mrs. Signature of Student Participant Jaffurs to tape record me during an interview. 203 The Intersection of Informal and Formal Music Education Practices A Research Project Dear Students, I am taking classes and studying music at Michigan State University. I am very interested in learning more about rock music groups. Since you are interested in starting a rock group I’d like to videotape your rehearsal. Afterwards, I’d like to interview you and the other members of your rock group and tape record our conversation. The videotaping of the rehearsal and interview afterwards will not exceed one hour for each. Being in this project is voluntary. You do not have to answer any questions if you do not want to. You may stop participating in the project at any time and it will not affect your grade or participation in music in any way. During the videotaping and tape recording I will not refer to your name so that your privacy is protected. All videotapes will be erased at the conclusion of the project. Using information from this project may help me to be a better music teacher. If you wish to participate in this research project, please read and complete the form on the back of this paper and return it to Mrs. Jaffurs by (date). You are welcome to stop by the music classroom before or after school if you have any questions you have about being in this study. Thank you, Mrs. Jaffurs, Music Teacher Eagle Elementary School 204 Assent Form for The Intersection of Informal and Formal Music Education Practices Research Project I give permission to Mrs. Signature of Student Participant Jaffurs to videotape my group during a rehearsal. I give permission to Mrs. Signature of Student Participant Jaffurs to tape record me during an interview. 205 Name of Organization Street Address City, State Dear (Principal, Music Instructor, or Camp Director), I am currently a graduate student at Michigan State University. I would like to observe music students in settings where they participate in music, such as summer band camps, private lessons, and school music classes. I will record fieldnotes during these observations. The school, students, or staff will not be named when reporting the results. Privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. Using information from this project, I hope to be able to learn how music students can better achieve in the development of their musicality. Please complete the form on the next page. If you have any questions regarding this project please call me at Eagle Elementary School or my voice mail at 426-1190. Any further questions you may have regarding being a subject in this study, please contact, Peter Vasilenko, UCRIHS Chair, 202 Olds Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824—1046, ucrihs@msu.edu, fax: (517) 432-4503. Thank you, Sheri E. Jaffurs Eagle Elementary School, Music Teacher 206 The Intersection of Informal and Formal Music Education Practices Consent Form for Classroom Observation Sheri Jaffurs has permission to observe music classes at (name of school or music organization) during a music instruction period. Signature of Principal/Director Signature of Music Instructor 207 APPENDIX F INTERVIEW QUESTIONS How do students in a garage band teach themselves? What are the internal and external influences on fifth grade students who are trying to create a band? Why do the students like rock music? How are the meetings structured? What roles do parents play in the development of a rock band? What part does the school music program play in the development of a rock band? 208 APPENDIX G DayJams SCHEDULE Bands 1-6 Bands 7—12 9:00 a.m. Instruments Instruments 10:00 a.m. Band Art with Band Instructor 11:00 a.m. Art with Band Band Instructor 12:00 p.m. Recreation Lunch 12:30 p.m. Lunch Recreation 1:00 p.m. Instruments Instruments 1:30 p.m. Band Art with Band Instructor 2:30pm. Art with Band Band Instructor ik30p1n. Round Robin Round Robin 4:15 p.m. Switch Switch 209 APPENDIX H DayJams DRUM CLASS LESSON PLANS Drumming Class Curriculum at DayJams Rock Music Camp 210 APPENDIX I CODEBOOK EXAMPLE FROM ETHNOGRAPH GARAGEBAND:Code Book-Linked to Family '11" 912006 2:55:56 PM Page 4 Code Word Parent Text Level Added Modified 46 DEMOCRATIC. mcnm G as 3 05/22/06 05/27/06 47 FORMAL rucnm G as 3 02/05/06 05/25/06 School or school-like setting. Soueone is in charge. 0---.-.O- ccccc ------—- --------- ”is; m ' roman. ms . 02/05/06 05/26/06 Decscription of the setting. ”-4.9“DIREC'1'ED VENUE “HUHY-ES 5 tun0-3/01/06 05/27/06 Teacher directed 50 space """" mm: "a; " 5 02/05/05 05/20/05 The physical set-up of the space. Row chairs are arranged, where students sit, teacher desk. - _ - on--.--—- ---- c--. nu-ae ---- 51 INFORMAL TBACEIN G 118 3 02/05/06 05/27/06 05/27/06 .o. ---..-.. u.----e sang-e-- 52 18!)!me 11mm :38 4 02/05/06 Participants are doing what they want to do with limited to no direction tron someone in authority. . 05/27/06 53 ms'rwc'ron Imapmsu as 5 02/05/06 Intervention by an instructor or someone in charge. -----_._-. ~------.- I..-..--. 54 VBNUEZ INFORMAL YES 4 02/05/06 05/27/06 Description of the setting 55 SPACEZ VINUI2 5 02/05/06 02/05/06 Physical set up or the space, how chairs are arranged, teacher desk. 56 rnrsnsscu TEACHIN 6 us 3 03/01/06 05/27/06 AN INTERSECTION BETWEEN BOTH INFORMAL AND FORMAL MUSIC EDUCATION .---- .-.— .......... 211 REFERENCES Allsup, R.(2003). Mutual learning and democratic action in instrumental music education. J0urnal of Research in MUsic Education. 51(1), 24—37. Bamberger, J. (1991). The mind behind the musical ear. 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