Research-to-Resource: Facilitating Adult Band Participation Benefits

Musical Benefits

Participants in adult ensembles tend to report their preference for familiar songs in their music performance experiences. Familiarity can be engaged in the music learning setting through playing-by-ear warm-ups that use familiar melodies. Playing simple songs and harmonies by ear is a way to get to music playing quickly, even for the most beginning-level players. The musicians can use online resources such as YouTube and other website recordings to hear music that they can then get comfortable with and practice by ear at home. Melodic content can be used that represents the heyday of songs from the band members’ generation.

Examples for older adult New Horizons bands may be songs from crooners of the 1940s and 1950s or Broadway melodies that can serve as warm-ups to reinforce concepts that will be rehearsed in the band music, such as articulation or rhythmic complexities. These warm-up sessions can also be a time to play roots of the harmonies by ear that are associated with the melodies. Playing-by-ear experiences can help the musicians feel empowered to pull music for their use from anywhere in their lives. For band music that is chosen for its familiarity, making sure the notation is as authentic as possible to the original music is important. Music that is perceived to be dumbed down can be offensive and may be harder for the adults to learn because they have an aural memory of the original, which may clash with the simplified written notation.

It may be useful for each group’s director to engage participants in the band in discussions about music style preferences. Arrangements of favored tunes or commissions of music in various styles can be appropriate ways to meet each group’s preferences. Knowing preferences for familiar and preferred styles can allow directors to ensure that there is a core of familiar/preferred repertoire in each concert. It should be noted, though, that while familiarity may be a good entree into preference and enjoyment, band members have also documented enjoying performing a variety of styles and so directors need to consider style diversity as well in their programming. Having novelty as a balanced component of programming opens up the potential for learning and future preference of new styles for the participants.

Many adult band members not only like to experience the process of playing music but also enjoy learning about important music concepts that may transfer to their everyday experience of listening and engaging with music. Learning of key concepts embedded within music experiences can be introduced in warm-up songs that are used to prepare the musicians for rehearsal of the band pieces. The band musicians may also enjoy listening to original pieces of music during the rehearsal to reinforce music concepts of pieces that they are playing in band.

Example concepts to address may be form, dynamics, meter, and tonality. For form, Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” first phrase is in A–A–B–A form. This melody could be played by ear in the ensemble setting or simply be used as a listening example that could be used to reinforce the understanding of A–A–B–A form of a band piece that is being played by the ensemble. March form understanding such as in Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes” of having a trio that is softer and smoother and changes key followed by a break-strain in a louder, more marcato style can transfer to many other march examples.

For understanding of dynamics, listening to Haydn’s “Surprise Symphony” can provide an example of the excitement that dynamic contrast can bring to a piece with the surprise forte culminating note at the end of a pianissimo phrase. Other examples that can show extreme dynamic contrast are evident in many romantic composers’ music, such as Brahms, Strauss, and Verdi. For meter, band participants could listen to music examples to label the basics of duple and triple with simple comparison pieces from Mary Poppins. “Supercali-fragilisticexpialidocious” can be used as an example of duple and “Feed the Birds” can be used for triple, for example. More advanced meters can be highlighted in music such as the “Mission Impossible” theme that is in 5 or “Money” by Pink Floyd that is in 7. For tonality, musicians can listen to a recording of Tony Bennett’s “Fly Me to the Moon” to represent major, and “It Was a Very Good Year” to represent minor. More advanced modes such as Dorian can be presented through the folk music example of “Drunken Sailor” or “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beetles.

Social Benefits

In addition to perceptions of musical benefits, participants commonly note social benefits that may be enhanced through opportunities to connect with other people. Social engagement experiences have the potential to (a) solidify band members’ family and friend relationships, (b) encourage new relationships with musicians and band directors, and (c) integrate new and preexisting relationships into a novel cohort around the experience of music making.

The easiest way for family members to be engaged in the music life of their music-making relative is as audience members. Making sure that band members have access to concert invitations (hard copy or e-mailed/online) can help the musicians get word out to their family and friends. One of the Denton New Horizons band members tells the story of being ecstatic when his grandchildren, children, wife, and friends all sat in the audience at one of his concerts and afterward surrounded him, telling him how proud they were of his efforts as a budding musician. This social connection was important to the band member’s identity as a retired person with a new, engaging hobby as he shared his musical joy with his family and friends. Family members may also want to go beyond audience participation by helping publicize the concert, print or design programs, take tickets, serve snacks at the culmination of the concert, or join the group themselves.

To encourage social connections across the band members, the group’s director can facilitate getting-to-know-you opportunities such as having name tags available, introducing a member a week to the band for the individual to tell a little about himself or herself, or providing a membership directory with backgrounds of each band member. Directors can also specifically schedule social time during music sessions. The social time can be scheduled to occur before rehearsal, after rehearsal, or during a rehearsal break. Having snacks such as drinks and cookies gives the musicians a common central focus location for their discussion. Outside of rehearsal time, band members could be given the opportunity to attend music events in the community together, which can also overlap with dinner and drink outings. Some groups have a social chair band member who helps facilitate these events for the membership.

Social connections can also be made that encourage a cross pollination of relatives and band members. Intergenerational concerts can intersperse family members into the peer group of current musicians in the band. Small, informal chamber music concerts highlighting the musicians and inviting the family to the concert and reception are yet another way to introduce these subgroups to each other. Directors can also plan performance trips to other cities, states, or countries where family members not only can attend but also can help as the road crew for the band. Holiday parties that can engage musicians and family members can also bridge the gap across these constituents. Having these parties at a different time and location from the band rehearsal may encourage attendees to discuss broader topics than band issues.

Directors who can strategically consider ways to encourage musical and social benefits for their adult band participants may be encouraging these benefits to flourish. Envisioning approachable practices for this population may help them feel empowered by a music environment where authentic learning and socializing are valued. Finally, it is important that adult music best practices are disseminated to community band directors at large; through learning what has worked in other settings, directors can expand the experiential options available to the musicians in their own groups.