Beyond the Notes: Thoughts on Meaningful Music Making

By Paula A. Crider

After more than fifty years as a music educator and conductor, the legendary Paula Crider has experienced it all— the lows and the highs, the messes and the magnificence of teaching music at all levels. With love, wit, and sincerity, she now shares her hard-earned wisdom in this must-read for anyone who teaches music.There is something here for educators on every leg of the teaching journey. Crider' s conversational narrative begins with her unconventional student-teaching experience and moves through the essentials for music educators— everything from score study, rehearsal strategies, and conducting technique to classroom culture and teacher self-care.Not only does Crider touch on pedagogy, but she also discusses the often elusive “ secret ingredients” that turn notes on the page into meaningful musical experiences.Beyond the Notes proves Crider to be a role model of skill, artistry, passion, and purpose whose insight and experience will have readers returning to this book over and over.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Feb 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9781622778478

Book preview

9781622778478_cvr.jpgBeyond the Notes: Thoughts on Meaningful Music Making by Paula A. Crider, GIA Publications, Inc.

Beyond the Notes: Thoughts on Meaningful Music Making

Paula A. Crider

Layout and Design by Martha Chlipala

Edited by Bryan Gibson

G-10999

ISBN: 978-1-62277-847-8

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Copyright © 2024 GIA Publications, Inc.

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All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the many students with whom I have had the pleasure of working during a lifetime of music making. When one more time became ten more times, and ten more times often became one hundred more times, your dedication never faltered; your willingness to give your best has always served to renew my faith in humankind. The musical memories we share are cherished beyond words.

This book is also dedicated to those special colleagues who, by their example and support, have challenged me to be better, and to those dear and special friends who have always been there for me. To my adopted brother, Timmer, you have made me always feel my glass was neither half empty nor half full but always overflowing. To my sister, Catchie, who will like this book even if no one else will. And finally, I dedicate this book to Dr. Cynthia Houston, whose encouragement and honest critiques were delivered in equal measure. My world is truly a better place because you are in it.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

CHAPTER 1 The Journey Begins

CHAPTER 2 Score Study: Nemesis or Necessity?

CHAPTER 3 The Rehearsal

CHAPTER 4 Meaningful Music Making: The Value of Imagination

CHAPTER 5 Elevating Performance: The Technical Level

CHAPTER 6 Elevating Performance: The Intellectual Level

CHAPTER 7 Elevating Performance: The Emotional Level

CHAPTER 8 Conducting Revisited

CHAPTER 9 Creating a Culture of Caring

CHAPTER 10 Zen and the Art of Music Teacher Maintenance

CHAPTER 11 In Praise of Teachers

Backword

Appendix: Pathways to Productive Practice Student Handout

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Foreword

Tim Lautzenheiser

A book’s foreword often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book’s primary author. When Paula Crider invited me to write the foreword for her latest book, I was humbled, flattered, and thrilled. Then came the shock of reality: This is P.C., your adopted sister, you must deliver your very best and more! Suffice to say, it is a grand privilege and distinct honor to verbally fanfare the collectable gift you are about to unwrap.

Our profession has been graced with many remarkable musical icons. That being stated, maestro Paula Crider is in a league of her own and stands at the pinnacle of the profession as a role model extraordinaire. Amidst her staggering travel schedule (Have baton, will travel!), she has found the time to reflect on her own remarkable journey and share her wisdom. And with her signature style, she has framed her experiences to benefit all those seeking excellence on their own pathways.

I caution you: This is not just another book to add to your personal library after one review; it is a tome of study. Professor Crider will immediately capture your attention, then take you by the hand and stay with you through every paragraph. It is as though she is standing next to the reader sharing her inspiring thoughts and explaining the importance of the given topic.

The book’s content goes deeply into the pedagogy, but the secret ingredient in this one-of-a-kind recipe is the context of Professor Crider’s artistry. The personal narratives and anecdotes humanize her heartfelt message, the integrated quips and quotes offer the deep insights of the ages, and her trademark aside humor is captivating. It is all a crystal-clear reflection of Maestro Crider.

I specifically encourage the reader to delve deeply into Chapter 9 (Creating a Culture of Caring), which focuses on the bridge of trust that makes music a language unto itself, where we bypass the chattering of the logical mind and connect directly to the soul, the gateway to going beyond the notes to make meaningful music.

Paula Crider proves time and time again that one person makes a difference. Her commitment and dedication to the music community is unparalleled, and we are the benefactors of her ongoing mission to bring great music to people—and people to great music. She leads the way for all of us with a sense of purpose and passion unknown in common hours.

Thank you, adopted sis, for your immeasurable contribution.

Preface

Ancora imparo

(I am still learning)

These are the words carefully chiseled into a marble tablet said to have been prominently placed in the studio of one of the greatest artists of all time: Michelangelo. These words have long served as an ever-present reminder of the absolute necessity for remaining a lifelong learner, and at my advanced age, those words also speak to the fact that I cannot possibly learn all I wish to learn, do all the things I wish to do, and discover all the answers to the many profound questions inexorably entwined within the fabric of a musical life. However as long as I can remain reasonably sentient, I plan to continue " ancora imparing " ¹ along!

During a career spanning (gulp!) over fifty years—from that first beginning band concert where parents delighted (or at least pretended to delight) at a rousing performance of Louie, Louie, through the rewarding and challenging life of a high school band director, and finally to discovering new worlds in the life of a university faculty member—I have had the privilege of teaching and conducting performances with ensembles at all levels, and I have taken much joy from those special relationships and memorable moments only made possible when one commits to a life in music.

I have also enjoyed presenting hundreds of clinics and workshops for music educators, soon-to-be music educators, administrators, and others who were actively engaged and curious seekers of musical knowledge. Through these clinics, I have gathered the germinal ideas for this book. However, had it not been for the kind encouragement of Alec Harris, President of GIA Publications, combined with the unwanted arrival of a cancer diagnosis that required eighteen weeks of non-travel during chemotherapy, I would have doubtless continued to delay the daunting task of beginning this book.

It has always been a goal to challenge myself to find a better way, a more artistic, creative, inventive, efficient, challenging, productive, enjoyable, expressive, meaningful, memorable, musical, and fun² way to create unforgettable musical experiences. Through it all, each time I am slammed with yet another epiphany, it is with the humbling knowledge that there is always a higher level of musical awareness waiting to be discovered. My musical journey has been forged through frequent enrollment in the school of trial-and-error and enlightened by so many whose example served to allow insights into a life of infinite possibility.

The purpose of this slim volume is to share insights and epiphanies gleaned from a musical journey that has never failed to challenge, to fascinate, and to inspire. It is composed in a conversational rather than academic style, offering the freedom to imagine each chapter as a conversation among friends. From those first frustrating I’ll never do that again moments to the I can’t believe it took me so long to realize epiphanies that proved to be life-changing for both students and conductor, this book represents a humble attempt to distill stories and discoveries that have made a profound difference as I stumbled along that long less-traveled road in search of musical artistry.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

—Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

I invite you to join me in a journey that has made it possible to travel far beyond the prison walls of technique and enter into that elusive, expressive, and imaginative world of wonder beyond the notes.

Decorative art of treble clef and notes on staff

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1. To all serious students of Latin, I realize imparing is not the proper Latin form for the present participle. However, this is a mere foreshadowing of the liberties I plan to take and the fun I plan to have with words! Dulce de labris loquuntur, corde vivunt noxio (When a woman speaks sweetly, she’s plotting mischief.) —Florus De Qualitate Vitae, III

2. Fun: the joy of high achievement. Source: P.C.’s Inimitable and Inventive Dictionary.

Chapter 1

The Journey Begins

Some kinds of music dissipate in seconds. Other kinds remain a lifetime, stored in the limbs, or maybe in the brain, or even in the heart.

—Derrick de Kerckhove

What is it about this crazy profession that invites us to become ardent and dedicated seekers of transformative musical performances again and again? All great music making emanates from a moment when the focus of an ensemble is so intense, and the performance skills so well-honed, the whole becomes exponentially greater than the sum of its parts. These rare synergistic moments require a process which begins at a technical level but transcends technique to become something wonderful that may touch the very soul of the conductor, performer, and listener. Indeed, music has the power to touch the soul in a place nothing else can. The profound experience of truly understanding, of feeling, of creating unforgettable musical moments requires those who seek it to discover a world far beyond the notes.

The thoughts and ramblings in this slim volume represent an attempt to share a personal musical journey from the "nothing in my college music education courses prepared me for this!" panic of a first-year teacher to realizations and epiphanies that have allowed me to experience and share the profound joys of music making. These moments have become indelibly etched upon the stepping stones of a career in music.

My journey as a teacher began in Purvis, Mississippi, a small town near the University of Southern Mississippi, where I earned my undergraduate degree. I enjoyed college and was already planning to pursue a master’s degree as soon as I graduated and completed student teaching. However, as Seneca once observed: Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant. This reluctant student teacher had no idea the band director of many years at this school would suffer a heart attack during my second week of student teaching. Although my friends jokingly wondered what I might have done to precipitate said heart attack, I was blameless! The heart attack was not severe, but the director decided to retire. His exact words were: I am not going to die on this [expletive deleted] marching field! The principal asked if I would be willing to serve as a substitute teacher until a new band director could be hired. I foolishly agreed, thinking I could earn extra income for a week or two, then resume my student teaching with an experienced teacher. (The operative word being foolish!) However, after two weeks with only one applicant—a successful retired band director who opined, I’m too old to start all over with a band in need of triage—I found myself being offered the position of director of the Purvis High School Band by an obviously desperate superintendent!

Then followed almost daily calls to my friends who had been teaching for a year or two. Those conversations usually began with, How do you teach . . . ? Or What should I do about . . . ? Had this been a successful band program, I would have failed miserably, but I was determined to do whatever it took to allow the fifty-plus students in the high school band to have the opportunity to experience musical success.

In the