Notes for presentation.

Winds of Change Chapter 13

A Taste for Quality
The Quest for Good Music: The Intersection of Personal Taste and Aesthetic
Criteria
The selection of music is one of the most important duties of the band
director. During past decades, numerous guides and recommended music
lists for bands at various levels of ability, as well as criteria for the selection
of good quality literature, have been formulated and advanced by
individuals, band associations, national and state music education
associations, journals and periodicals. Despite the proliferation of these aids,
there is ample evidence to suggest that much of the repertoire being studied
and performed in school bands is of questionable musical value. Is it due to
a lack of available quality literature; a mediocre level of personal music
values (taste) or a combination of both?
Francis McBeth, writing on band repertoire in the 50th Anniversary issue of
The Instrumentalist in August 1995, states: We(composers) often hear
admonitions to raise the level of band music. This cant be done. We can only
add to the total sum. What these advocates should be saying is that we
must raise the taste of the conductor
Educational pursuits, both formal and informal, offer excellent opportunities
for an individual to explore and discover new ideas and creations. Expansion
of knowledge and taste development evolve as long as an individuals
curiosity is maintained and he/she persists in exploring and expanding their
contacts with people-their ideas and creations.
Boulez states: I believe in music that is demanding, that goes into the
depth of the human being, not music for entertainment If a work does not
pose a question mark, then it is a waste of time. Boulez is suggesting that if
an individual (1) has curiosity and investigates/ studies music that
stimulates questions, and (2) delays being judgmental concerning this music
until one has spent time investigating it, there is a possibility that one may
develop first, understanding later, appreciation of it.