Planning the Final Project

     For my final HMP project, I will of course be answering the question: How does band help a student in other ares of school and in their everyday lives? To do this, I will be filming myself asking the kids questions about how they view band and how they think it has helped them. Also, interviews with accomplished music educators and other respected teachers in which I ask them questions such as: What difference do you see in the academic performance between band kids and non-band kids? and What kind of attitude does a typical band student have toward school as opposed to a non-band student? I will compile these clips into a kind of short documentary on the subject.

Music Educator Interview

     In the interest of finding out how music helps students in other areas of school, I asked my mentor about his thoughts on the subject. These were the questions and his responses.

How does an understanding of music help kids in Math?

-Subdividing (dividing the beat into 4ths, 8ths, etc.) helps kids be able to divide quickly off the top of their head

How does an understanding of music help kids in language?

-Since music is written in italian, kids get exposure to a very different romantic language (as english is a germanic language)

How does an understanding of music help kids in history?

-The music of a given time period (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary, etc.) reflects the “attitude” of that time period

Does help a student emotionally as well as academically?

-Yes. Kids sometimes, without realizing it, get a bit of a “break” from their daily stress when they get to play their horn in band class. 

Have you seen a student become more motivated by band?

-Since band requires a lot of hard work and self discipline, students almost subconsciously push themselves in every aspect of their lives because of band. 

(Derived from previous question) Do you see a students drive to succeed progress through their 3 years?

-The students who stay in band all the way through middle school tend to have a more lasting positive attitude towards school, which can translate to academic success. 

Does a student who is a superior player perform better in school than one who doesn’t play their instrument as well?

-As long as the student is dedicated to practicing and disciplining themselves, their level of skill on their instrument doesn’t have a very big affect on their academic success.

How did you do as a student since you were in band?

-I (Dugan) was pretty successful as a student and I partly credit what I learned from being in band to that success.

Did you see that drive for success in me when I was your student?

-You (Gage) had a way of thinking about everything objectively and analytically, which is seen a lot in a student who is gifted in music.