ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: PRISMS AND POLYPHONY: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HIGH SCHOOL BAND STUDENTS AND THEIR DIRECTOR AS THEY PREPARE FOR AN ADJUDICATED PERFORMANCE Stephen W. Miles Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Dissertation directed by: Professor Francine Hultgren Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership College of Education University of Maryland This hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry is called by the question: What are the lived experiences of high school band students and their director as they prepare for an adjudicated performance? While there are many lenses through which the phenomenon of music preparation and music making has been explored, a relatively untapped aspect of this phenomenon is the experience as lived by the students themselves. The experiences and behaviors of the band director are so inexorably intertwined with the student experience that this essential contextual element is also explored as a means to understand the phenomenon more fully. Two metaphorical constructs – one visual, one musical – provide a framework upon which this exploration is built. As a prism refracts a single color of light into a wide spectrum of hues, views from within illumine a variety of unique perspectives and uncover both divergent and convergent aspects of this experience. Polyphony (multiple contrasting voices working independently, yet harmoniously, toward a unified musical product) enables understandings of the multiplicity of experiences inherent in ensemble performance. Conversations with student participants and their director, notes from my observations, and journal offerings provide the text for phenomenological reflection and interpretation. The methodology underpinning this human science inquiry is identified by Max van Manen (2003) as one that “involves description, interpretation, and self-reflective or critical analysis” (p. 4). I have reflected on the counterpoint of the student experience, and both purposefully and inadvertently, viewed this counterpoint through the various windows O’Donohue (2004) suggests await our gaze in the inner tower of the mind (p. 127). The student experience showed itself through the ensemble culture, the repertoire studied, the rehearsal process, and the adjudicated performance itself. Student conversations and reflections indicate that they experienced both discovery and transformation as they interacted with the music, each other, and their director throughout this process. The fresh prismatic and polyphonic understandings that emerged may offer the possibility for others to consider more deeply the context of how students experience who they are within an ensemble and how that experience shapes their musical understandings and personal growth. PRISMS AND POLYPHONY: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HIGH SCHOOL BAND STUDENTS AND THEIR DIRECTOR AS THEY PREPARE FOR AN ADJUDICATED PERFORMANCE By Stephen W. Miles Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2012 Advisory Committee: Professor Francine Hultgren, Chair and Advisor Professor Michael Hewitt Professor Janet Montgomery Professor Linda Valli Professor Michael Votta © Copyright by Stephen W. Miles 2012 DEDICATION Anna Mae Haynes and Evelyn Miles Mother and sister, both gone but who still inspire, motivate and live on within me Barbara My wife, whose patience, love, and support is immeasurable Stacey and Stephanie My daughters, who share part of this back-story and who, every day, make me happy and proud to be a father Geoff and Jesse and Alex Sons-in-law and grandson, the men who share their lives with my daughters and consequently, with me Pippin, Lily, and Keebler My household friends, who have exhibited enormous patience as I spent countless hours with books or on the computer and not with them ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Francine Advisor and mentor, for immense patience and inspiration and who is responsible for connecting me to the power of hermeneutic phenomenology to touch the soul of human experience The students and their director Willing participants in a journey of self discovery and transformation and an inspiration throughout the process and beyond Heather Colleague and confidant whose relentless encouragement and stories about her father’s doctoral journey was an inspiration Jim and Rachel Respected colleagues who allowed me to engage with their students in the preliminary work that set the stage for this inquiry My committee – Dr. Hewitt, Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Valli, and Dr. Votta All of whom I have known in some way prior to this inquiry and for whom I have the most profound respect and admiration – I am deeply indebted to each of you for your intellectual and practical guidance throughout this process iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: TURNING TO THE PHENOMENON: PRISMS AND POLYPHONY……………………………………………...1 Starting from My Experience……………………………………………… 4 Through the Eyes and Ears of a Supervisor……………………….. 4 Through the Eyes and Ears of a Adjudicator……………………… 8 Through the Eyes and Ears of a Teacher…………………………... 11 Through the Eyes and Ears of a Student…………………………… 13 A Missed Opportunity……………………………………………... 14 Mistakes and Missteps……………………………………………... 15 Shared Responsibility ………………………………………………19 The Phenomenon from a Different Perspective……………………. 20 The Calling to Phenomenology……………………………………………. 21 Exploring the Essence of the Musical Experience…………………. 22 From a Student’s Perspective – Personal Recollections…………… 25 Listening – The Aural Prismatic Perspective ……………………... 28 Writing Your Way into the Musical Experience…………………... 31 Music, Mystery, Magic and Motivation…………………………… 33 Places and People…………………………………………………... 37 “Put Me In, Coach”………………………………………………… 42 Prismatic and Polyphonic Possibilities…………………………………….. 46 CHAPTER TWO: GETTING INSIDE THE PHENOMENON…………… 50 It’s All About the Music: Accounts of Student Experience……………….. 51 Challenge and Engagement………………………………………… 52 Exposure…………………………………………………………… 53 Excitement and Enjoyment………………………………………… 56 Emotional Connections…………………………………………….. 58 Understanding and Context…………………………………………59 The Harmonious Ensemble: Roles, Responsibilities and Reflections……... 62 The Players: Entering the Questions……………………………….. 64 Practice versus Rehearsal…………………………………………... 65 Concert versus Adjudication………………………………………. 68 Teaching as Letting Learn…………………………………………. 69 The Conductor – More Than a Significant Other………………….. 73 The Role of Trust…………………………………………………... 75 Listening, Leading and Learning…………………………………………... 81 What Are We Listening For, Anyway? …………………………… 84 Planes of Listening………………………………………… 85 New Ears for Listening…………………………………….. 88 Different Ears for Listening………………………………... 94 Notes from a Performance…………………………………………. 96 Music, Listening, Reflections, Moving Forward…………………... 97 iv CHAPTER THREE: PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMEWORK AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY …………………………… 100 Human Science as a Call to Our Human-ness……………………………... 100 Hermeneutic Phenomenology ……………………………………………... 103 From Brentano to Husserl………………………………………….. 107 Heidegger’s Phenomenology………………………………………. 113 Worldhood-of-the-world…………………………………... 117 Being-with-others………………………………………….. 120 Being-in as such……………………………………………. 121 Hermeneutics: A Circular Viewpoint……………………………………… 127 Questioning our Way into the Experience…………………………………. 134 Writing Our Way In………………………………………………... 136 Existentials………………………………………………………… 138 Methodological Structure………………………………………………….. 141 Turning to a Phenomenon of Interest………………………………. 142 Investigating Experiences as We Live Them………………………. 142 Reflecting on Essential Themes……………………………………. 143 Employing the Art of Writing and Rewriting ………………………143 Maintaining a Strong Pedagogical Orientation……………………. 144 Balancing Parts and Whole………………………………………… 145 Context and Participants…………………………………………………… 146 CHAPTER FOUR: THE EXPERIENCE: SETTING THE STAGE………. 153 The Students………………………………………………………………...155 The Director………………………………………………………………... 159 The Ensemble………………………………………………………………. 160 Letting Learn / the Paradox………………………………………… 161 Patience and Wait Time……………………………………………. 163 No Bench / Everybody Plays………………………………………. 166 Family and Belonging……………………………………………… 169 The More You Think About Playing Wrong Notes………………...175 Lightening the Mood and Reinforcing the Message……………….. 182 Stress-Free Zone…………………………………………………… 185 The Power of Trust………………………………………………… 192 Roles and Response-abilities………………………………………. 198 CHAPTER FIVE: THE REPERTOIRE: EXPERIENCE IN COUNTERPOINT ………………………………………………………… 206 Different Kinds of Difficult………………………………………………... 207 The Adult Experience……………………………………………… 207 Strings and Winds Just Don’t Do Things the Same Way….. 207 Revisiting a Band Classic………………………………….. 209 v Full Disclosure: My Experience with this Music………….. 210 The Student Experience……………………………………………. 214 Struggling with Style and Interpretation …………………... 215 Are We Anxious, Excited, or Both? ………………………. 218 Looks Can be Deceiving …………………………………... 221 Muscle Memory……………………………………………. 221 The Clarity Paradox ……………………………………….. 224 Discovering the Structure Within………………………….. 225 Messing With Our Expectations …………………………... 227 This Other Cool Section…………………………………… 230 A Perfect Storm of Existentials……………………………. 231 In, Through, and Over Time: Changes in Student Experience……. 233 Layers of Learning: “Real Numbers” and Music………….. 235 Listening for Plot…………………………………………... 237 Understanding and Appreciation: Inexorably Intertwined Ideas…..