A Rationale for Jazz Education by Todd Wilkinson

As an educator I am convinced that jazz and music education are fundamental components in student development.  I believe that musical knowledge and appreciation are the birthright of every child.  The following are several reasons I believe jazz education is fundamental to the future of my community.

Jazz improvisation and performance are a microcosmic simile for the relationship of the individual and community.  Jazz is democratic in character and this is why it could only have been created in America.  By combining solo improvisation with group interaction, jazz represents the essence of the democratic community process.  Jazz moves, changes, and alerts the individual and the community simultaneously through task-oriented experiences, informing the one to the many, and vice versa.  In this way the jazz metaphor can be woven into the very fiber of our communal lives and spirit. Jazz enhances one's understanding of self, and in turn helps us to understand others.  Jazz is plastic and tolerant, yet works within a framework of rules and tradition.  Jazz is a language, complete with nuance, metaphor and cliché; the more one invests into its perception, the more one receives.  Jazz is social by nature; it is a musical ‘conference call,’ where individuals negotiate in real time within the context of a group. For these reasons, jazz education can help bring about more cohesion and contentment in our community. 

Unlike most student coursework,jazz education isn't dependent on 'impressing' information - in most subjects students are given material and the better they can repeat it, the higher their grade.  Individuality and 'personal touch' are generally discouraged. Jazz education is about 'expressing' information - students are encouraged to put their own interpretation into the material.  Jazz improvisation is one of the highest forms of individual 'expression,' where risk-taking and exploration are encouraged.  And, it is through self-expression that students truly come to appreciate meaning and content in the expression of others.

A jazz performance is dependent on improvisation, and improvisation is about process.  The essence of jazz improvisation is in the doing: the footsteps not the destination; in improvisation the process is a main feature of the product; the intent is almost as important as the outcome, and the successful improvised performance is a satisfactory 'solution.'  The act of performing is just as important as the performance, and   this is why jazz is always better 'live;' it is bound-up in the moment.  The jazz experience is very much like the person who fishes not just to eat, but for the pleasure of fishing,throwing the catch back in the water so they can return to fish some more. 

Jazz is realized through interaction, and we all become like the people with whom we associate.  Peer association modifies our personality; therefore if our children are going to become academically strong they should be spending time in front of other successful students.  The Music Educators National Conference reports that students in the arts outperform their peers between 41 and 64points higher in the College Board SAT tests.  Students in jazz ensemble tend to be quick-minded and smart.They make intellectual connections, usually develop an excellent sense of humor, and often become sensitive leaders. 

Jazz performance develops the appetite for learning and creates habits of self-discipline, and personal tenacity. These qualities then carry over into every facet of behavior in school and the community.  Jazz musicians are disciplined in and become skilled at concentration, alertness,memory, and self-control. And since jazz improvisation involves risk-taking, it therefore takes a certain amount of courage and self-confidence. 

There is a strong correlation between music and the disciplines of science and math: music theory and performance uses the same reasoning process. There are also important team-building skills. Jazz groups have integral listening requirements that create group and self-awareness. The performers must develop of motor skills,hand/eye coordination, and stylistic elegance, much as sports teams run drills,plays, and techniques. Jazz also encourages us to further use our knowledge for higher callings, namely in assessing values, ethics, creative decision making,and problem solving.  Jazz is not so much the 'answer,' but a set of questions requiring individual and/or group responses.  Thus the more profound the music is to the performers, the more exciting the music is to the listeners, and both performers and listeners become bound together.  

A major goal of public education is to produce healthy, happy, and prosperous citizens and an enjoyable community process.  Jazz education hones the mental tools that are crucial to this goal.  The following intellectual qualities are enhanced by jazz education.

Creativity:

Creativity is the wellspring of finding and choosing possibilities.  To become successfully creative, these 'mental muscles' must be trained and exercised often. Creativity takes practice, and demands choice.  Jazz supports the intellectual wonder, imagination,appreciation, and sensitivity needed for the creative thinking, and assessing possibilities.  It offers up alternatives to what initially may appear the only obvious solution.  Jazz improvisation stimulates the imagination and brings about a highly intellectual activity we call joy.

Communication:

Jazz is a highly communicative and extremely spontaneous.  It requires the individual members to listen carefully to one another, spontaneously producing music that has collective merit and creating a unified whole.  Even the audience can affect the outcome through their response. Jazz is historically an aural tradition: a folk art passed from master to apprentice: teacher to student. In this way jazz musicians have become a family, sensitive to traditions and reliant on a cultural ‘common-sense.’ The study of jazz history reinforces our heritage and informs us about our modern American experience.  For this reason alone, jazz is beneficial in school and community environments.

Since jazz is a musical language beyond words, it can only be explained verbally with musical terminology.  To quote an old adage, “Talking about music is similar to dancing about architecture.” Obviously dance has its descriptive limitations as its unique abstract expression is sufficient only to itself.  This is a function of art. This is the true beauty. There is no substitute for the jazz expression, it is only sufficient unto itself. Because music expresses those things that cannot possibly be put into words, it is especially effective at communicating emotional states.  Music elicits incredible emotional reactions and without it motion pictures would be bland.  No words or visual display can come close to the emotional impact music conveys.  Jazz communicates at the deepest levels of our consciousness; it touches our souls. 

Critical Assessment:

Music is one of the key areas where individuals can develop a consistency between intellectual and emotional understanding.  It forces us to face reality and deal with truth.  As a student, there is no way to lie about the result of a performance.  However, improvisation also proves that mistakes are relative to the context in which they are made,and would better be labeled as feedback.  Jazz gives us the chance to bridge the cognitive and affective data of life - many feel this is the true recipe for genius.  Jazz allows us to conceptualize, not just respond to stimulus.  Jazz helps to create formulas instead of just solutions, allowing us to be proactive rather than simply reactive.  Jazz performance opens the mind and helps us to avoid tunnel vision.  Jazz education develops discerning opinions, leading one to quality character.

Commitment:

There is no way to be partially committed to jazz.  Jazz performance is never casual, not even for a second.  It requires constant intensity, and participation level and focus of attention like no other subject.  Improvisation teaches one to learn persistence and the value of "not giving up,"even when there is the temptation to "throw in the towel."  Like sport, jazz is a performance art requiring years of dedication, practice, and repetition.  Persistence is one of the greatest personal attributes needed by our community, and is one of the key benefits o fa jazz education.

Positive Self-Worth:

Every individual is unique and an important source of potential.  Having our own personal artistic signature offers us a special place in life.  Jazz gives us a vehicle to express our individuality while engaging our fellow beings.  In jazz performance we do matter, we do make a difference, and we do have value.  Jazz expression gives life meaning, raising our self-image and giving us value as a vital member of the group and the community.  Through this awareness jazz encourages us to be responsible in our actions as a contributing member to the group and the community.  So many young people seem to be lost, looking for ‘quick fixes.’  If their musical talents are developed, nurtured, and sought, then their value increases, and they have worth.  Self-worth is the most important component of a fruitful life, and a result of the jazz experience.

Just as there can be no music without education, I believe there can be no education without music.  It is my mission to provide a high quality jazz experience for my students and community.  I have a plan that includes several projects that will bring this to fruition.