Secondary student perspectives on musical and educational outcomes from participation in band festivals

Abstract

While it seems many music educators share an enthusiasm for music festivals, others do not. Discrepancies seem to be rooted in the perceived educational outcomes in terms of musical knowledge gained, motivation, competition, psychological impact and social considerations. Advocates believe competitive festivals provide a ‘superlative’ motivational factor and elevate performance quality beyond what could otherwise be achieved. Students and directors are motivated by ratings, by the outstanding performances of their peers and by the constructive criticism of expert adjudicators. As a result, students practice more, they work together with elevated enthusiasm and they are more likely to work on minute music details. Whereas most of the existing literature focuses on teacher perspectives, we examine the issues solely from a student perspective. We administered a survey composed of 55 five point, Likert scale items to 528 students of diverse multicultural backgrounds to examine the educational and musical benefits, and detriments, that evolve from participation in a band festival and events leading up to the festival as well as social benefits, or detriments, associated with band festival participation. Adding credence to existing research, there is very strong student support in favour of band festivals. We learned that student attitudes on how they perform are likely dependent on their personal beliefs, as well as feedback they receive from their directors, adjudicators and other members of the audience (i.e. students, parents). In accordance with previous research, students enjoy receiving adjudicator comments. Students value band for more than festival participation and recognise the rich, diverse learning experiences that festivals offer. Moreover, students consider band festivals as a positive educational experience, and overall, the social nature of band festivals has a positive impact on adolescents. Festivals are exceptionally motivating to students, as they appreciate the competitive aspects of music festivals in terms of competition as being a motivational factor when practicing and performing. Participation in music festivals has a positive emotional impact on students, in that they develop a sense of pride and accomplishment after a good performance.