Volume 66, No. 1

Articles: Scholarship and Research

• Paying Attention to Music and Baseball: Listening to the Savannah Bananas
  Danielle Fosler-Lussier
  Abstract

  Advocates for baseball and classical music have long insisted that enjoyment of these art forms requires expertise and focused attention from audiences. The claim has been made both ways: that cultivating music or baseball increases people’s capacity to pay attention, and (conversely) that the activity offers “intellectual and moral rewards” because it draws upon that capacity. Some have argued that the listener who pays close attention to technical details of baseball or music (“structural listening”) is more devoted, better trained, or less lazy than one who does not. Baseball and classical music organizations have continued to emphasize effort and expertise even as they struggle to attract audiences. By contrast, the Savannah Bananas have introduced a variant of baseball called “Banana Ball” that offers a new performance practice for the sport. One can still watch the game with attention to its technical details, but audience members can apply multiple modes of attention and enjoy the experience whether or not they understand the rules, strategies, or traditions of the game. Banana Ball undermines the idea that only expert spectatorship that attends closely to the rules and nuances of the game is valuable. Banana Ball’s innovations are relevant for the study, teaching, and marketing of classical music. We might choose to acknowledge multiple ways of listening, allowing that listening practices depend on the listener’s situation, experience, and preferences (Kassabian). Separating classical music’s value proposition from biased suppositions about attention or audience will be important to that music’s flourishing in the future.

• Your Turn to Lead: Cultivating Student Leadership in Music Theory and Aural Skills
  Angela Ripley
  Abstract

  Universities and colleges aspire to equip students for leadership in their professions, and music students need leadership skills to navigate increasingly entrepreneurial careers. I argue that music theory and aural skills courses can provide scaffolded leadership opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students of all achievement levels. In this article, I consider two questions: Which leadership competencies do music students need? And how can instructors help students develop these competencies in the context of music theory and aural skills? I examine learning outcomes from the NASM Handbook and adopt Seemiller’s (2021) student leadership competencies, which provide faculty in disparate fields with a shared vocabulary for planning and assessment. I outline several categories of activities to build students’ leadership skills, share examples of these activities, provide tips for instructors, and discuss responses from students who participated in leadership activities. Activity categories include explaining answers to homework exercises, teaching from provided resources, leading class activities, composing and performing new musical examples, participating in panel discussions, giving class presentations with related audience-engagement activities, and planning conference-style events and presenting scholarly work to audiences beyond the class. These activities serve the dual purpose of engaging students in disciplinary thinking and equipping them with transferable skills. Participating in leadership opportunities tailored to their levels of experience can increase students’ confidence in their ability to teach, lead ensembles, and communicate with classmates and future colleagues. Propelled by constructive peer pressure, students take responsibility for their learning as they hone their leadership skills in a supportive environment.

• Employment Matters in Higher Jazz Education
  Jacob Hertzog , Justin R. Hunter
  Abstract

  This study centers on jazz educators working in higher education within the United States to better understand the role of institutions as economic anchors for jazz, and the future of the profession. Jazz educators were surveyed (N = 393) with a research-created instrument that covered employment, satisfaction, and other activities. This paper presents unique profiles of jazz faculty and multiple forecasts for the jazz discipline in the context of challenging background conditions within higher education. Recommendations for practice are presented with emphasis on the importance of stable, tenure-track positions for jazz educators. While employment research is a ubiquitous feature in policy, economic, and business sectors, only a small number of studies have been produced related to creative economies. This study is significant as it is the only measurement of jazz faculty employment in the United States, and it presents a framework for conceptualizing employment in other artistic disciplines.

• Reclaiming the Liberal Arts in a Disrupted World Order: A Case for the B.A. in Music
  Dylan Parrilla-Koester
  Abstract

  In the face of artificial intelligence, democratic instability, and recently outmoded market-driven reforms in higher education, this philosophical essay makes the case for a renewed vision of the Bachelor of Arts in music as a civically robust and honest college degree pathway. Within the curricular ecosystem of higher music education (HME), the B.A. stands to offer robust musicianship, cultural literacy and participation, and interdisciplinary, civic-minded inquiry grounded in the liberal arts tradition; in contrast, highly technical Bachelor of Music degrees and a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship and career-readiness often represent curricular capture by market logics, training students to become precarious workers rather than liberally educated citizens. Drawing on historical conceptions of music as one of the original liberal arts as well as recent journalism and scholarship, this essay brings to bear a framework of tertiary music curricula grounded in the virtues of a liberal education whose North Star is the development of democratic thought and action, civic-mindedness, and truth-seeking habits of mind.

• More Than Just Piano: Patch Literacy as a Core Competency in Contemporary Ensemble Practice
  Eugene Seow
  Abstract

  In contemporary ensemble contexts, keyboardists are increasingly expected to function as sonic multi-instrumentalists, shifting rapidly among acoustic piano, organ, and synthesizer roles. Yet most formal piano training omits instruction in electronic keyboard technique and sound selection. This article introduces the concept of patch literacy: the ability to fluently choose, modify, and perform with keyboard patches appropriate to musical context. Drawing on scholarly research, practitioner discourse, and practice-based teaching observations, the article presents a role-based pedagogical framework for patch training organized into three patch families: pad, lead, and pianistic. Each category is explored in terms of its ensemble function, common student pitfalls, and idiomatic performance techniques. The author synthesizes practitioner strategies, such as voicing economy, register awareness, and patch-specific articulation, with structured educational methods, including contextual listening, low-cost gear simulations, and rig management skills. Workshop vignettes illustrate the impact of patch literacy on ensemble cohesion, rehearsal efficiency, and student musical identity. The article argues that integrating patch pedagogy into formal music education can address a longstanding curricular gap and equip keyboardists with the fluency required for diverse gigging, studio, and ensemble settings. By embedding patch choice into ensemble decision-making, educators can train students not only to play the right notes but to deliver the right sound; ultimately fostering more responsive, stylistically authentic ensemble playing.