Go Ask Alice: How is a Raven Like a Band Director?

Abstract:This essay explores performance-driven aspects of U.S. bands in the contexts of Pierre Hadot’s Philosophy as a Way of Life, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Jacques Derrida’s Aporias, and the author’s experience teaching both elementary general music and beginning band. The author wonders what band education might look like when the profession’s fixation on futuristic performances and allegiances to past traditions are laid aside; the article proposes that the profession of band might benefit from a more present-focused, process-oriented approach to making music, akin to that of the general music classroom setting. The author advocates for a deeper engagement in critical dialogue around the role tradition plays in current band education practices in ways that reach toward inclusive, present-focused music making.