Social Justice

Almost everyday we read or hear about an injustice taking place in the world somewhere. These events may be localized in which case they seem to hit home to people we know or they may be more global, occurring to people we do not know in a remote region from our normal existence. In most cases, however, the social injustice relates whether abstractly or personally to something from our life or at least a connection to something close to us. Injustice by its very meaning is an example of an event that is not fair. While I may spend some time discussing the impossibility of fairness in all situations, I do think that a continued effort to be fair is a worthy objective for all of us. I suppose fair does not mean equal but it does mean allowing for equal opportunity or in some cases equivalent punishment for like infractions.

When one person's freedom is another person's straitjacket, it is not true freedom. If one hits another on the head and takes the person's money, then the crime should be punished. If my right to own a dog infringes on my neighbor's right to freedom from a barking dog, then my dog needs to stop barking or go away. Social justice allows for fair treatment for all and the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When my pursuit prevents the happiness of someone else, then I lose my right to the pursuit. Otherwise I am free to pursue happiness in all its myriad forms. But criminal activity aside, it is those ambiguous situations that do not seem right but are not infractions of the law where we need to act in a manner that allows for fair treatment for all.

When I look back on history and think through the 40 Acres and Mule program from the Reconstruction, I find myself feeling ill at the mistreatment of the former slaves. The program was well intentioned, as most programs area, but the reality was challenging only to be followed by a rescinding of the idea. "Here is a gift to help you in the future...oh never mind." No justice there. In Brownsville, Texas in 1906 an unidentified shooting by two or three people led to the dishonorable discharge of an entire unit--167 soldiers. These men who had spent their lives fighting for the United States lost their jobs, their pensions, and any medical benefits for their families. They were left destitute and disgraced and were entirely innocent.

These examples are obviously dramatic and tend to incite our emotions quickly when examined. But how many times do we witness social injustice on simpler but no less egregious situations? Lost jobs without reason, kickbacks for contracted work, mistreatment of those different from us, public funds spent for personal gain, unwarranted punishments, misappropriations, insider trading, discrimination, and the list goes on and on. While I am not a supporter of excessive legislation and enjoy living in my "people want to do the right thing" world, I do think we should continue to exercise fairness and equal treatment for all. Randian philosophies aside, we owe it to each other and to all people to create a society that allows for equality and prevents liberty at the exclusion of other people' freedom.

Food and Weight Gain

No question about it, we are getting heavier as a nation and society. Everywhere I look I see large people, some getting on buses, sitting at the doctor's office, shopping at Walmart, walking through the mall, eating at restaurants, going to the show, and driving down the street. And I have no negative judgment toward them since I struggle with the same problem. Having lived in London, and the British are concerned about weight gain as well, it quickly became apparent that the people were generally smaller than Americans as exemplified by smaller seats on the tube, buses, and in the theaters.

I attribute the problem of weight gain to our food and the preservatives we use in all our food. While I am not a product of the 60s, okay I really, I do believe organic food without excessive preservatives is better for the body. Keep in mind that I am not a medical doctor nor a nutritionist and have no real scientific understanding of food or the body. Yet my intuition and some research tell me that the food we buy in grocery stores and the food at restaurants has an inordinate amount of preservatives in it. When I put this quality in the mix, add in our love of sugar, and our general abhorrence of exercise, it is no wonder that we are getting heavier. And so as not to point fingers, I am a classic example.

In addition to the problems of food, our metabolism slows down when we get older, resulting in the storage of more body fat. My love of bread and sweets has caught up with me again and in spite of consistent running of 2-3 miles nearly every morning, I continue to gain weight. Not wanting to go carb free every again, I am aware that I need to reduce the carbs and make the protein work correctly in my body. This will add to my energy, make my running more productive, and force me to eat less in general. Time to avoid the sweet snacks, the large intakes of bread at every opportunity, and no need to eat several tortillas and chips at Mexican restaurants.

We'll see how it goes but right now I am committed to organic foods, more protein, fiber, and fewer carbs. I resent how our food makes us bigger but I am also sadly aware of my own responsibility and contributions to the problem.

Rewards Programs

Giving up on my rights not to be a part of a rewards program, I remain resentful of the modern tracking system of all purchases. Acknowledging the data that determines market trends in order to meet market needs and match consumer demand with supply, I do not appreciate my purchases being monitored. Almost every store I enter to buy something asks me to be a part of a rewards program sometimes called "plus" or "benefits" or "bonus" or any catchy additive to the purchase. These types of programs are enticing and even impossible to ignore due to the reduced cost of certain items, more coupons available, or points that add up to "free" acquisitions of items. To deny the rewards is to increase the expense. To accept it is to reduce expenses thereby retaining more income.

In all fairness, these programs are coming from large companies with centralized purchasing power. They are responsive to inventory turnover and aside from the profit motive, recognize that it is necessary to supply consumers with products that are demanded. I have a choice not to purchase from the large franchise and I suppose I do have a choice to reject their rewards offers. But employees are trained and required to ask the consumer to be a "member" and even politely rejecting the opportunity results in a pitch explaining the "savings" incurred through the rewards program. When a buyer is not a member and does not supply a card, usually the next question is for the buyer's phone number. If the buyer asks why, the clerk's standard answer is in case the buyer is not satisfied with the purchase. Of course the truth is that the store can cross-reference the number with the name and track the purchases and buying habits of the consumer.

Yesterday I bought two packages of gum. I often chew gum when I am driving in order to quell any nervous tension I might have and to keep my teeth clean between brushings. Purchasing the two cups of gum would normally cost $4.55 each but my rewards program allowed me to purchase each cup for $4.30 each at a total savings of $.50. The salesclerk seemed genuinely happy to point out how much I would save by being a member of the rewards program, as though she were helping me--which I suppose was true to an extent. I, however, momentarily resisted her recommendation to be a member and asked for the discount anyway. Respectfully declining my request, she politely said being a member was easy. Wondering if my wife had previously accepted membership, I gave her a phone number from a prior residence and discovered I was, in fact, already a rewards member, resulting in reduced cost for the gum. Joy and happiness.

Yes I did not have to pay as much for the gum due to my membership. But I also gave the store my purchasing information including my time of visit, what I bought, how I paid, and what else I might have considered. Cross referencing with past purchases, videos of my visits, and any questions I might have asked and suddenly my independence is gone, replaced by a Robert Tucker robot of data.

Granted I could have run into a convenient store and bought the same thing or maybe a discount store of some kind. I did not have to give them my rewards information or I could have paid a little bit more which would have given the store general consumer information but not specific to me. Yet I was willing to give up my independence for the sake of saving a few cents. Thus is the way of the economic world of today. We are at risk of becoming walking data machines. While it may be time to accept it, for some reason I resent it. Our personal liberty is threatened every time we purchase something. I remain opposed but also a contributor at the same time to all rewards programs.

Spiderman and Spidey Sense

I believe it started as a little boy when I first heard the Spiderman song with its augmented intervals, diminished chords, quickly shifting harmony, and complex tonal implications. No, I did not know any of this at the time but I do recall singing the song while playing Spiderman games outside. I enjoyed the cartoon, the comic books, and mostly the idea of a normal person "saving the day" and stopping the bad guys. Sometimes Peter Parker would be doing something rather common when suddenly his "Spidey Sense" would kick in with a tingle and he would quickly don his suit and become Spiderman. It was so cool and still is. He would spin his webs, stop falling objects, save children, and wrap up the bad guys.

The song itself is intriguing in a minor key with significant complexity that allows for tonal shifting to all kinds of keys. Emphasizing the harmonic minor and using borrowed dominants, the song seems to imply a dark but positive energy not unlike the character himself. Spiderman is always getting in trouble and is often portrayed negatively by the press and sometimes by authorities. A champion of the people, he seems to be on a precipice of ambiguity as to his intentions. The 60s style big band sound that accompanies the song is certainly challenging and I can imagine the players having a great time recording it while feeling the pressure of playing difficult passages.

The other side to Spiderman that people often forget is his knowledge of science. Peter Parker was a brilliant scientist aware not only of the contributions of spiders to our ecosystem but also thoroughly skilled in physics, biology, and chemistry. The ideal combination of science (okay, fiction too!) and heroism gives us a superhero who continues to fascinate us, winning the hearts of young men and women and capturing media attention through films and video games. His sardonic personality and tendency to be self-effacing only adds to his charm not mention our societal preference for the "imperfect" yet tenacious hero.

But why have I continued to enjoy Spiderman? Spiders are certainly intriguing with their amazing web design and their work ethic. Converting oxygen into a gel-like substance that then is transmitted into incredibly strong silk in order to capture food is a wonderment for sure. The suggestion that we are never more than 6 feet away from a spider of some kind or another is a little bit disconcerting but also serves as a reminder of how many spiders actually exist in the world. Yes, it is all amazing to me. I also enjoy crime dramas and heroism in many forms with the idea of making a difference in people's lives.

The concept of Spidey Sense is also quite absorbing with a strange intuition or perception of one's surroundings. While I prefer data for decision making, I must admit to using my "Spidey Sense" occasionally to predict possible outcomes of situations.

In the end, however, I believe it is the music that has a grip on my interest. Great melody, fun rhythms, and a Mozartian approach to chromaticism, non-harmonic tones, and motivic potential. So Spiderman, you are still the one for me!

The Music School Part II

After writing the previous post, I feel a need to expound further and clarify my position. The more we embrace and encourage an eclectic approach to music, the more we need to identify those elements that are common to all forms of music making and universally required regardless of the specific genre expressed. Further, a student needs to excel on something particular such as piano, voice, or an instrument. It is the process of excelling that promotes the needed discipline to advance the music making. In other words, a music student needs to focus a certain amount of attention on one or two things in music which will in turn become the pathway for music understanding. Achieve prowess on an instrument or voice.

Know your music theory. Whether a student pursues commercial music, video game music, film, art music, teaching, performance, composition, or church, he/she must know key signatures, two clefs, rhythms, and how music is put together. This is a must and requires memorization, listening skills, craft, and application. While the debate will continue, and there are some fair arguments for letting go, most of us maintain that knowledge of the keyboard is essential for understanding the elements of music.

Know where music has been and project where it is going. This is essential for drawing conclusions about the meaning of music culturally, historically, and sociologically. Similar to knowing history of our country or state, we study the past to reflect and respect the developments that have brought us to this point, to avoid the same mistakes, and to embrace the qualities of excellence that have contributed to the current time.

Participate in the collective experience of music making. This includes ensembles small and large and opportunities for group music making. Enjoy the experience and apply the musical and emotional gains to all musical events. Let the power of the ensemble shape your musical thinking in all types of music. Use the ensemble experience to hone your personal skills with the accountability pressure of being a part of a team.

Use technology to supplement all learning including video conferencing, web resources, recording, mixing, and portfolio development. Technology usage can be invoked in all types of musical experiences from solos to ensembles, classroom theory and history, and a multitude of events. In addition students should have access to technological advances for recording, software, and sound enhancements.

These and more should be a part of the music school. Is this any different from what most schools are presently doing? Not really. But schools need to work to REDUCE required classes within the constraints presented above while offering more music choices and options to students as they fulfill degree requirements. Teach the basics using mostly but not exclusively art music and encourage students to pursue other types of music as they progress in their studies. This may involve more electives in our degree programs or at least more tracks to include commercial music, world music, film, church, and digital options. Mostly it is time to let go of the idea that there is only one pathway to achieve musical development.

The Music School

Being a Dean of Fine Arts, and I often feel this is my calling in life at least for now, involves leading the arts in some sort of strategic direction. Rather than simply reacting to trends taking place in the arts world, it is part of our responsibility to project them and demonstrate progress in some sort of way. But in music this is challenging at best due to the canon of great literature from the past that exists to be performed over and over. For some reason, perhaps due to training or preference, visual art and theatre tend to move forward while continuing to respect the traditions from the past. Picasso, for example, was an excellent painter in an old model, with a flair for naturalism and ultimately expressionism not unlike the masters from the past. Yet he did not stop there, insisting on new approaches to art that made him one of great artists that continues to be studied.

In music, however, we have become mired in music from the past. This is mostly due to music from the past being truly masterful and meaningful, containing great expression and emotional content, not to mention craft and beauty. One cannot help but be moved by a Brahms symphony or gripped by Handel's Messiah or touched by Bach's Cello Suites or charged by a Mahler symphony or shocked by a Stravinsky ballet. Having spent my life studying, performing, and loving music from the past, it is not easy to embrace a newer model. Not unlike a reader who loves Shakespeare, Dickens, and Hugo but cannot seem to find merit in Doctorow, Roth, or Franzen, many academically trained musicians have fallen into a trap of only allowing art music from the past govern their entire personal emotional domicile of musical expression.

While it makes perfect sense to emphasize art music in academic music training, it does not serve the greater cause of music's need to have a broad impact on the individual and on the collective. It does, however, serve the less than 3% of the population who prefer past art music over the vast sea of music styles that can be found in contemporary culture. This may sound as though I am an advocate for abandonment of an art music based curriculum, but in point of fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Art music has withstood the test of time for a good reason--it is great music worthy of study and worthy of being at the forefront of music performances in a multitude of settings. Music by Beethoven deserves its rightful place in the curriculum regardless of what current media and market demands are saying.

What I do subscribe to for music schools is an eclectic curriculum that encourages and develops young musicians for all styles and all genres of music and music performance. Let us give students the tools to use to build popular music, art music, film music, world music, hip-hop, jazz, experimental, strange, beautiful, chamber, orchestral, band, children's music, church music, opera, theatre, and secular music. I dream of the music school that encourages and supports all levels and types of music making. A music school that contributes broadly to society and recognizes the inherent value of music of all types, shapes, and sizes. A music school that has found a successful methodology to prepare students for the enormous and varied world of music. A music school that presents the glorious past that helps shape the future, and a school where individual excellence leads to success in solo and corporate performance. A school where teaching children music is valued equally with performing on an opera stage. A school where composing a country western song is as meaningful as composing a symphony and where playing with a rock band is embraced alongside playing with an orchestra. A school where singing an old hymn is accepted the same as singing a new chorus.

Can such a school exist? Not without a lot of work and not without letting go of biases. But I believe it is possible and I believe it is happening.

Decline of the Book

Many have written on the decline of the physical book, most lamenting the loss while extolling the virtues of the physical book on the shelf or in the hand. Others take a more practical view with a little prophecy mixed in that the digital book is replacing the physical book for many reasons not the least of which is convenience and storage. Books are now seen as archaic objects, quaint in the way that antiques are perceived, odd little things of no value containing information that can be found within a click or two on the net. Of course there remains the charming but old-fashioned readers sitting under a tree or in a corner enjoying a physical book and they are seen as different, refusing to embrace the modern world, preferring to live their lives as Luddites rejecting technology, deeply suspicious of the digital world.

Having spent a lifetime reading and collecting books, it was a sudden change on many levels when I bought a Kindle and began to read digital books. No longer obsessed with every bookstore I see, I calmly walk or drive past a Half Price Book store without my palms sweating or my pulse increasing for a chance to see and hold books. The thousand books in my personal collection are losing their grip on my emotions, and I am able to go days without studying them and reorganizing them. I no longer feel a need to "complete" a collection or purchase a particular author's book to add to the others. A signed book by the author has no meaning to me and the words "first edition" are just words. Gone is the feeling of walking into a library and wanting to read every volume or peruse the latest acquisitions. Once believing that the knowledge of the world is found in books, I now believe the knowledge of the world is found on the internet--for the most part! I have lost my emotion for physical books--I think.

But in truth I am simply not reading as much as I once did. Still keeping three books going at one time, it takes me longer to finish a book. Audio books are fun and I listen to one almost every morning during my run of 2-3 miles. Currently enjoying the David McCullough biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright, I cannot decide if listening to a book constitutes reading. Perusing articles and staying current with the news are forms of reading I suppose and I look through a dozen or so articles everyday. A James Lee Burke novel continues to fascinate me with his beautiful descriptive writing style and his pervasive darkness and grim study of humanity approach to life. But what used to take a few days to finish, now takes a few weeks in some cases. I am not reading to completion very often anymore. I have been working on a history of the Brownsville incident for several months now.

At one time I raged against digital books but now embrace them. Yet somewhere deep inside, I believe we are losing something dear and special in our world--the physical book. Does our gravitation to the digital world wreak havoc on our emotions in some way that is not definable? As we forsake holding a book in our hands and embrace a digital world, are we in some way contributing to the constant distractions and bytes of information that threaten to rule the day? Having written often about the benefits of today over yesterday, I have to wonder if this is entirely true when it comes to books. Have we inadvertently caused our own inability to focus on one thing? I check my phone often for emails and texts, and I run through web pages the same way I eat chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant.

Yes I will continue to read digital books and my wallet and time schedule are much happier without the book obsession. But I miss the old days, the book nerd days, the bibliophile days, the collector days, and books in the hand days. I doubt I will return to an earlier time and I strangely look forward to the day my home office no longer contains a thousand books, but I also recognize that I and society are losing something special. Libraries are becoming social hangouts with coffee bars and bookstores are filled with activity. The aging spinster fussing at people for being loud is gone and card catalogs belong in tool sheds with nails and screws. Perhaps there exists room for the hybrid reader, one who enjoys a physical book as well as a digital one. Maybe unification includes room for both approaches and perhaps our cultural goal is to bring all styles of books to the world. We have enough polarizing events and objects in our world and books should not necessarily be one of those. It may be time for us to respect all forms of reading and reacquaint ourselves with what reading means in its totality. Regardless of how one reads, it is valuable to read something in some way.

My loss of the love of physical books is replaced by a love of our digital world. The gain is greater than the loss but occasionally I must commiserate as I reflect on a life of book collecting that is no more.

Blogging Delinquency

Quit blogging for several months and now would like to get back into it. During the blogging hiatus, my blog acquired a redirected code from javascript that took me quite awhile to remove. I am not a coder and had a difficult time identifying the line with the flaw. But I learned several new things in the process about coding and computers and eventually removed the offending code.

It is Christmas season and with it comes lots of complexity, joys, and the occasional sadness associated with concern, depression, and loss. But even in those quiet reflections of darkness that somehow creep into our thoughts, trying and sometimes succeeding to pervade all emotions, the threat quickly dissipates as the joy of the season reigns victorious, dwelling in our hearts and expressed through sounds, music, and giving. Even the most jaded among us cannot squelch the smile when seeing the joy on a child's face or watching It's a Wonderful Life for the 50th time or laughing when Ralphie visits Santa on A Christmas Story.

Admittedly, the Christmas craze seems a bit much to me and I could do without the excessive decorating. I have little regard for Christmas lights, wreaths, ornaments, packages, scenes, or snowmen, and the color red seems to emanate everywhere I go, mixing in with everything I see. Scheduling meals, family times, travel plans, all these and more almost seem like burdens in their inception rather than experiencing the joy of the moment. It can make Christmas season exhausting physically and emotionally, draining the energy needed to go shopping, share in the excitement, and participate in the multitude of activities. Add all this to having some ill friends and knowing about several medical problems, and it could all be the onset of depression. Yet I battle the potential darkness and replace it with the light of the world. As Jim Cramer says, the best way to overcome those times of insecurity and doubt is to get up the next day and go to work. Keep the routine and make yourself accomplish something.

Of course the other side of the story is that in spite of the normal challenges of life, Christmas really is a blast. Lots of great music, choir concerts, band concerts, musicals, activity, food, lights, children, and many happy people everywhere I go. There is a feeling of lightness and joy mixed with anticipation of Santa gifts, stockings filled with great things, and meals together with the ones you love. All these and more make this time of year fun. So no more Grinch for me...time for me to enjoy it and be a part of the festivities!

Writing is a valuable tool of expression regardless of the decline of reading in our world. Plus I come from a family of writers with my brother achieving great success in the publishing world of books and essays. Writing helps clarify thoughts and allows us to centralize the complexity of jumbled events that sometimes seem overwhelming. Rather than allow events and emotions to pass by unrecorded, it is time again for me to put these in writing.