OUTSIDE PLAYING BY BRADLINDE In Jazz,

For the GDS Jazz and Creative Music program, the concept of going outside captures our approach to how we play and where we play. Since 2015, I have invited students to reach out to their peers in the program and form small groups to participate in jazz festivals and performances around the country. In doing so, I have asked them to leave the comfort zone of School to interact with new environments and new people in about half a dozen cities a year–most recently Orlando, where we attended the Jazz Education Network (JEN) conference.

When I say “we,” I’m referring to the contingent of musicians in the program who choose to travel. The program consists of five curricular ensembles with a total of 70 students: two lab bands, a chamber ensemble, a large ensemble, and an Upper Level band (currently called Soggy Closet) for seniors. I cannot require these students to go out of town for all our trips, which is why I let them arrange their own smaller groups for travel purposes. I register them for the events, and watch them perform. I want them to have ownership of the performance and

Brad Linde

Don’t get me wrong. The classroom is a safe space to learn, create, take chances, and fail. The bandstand is no different. But attending rehearsals two to three times a week and performing for friends and family creates an insular environment. It is important for students to leave the confines of home and evaluate themselves on a large scale, holding themselves to standards set by their heroes on the records and finding out where they fit in the big picture and the global community.

By going outside, students learn to apply skills learned in the classroom to their own, self-guided ensembles. They choose like-minded bandmates, select a repertoire that reflects their approach and taste, and create arrangements that display their understanding of jazz practices while highlighting their personal style. They learn to live life on the road, room with their peers, and appropriately pack for themselves and their performances–bringing music, instruments, spare reeds, strings, and other necessities. They attend masterclasses with professional musicians, hear local high school and college bands play, and place themselves in the spotlight by leading their own bands in public and adjudicated performances.

Feedback from outside the GDS community can be an exciting and affirming event, or it can be soul-crushing when the performances do not go as planned. And that’s how students learn some hard truths about being a musician.

A certain investment and energy is needed to traverse long distances and play for people who don’t know who you are. They don’t know that you have driven 12 hours the day before and couldn’t rehearse. They don’t care that you play three instruments and crush it in class. So young musicians have to grapple with key issues: Do I know what I’m doing? Can I succeed in an unfamiliar place? Can I capture the energy from the audience and express my artistic vision in real time?

As with music, going “outside” to perform takes confidence, preparation, and conviction. The student must be unafraid of failure and commit to the journey. The beauty of this music and life as an improviser is that nothing is permanent. You get another opportunity to create.