What could a commercial ensemble be? Pt. 1
I have had the fine privilege to lead a commercial ensemble course at Georgia Southern University for 3 semesters (thus far), and through that time I’ve been trying to define the academic, pedagogical, and performance possibilities of the course our institution, and others, call commercial ensemble. Its initial and apparent goals, even at a surface level, are practical and quantifiable; students, in most places, are expected to rehearse repertoire and perform it by the end of the semester, no different than a string quartet, chamber ensemble, or symphony orchestra in more classically-oriented programs.
And the value of commercial ensemble in these immediate goals is readily apparent - students learn the value of group performance work through many weeks of rehearsals, regular in-class performances, and final performances. Naturally, this level of performance, cooperation, and planning are high-value skills for full-time and part-time musicians alike; there is certainly more ink to be spilled as to a broader application of this type of course in the future university setting increasingly in need of in-person (and intra-person) skill acquisition. But this blog post is after something else - a pursuit for a greater appreciation and understanding of the arts and humanities through the lens of this applied art.
Put another way, it is possible that this performance ensemble could transcend the typical, procedural application of repertoire, rehearsal, performance, being augmented by the students’ critical engagement with repertoire as symbols and signs enmeshed in a larger context that goes under theorized and under imagined. The repertoire, the songs, become suddenly more than commercial vessels (assets, as we come to think of them in pecuniary terms) - they become texts in the critical sense. From this vantage, these texts become grounds for new inquiries, and the process of performance preparation, if criticism remains central to the students’ engagement. But what does this criticism look like in the classroom, in the rehearsal space?
In my courses, I’ve chosen themes I’ve deemed important and necessary for developing musicians in a college setting - the ‘tribute’ band format, a critical approach to a decade of Western commercial music, focus upon a ‘wedge’ concept in a broader genre. Throughout the exploration of each theme, things are and are not always what they seem; a dive into the music of the 80’s is partly about adopting and adapting to a style of song structure with instrumental and vocal conventions, but also a way toward critical assessment of the time’s major events, ideas, and frictions. To say it another way, the 80’s can be a fruitful examination of the apex and decline of hair metal’s hedonistic excess (to say nothing of its paradoxical chauvinism AND gender-bending in concerts, music videos, and recordings) against the counter motion of ‘authenticity'‘ and satire pointing toward the 90’s in the US.
There is certainly more to be said on this topic and this space is limited. These other thoughts will be explored and unpacked on this blog. For now, it is my hope that professors who endeavor to build or expand a commercial ensemble program do so with special consideration to the pedagogical possibilities hiding in the music’s meta-themes. More to come in this space!!
