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I have been a professional drummer and percussionist for about 35 years. I've played many genres of music – rock, jazz, blues, classical – and performed everywhere from the street to the concert hall. I am considered a good, if not very good, musician.

Nonetheless, over the course of my first 20 years of playing, I came to realize how little I knew about music. I felt as though I was wandering around in a great musical desert, making my way through a swirling sandstorm, frustrating and elusive, while at the same time sensing the clear, cool water of musical understanding that was just beyond my grasp.

The problem, as I was fortunate to eventually discover, was that I learned to play an instrument without learning how to make music. I had teachers but no guides. Anything musical in my playing was a consequence of whatever musical ideas I picked up through listening. And while listening is hugely important, my long journey could have been a lot shorter. It would have taken a certain kind of awareness on the part of my teachers. This is not an indictment on their musicianship. They just didn't understand, as teachers, how to teach their students how to learn music.

I believe that the mindset of traditional music education is music training rather than music learning. We are trained to play instruments, instead of being taught to understand music and express that understanding on our instruments. Music learning just happens along the way, depending on a combination of our music aptitude, what we’ve listened to, and how much movement, singing and chanting we’ve done. Music learning left to random consequence creates odds that many of us cannot overcome.

As a result many people feel they were shut out, left behind, and are now excluded from music making. In a world divided between the musical “haves” and “have-nots”, they’re not permitted membership in The Club. Only the elite, the ones who’ve “got it” are the music makers. The rest are destined to become music appreciators, at best.

While these are strong words from a member of The Club (me), I’ve experienced both sides. I got all the failure messages early on, but I wanted music too much to give up. So I started as a musical “have-not” who entered through the side door, and figured it out along the way.

It was a stroke of luck that allowed me to come in from the desert. I met and studied with two educators -- Dr. Edwin Gordon and Dr. Sally Weaver -- who understood and taught music learning. At that point everything changed for me.

Although I had always taught private drum and percussion lessons, I started over, first completely revamping my teaching methods, and second, and more importantly, joining Sally's Music Circle -- a program which teaches music to children from birth through age 5. In the process I reinvented my own musicality, literally from the ground up. While working with children I became both teacher and child -- their materials and activities were my materials and activities. Over the course of several years, I filled many of the “holes” in my own understanding of music, though many still exist.

Time is a non-renewable resource. Once it's gone, it gone -- you don't get it back. During my 20 years in the desert, I always had a sense of how little I knew, despite all my instrumental training, music degree, and performances. But when I discovered how much I could have learned in the huge amount of time that had been wasted, I was furious. Things were now going to change. I was about to become a music evangelist.

Like most people who have seen the light or experienced an epiphany, I was anxious to spread the word. I jokingly say that I teach with a vengeance, but my frustration and anger have gradually been replaced by an intense, though patient, determination trying to right the wrongs.

It made sense to me that if I didn’t “get it”, there must loads of other people who didn’t get it either. Sure enough, I've met quite a few adults and kids who quit music because they couldn’t read, or because they were told in school that they couldn’t sing. In each of them I’ve found a deep longing to be a music participant. It follows that there must be many more people with similar experiences. I want to help them because, first, I can, and second, because I feel a great sense of empathy: inside, we’re quite similar. For that reason I've begun to learn drum circle facilitation. Recreational drumming is a great point of entry into music. For me, a drummer, this is a logical and natural path for me to follow.

As parents, we always want better for our children than for ourselves. My time in the desert is over; I can't relive it. But I can help others from going through that kind of experience.

And so I continue to teach and write. That's what Whole Music Learning is about. I'm committed to making music accessible to people of all ages.

This is one of a series of articles on music and music education. I invite you to continue reading them, and hope they will encourage you to give further thought to these issues. If you can identify with the people I’m speaking about, perhaps my ideas will help you to reach greater musical fulfillment. If you’re an educator – traditional, alternative or otherwise – I’d like to hear if my ideas make sense to you, if you disagree with them, or neither. Regardless of your perspective, you’re always welcome to contact me.

		Whole Music Learning Committed to making music accessible to people of all ages
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		Wandering Through the Musical Desert Rob Zollman I have been a professional drummer and percussionist for about 35 years. I've played many genres of music – rock, jazz, blues, classical – and performed everywhere from the street to the concert hall. I am considered a good, if not very good, musician. Nonetheless, over the course of my first 20 years of playing, I came to realize how little I knew about music. I felt as though I was wandering around in a great musical desert, making my way through a swirling sandstorm, frustrating and elusive, while at the same time sensing the clear, cool water of musical understanding that was just beyond my grasp. How was this possible? The problem, as I was fortunate to eventually discover, was that I learned to play an instrument without learning how to make music. I had teachers but no guides. Anything musical in my playing was a consequence of whatever musical ideas I picked up through listening. And while listening is hugely important, my long journey could have been a lot shorter. It would have taken a certain kind of awareness on the part of my teachers. This is not an indictment on their musicianship. They just didn't understand, as teachers, how to teach their students how to learn music. I believe that the mindset of traditional music education is music training rather than music learning. We are trained to play instruments, instead of being taught to understand music and express that understanding on our instruments. Music learning just happens along the way, depending on a combination of our music aptitude, what we’ve listened to, and how much movement, singing and chanting we’ve done. Music learning left to random consequence creates odds that many of us cannot overcome. As a result many people feel they were shut out, left behind, and are now excluded from music making. In a world divided between the musical “haves” and “have-nots”, they’re not permitted membership in The Club. Only the elite, the ones who’ve “got it” are the music makers. The rest are destined to become music appreciators, at best. While these are strong words from a member of The Club (me), I’ve experienced both sides. I got all the failure messages early on, but I wanted music too much to give up. So I started as a musical “have-not” who entered through the side door, and figured it out along the way. It was a stroke of luck that allowed me to come in from the desert. I met and studied with two educators -- Dr. Edwin Gordon and Dr. Sally Weaver -- who understood and taught music learning. At that point everything changed for me. Although I had always taught private drum and percussion lessons, I started over, first completely revamping my teaching methods, and second, and more importantly, joining Sally's Music Circle -- a program which teaches music to children from birth through age 5. In the process I reinvented my own musicality, literally from the ground up. While working with children I became both teacher and child -- their materials and activities were my materials and activities. Over the course of several years, I filled many of the “holes” in my own understanding of music, though many still exist. Time is a non-renewable resource. Once it's gone, it gone -- you don't get it back. During my 20 years in the desert, I always had a sense of how little I knew, despite all my instrumental training, music degree, and performances. But when I discovered how much I could have learned in the huge amount of time that had been wasted, I was furious. Things were now going to change. I was about to become a music evangelist. Like most people who have seen the light or experienced an epiphany, I was anxious to spread the word. I jokingly say that I teach with a vengeance, but my frustration and anger have gradually been replaced by an intense, though patient, determination trying to right the wrongs. It made sense to me that if I didn’t “get it”, there must loads of other people who didn’t get it either. Sure enough, I've met quite a few adults and kids who quit music because they couldn’t read, or because they were told in school that they couldn’t sing. In each of them I’ve found a deep longing to be a music participant. It follows that there must be many more people with similar experiences. I want to help them because, first, I can, and second, because I feel a great sense of empathy: inside, we’re quite similar. For that reason I've begun to learn drum circle facilitation. Recreational drumming is a great point of entry into music. For me, a drummer, this is a logical and natural path for me to follow. As parents, we always want better for our children than for ourselves. My time in the desert is over; I can't relive it. But I can help others from going through that kind of experience. And so I continue to teach and write. That's what Whole Music Learning is about. I'm committed to making music accessible to people of all ages. This is one of a series of articles on music and music education. I invite you to continue reading them, and hope they will encourage you to give further thought to these issues. If you can identify with the people I’m speaking about, perhaps my ideas will help you to reach greater musical fulfillment. If you’re an educator – traditional, alternative or otherwise – I’d like to hear if my ideas make sense to you, if you disagree with them, or neither. Regardless of your perspective, you’re always welcome to contact me.
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