Alexander 1

Megan Alexander

Jan Rieman

English 1102

April 5, 2011

This piece was the piece that scared me throughout the entire semester. My writing

group helped me to figure out the issues that I was having with my paper. One of the smartest

things I did with this assignment was to bring an extra copy to class to have Dr. Rieman look

over the assignment prior to making my corrections. It made revision work really easy when you

know exactly what your professor is looking for. I had an easier time revising this piece than any

other piece over the course of the semester.

Is the term “Band Geek” a Stereotype or an Actuality?

It never failed, every year that I lugged my violin up and down the stairs of my middle

school and high school my peers stared. Maybe it was the awkward shape of the case, or how I

had to figure out just the right angle to fit the violin in the locker. However awkward the case

was, my violin was at my side every single day. Each year with the start of each class it never

failed, someone would say “Oh she’s one of those band geeks.” Yes, I was an A student. Yes, I

took honors classes. Yes, I spent my free time doing homework and practicing my violin. If that

made me a “band geek” so be it. Within the entirety of the school, I was awkward, in my strings

class I was among comrades.

My companions throughout my middle school and high school years did not change

unless someone graduated. No matter what changes my core classes took over the year I always
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looked forward to seeing familiar faces in the band room. In high school, every year, I walked

down the music hall and went directly to my same seat. It was like clockwork. Looking back all

of my fellow classmates were academically gifted. Those who were in my grade attended the

same advanced placement and honors classes with me. I had a friend to push through the crowds

of people, cases in hand, annoying people as we walked along taking up much of the already

crammed hallway space. Looking back on those fond years got me thinking, is being a “band

geek” a stereotype or an actuality? Is there a correlation between musical ability and academics?

To begin my research I examined the members of my class that I kept in contact with. All

but one went on to college and has graduated. Outside of music, everyone has their own choices

to make, the one student that did not follow the pattern made other choices in life. Those choices

did not give her the same opportunities following high school. In my eyes she was capable of the

same, but was not given the opportunity. When looking at how others have viewed musical

ability it is clear that I am not alone. Dr. Gordon L. Shaw, a professor at the University of

California wrote an entire book on the effects of music and higher brain functions. Shaw argues

for a positive correlation in higher brain function and music, specifically focusing on math rather

than language based thinking. This is probably because of his background in physics.

Shaw’s book uses very complex models that might give most readers a headache. Most of

his tests, photo charts and geometric shapes make no sense to the average reader and must be

decoded for a real understanding of the actual brain functions associated with music and math.

One of the strongest points to note is Shaw’s use of a newspaper article from 1993 that claims

“listening to ten minutes of Mozart’s piano music significantly improves performance in

intelligence tests taken immediately afterward,”(4). While this does not associate musical ability

with improved performance, it suggests that music can have a positive impact on academics. In
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his book Shaw argues for music training early in life to improve spatial temporal reasoning.

Shaw continues by explaining “spatial temporal… reasoning [is] crucial to how we think, reason,

and create” (19). Shaw, while advocating for musical literacy, explains that it can help with the

most crucial abilities of an individual, how they think, how they reason, and how they create.

Dr. Glenn Schellenberg, a psychology professor at Cornell University had a similar

query, however Schellenberg had the opportunity to conduct a study on six year olds (320).

Schellenberg conducted an experiment in which two groups of first graders were given vocal and

music lessons while the two control groups were given drama lessons or no lessons at all. The

groups were given IQ tests before the experiment and at the end of the first grade (320).

Schellenberg’s experiment resulted in finding that the two groups involved in music had higher

test scores compared to the two control groups. Schellenberg responded, “this experiment

provided evidence that music lessons cause improvement in intellectual ability” (320).

Schellenberg continues by arguing that because music lessons are school-like, they give students

the atmosphere to improve their IQ. In music lessons, from my experience, I was always in a

room with a white board, with a teacher, and given homework that needed to be completed.

Sometimes the homework consisted of a worksheet to get me thinking, or it could be that I was

required to memorize a piece by the following lesson. Connecting Shaw and Schellenberg one

can make the conclusion that music has a positive effect on academics.

In finishing my research I decided to talk to two of my close friends about their

experience in high school and if they believed in the stereotype of the “band geek”. Brittany

Rogers, a graduate of Howard University, was a member of the band at Culpeper High School in

Virginia. She attended honors classes as well as advanced placement and had a similar

experience to mine. Looking back she recalls that all of her band members graduated and went
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on to college (Rogers). My other friend, Jamar Teamer, was not a member of a music class in

high school and yet still remembers the band members being academically gifted (Teamer).

Looking at my two friends and their experiences, I remember being in academically gifted

classes, where some of those students were just as bright as me, and the students around me still

thinking that I was smarter than them. The high school memories of my two friends go along

with the research of Schellenberg and Shaw, as well as my own experiences, there is an

expectation of a music student to be smart.

Throughout my years as a music student, I lived in two worlds: the world that existed

with a bow in my hand, and a world where my hand held a pencil. Memorizing music was never

hard for me, and now as a student I am able to memorize dates and facts. At work, I am also able

to memorize prices, or figure out the percentages in my head for a customer. My memorization

skills have transferred across all aspects of my life. Learning music also takes patience; I have

never played straight through a piece and thought that was “perfect.” There is always room for

improvement, a note that should have been flat, vibrato that could have been stronger. My

patience level is extremely high; I can work on papers for hours, and feel like I have been sitting

for 30 minutes. I am not easily frustrated when things do not work out the way they should have.

For these I can thank music.

My experiences as a student of music bring back fond memories of scales, concerts, sheet

music, and eating lunch in the band room. While these memories will stay with me forever,

music may have done something else for me. Music may have helped me to become the student

that I am today. I am able to participate actively in the music world and the academic world, and

succeed in both. According to the studies of Shaw and Schellenberg, music can help with brain
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function and intelligence tests. I followed this pattern, therefore, in my eyes, the term “band

geek” is more than just a stereotype; it has evidence to back up its truth.

Works Cited

Rogers, Brittany. Personal Interview. 30 March 2011.

Schellenberg, E. Glenn. “Music and Cognitive Abilities” Current Directions in Psychological

Science

14.6(2005): 317-20. Web. 28 March 2011

Shaw, Gordon L. Keeping Mozart in Mind. Amsterdam:Elsevier Academic Press, 2004. Print.

Teamer, Jamar. Personal Interview. 30 March 2011.

Works Consulted

Abril, Carlos R and Brent M. Gualt. “The State of Music in Secondary Schools: The Principal’s

Perspective” Journal of Research in Music Education(2008) (68-81) Web. 28 March

2011.

Van De Wall, Willem. Music in Institutions. Washington: McGrath Publishing Company, 1961.
Print.