By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current
If I were to tell you that Dave Babbitt B P.E B Ed designed the Lord Selkirk Bridge, would you put your family in the car and drive across it?
I highly doubt it.
No one would take that risk with loved ones.
Those letters after my name should tell you that I’m completely unqualified to design a bridge.
However, if I told you that Rebecca Rynsoever P Eng, or John Wysman P Eng (both members of our band by the way) designed the bridge, you’d no-doubt trust the bridges design.
Those letters after their names indicate that they are Professional Engineers.
In the world of designing a bridge, those letters hold weight.
The same thing applies in the world of music.
Do you know what the letters ARCT, B Mus, M Mus, or RCCO stand for?
These are only a few of many possibilities that can indicate one’s musical qualifications.
The ARCT indicates one is an Associate (of the) Royal Conservatory (of the University of) Toronto.
First, a Conservatory is simply a school of music.
I won’t delve into the history of the Royal Conservatory of Music, but many readers will be familiar with what it is.
The Conservatory has created a systematic curriculum of theoretical and practical skills one needs to master to earn qualifications on a wide variety of instruments.
We most commonly associate it with piano studies but there is a syllabus for many different instruments, each requiring one to develop the skills unique to that specific instrument.
We’ve all heard someone say “I’ve got my Grade 8 Conservatory” or something similar, but what does that mean?
In the simplest of terms, it indicates many years of study, a specific level of competence, knowledge of the theoretical aspects associated with one’s specific instrument, general theoretical knowledge, knowledge of music history, many years of frustration, a lot of pressure, and a huge financial investment.
If one has the letters RCCO after their name, they’ve likely spent many years learning to play the piano, but have then developed skills in playing the organ and received qualifications to join the Royal Canadian College of Organists.
A Bachelor of Music (or B Mus), Master of Music (M Mus) or studies at the Doctorate level represent a level of study and skill that few will ever master.
So, what do any of these “letters” do for someone, as we likely all know a skilled musician or two who are self-taught with no letters after their name.
Those who studied formally can usually do what those who have not can do, but with many additional capabilities.
Some of those skills would be the ability to sight-read, the ability to play more rhythmically complex music, and the ability to play in any key.
Regular readers will recall my writing about Barb Myers when she retired from the organ bench at First Baptist Church a year and a half ago.
For many years I’ve witnessed Pastors and worship leaders decide out of the blue that they want to sing a specific song that has not been rehearsed or chosen before hand.
Barb has always been able to open the hymn book and play anything, in whatever key it was written in.
I’ve been a part of many cantatas in the past and many of them have long, complex introductions that are not for the musically faint of heart.
To play more difficult music, it usually takes the great skills that those letters of qualification I spoke of provide.
For those unaware, most modern-day church “worship teams” play most songs within a very narrow range of keys.
They often use a transposition button on a keyboard or a capo on a guitar to place the music in more easily played keys, but is there anything wrong with that?
Absolutely not.
I applaud those willing to lead but I also believe that those with formal qualifications, have more to offer and should be remunerated accordingly.
In doing so, it’s not just a reward for one’s musical skills, but finally a bit of a reward for the many years of financial investment in ones training.
I know that there will be a few who disagree with that, but professionals in most any discipline are rewarded according to their qualifications.
In returning to my opening question.
I could design a new bridge, but I’m confident that everyone would be happy to pay a Professional Engineer their “professional fees” to design one instead of me.
Quality in anything comes with a cost.
In talking about qualifications today, it dawned on me that in our upcoming WCB concert this weekend, we will be sporting no less than five members who have degrees in music!
Dan White has a B Mus, Alison McLaughlin a B Mus, Jackie Faber B Mus, Gavin Warren a B Mus in Clarinet Performance, and this Saturday we’ll introduce you to Dan Baerg who has both a B Mus and M Mus in Percussion Performance!
Our band is incredibly blessed to be surrounded by these highly trained professionals who not only provide us with incredible musicianship but are so generous in sharing their expertise with the rest of us.
This weekends concert will be nothing less than spectacular.
The band itself is well-rehearsed and ready to provide you with music from the soundtrack of your life as we present “Rock, Roll, and Remember”.
It you don’t know every piece we will play; you’ve been asleep for decades.
But there are some new, extra special elements to this concert.
We’ve got a few vocalists that will blow you out of the water, an element of surprise you will love, and Dan Baerg, our guest professional percussionist will put our new marimba to the test with multiple mallets!
He’s an incredible treat to watch play this unique instrument.
It’s standard fare to provide superlatives for what will happen this weekend but the best example of how special this is going to be has been the reaction of the band itself in rehearsals.
When the band cheers and claps after a performance, you know that the performer just delivered something special and that has happened a lot in recent weeks!
Find a friend and drag them out to WDSS on Saturday night but in being transparent, we know of many coming from out of town, so stake out your seats early.
And remember my mantra, “this isn’t your Grandfathers concert band”.
