SAMMY MILLER AND THE CONGREGATION IS CHANGING THE CHORDS OF MUSIC EDUCATION

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the integration of technology within education. Although many forms of education can adapt to online platforms, it remains a challenge for arts education because of its high demand for human interactions. Sammy Miller and The Congregation has created PLAYBOOK which not only makes virtual music education possible but also so revolutionary that it will shine after live experiences return.

Over the past five years, Federal and State levels of Education have rapidly expanded their endorsement of technology in United States schools. In 2000, 99% of teachers had one computer available somewhere in the school building, and 84% of schools have one computer per classroom. Furthermore, of the limited number of computers, very few are used for classwork. Benjamin Herold states in Technology in Education: An Overview that by 2016, we find one computer per every five students and recognize the need to deliver internet capability in rural areas. Shortly, thereafter Gallop, Inc publishes a study of Education Technology Use in Schools reporting 41% of all public school students K-12 are given a device for personal use. The acceleration of technology towards the goal of a 1:1 ratio of devices:students is spurred by the following convictions. Experience with apps and tools is vital in the workplace. Communication between teachers, students and parents is greatly improved. And software provides the most personalized and adaptive instruction.  

Certainly, as facts and figures are instantly available on mobile devices, training in technological skills is preferable over training a “human encyclopedia” for information storage and retrieval. Given proper habits, cross-communication can be much more effective. The focus here is on “personalized” instruction. Designing curricula is persistently and hotly debated to the point of generating more frustration than progress. The impediments to settling the issue of electronic instruction include deciphering the teacher’s role and cultivating new habits. As well as finding adequate data to conclude that increased digital education equals increased achievement and defining the concept of personalized learning must also be determined. Matters that intensify the problems are the cost of devices, WiFi insufficiency, and management of ever-changing hardware and software. Without a blueprint for success, technology is mixed into education in a myriad of ways.

The COVID-19 pandemic enters the stage in March of 2020 and brings more change to education than any government initiative. Stay-at-home orders force parents into the daily instruction of their children. Schools plunge into technology while teachers craft new modes of schooling. In the mix, some families found advantages to working from home, flexible work schedules, and increased family time. The problem of closed schools brought about creative solutions such as embracing virtual learning, homeschooling, and neighborhood learning pods. Despite the negative consequences of abruptly halting social interaction, some wish to retain the silver-lining post-COVID. Thankfully, inspired leaders are delivering new options to parents who wish to preserve the new balance of work and home life or who appreciate online learning.

Even the arts community forged new ways of physical, mental, emotional and social development at this critical time. Not every home has a space to dance in. Theatre is much more than monologues; it relies on another person to create a scene. Music, especially Jazz, insists on listening to other musicians. Yet ironically, Covid has advanced innovation in virtual instruction of the arts.

Allow me to introduce you to one exceptional example, PLAYBOOK, originating from Sammy Miller and The Congregation, a jazz band with a decade long history of performance and educational outreach. Touring is not just about a paycheck for them. The places they tour across the United States are intentionally selected for proximity to schools and universities. Their tour emulates Jazz as a conversation beginning with attentive listening and developing from the energy exchanged between musicians. After the ground rules of the conversation are established, one musician improvises while other musicians play along to the melody. Sammy Miller and The Congregation inspired by the storytelling of opera and the formula of jazz music merge these styles into what Sammy Miller calls “jopera.” After experiencing their live show at the Bowery Ballroom in December 2019, “jopera” is accompanied by theatrics creating an entertaining show. Sammy Miller and The Congregation has extended their mission by creating PLAYBOOK to keep up with demand for online artistic options. When asked, what are the most formative years for playing with other musicians?, Miller says

“I’m sure it’s different for everyone. I started playing music as a five year old in a band with my four siblings. It wasn’t until high school it all clicked — I was fifteen years old, playing along with records. I’d sit up in my house after school for hours and jam with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong. Pretend I was in the band. That was the where I got the idea for PLAYBOOK.”

PLAYBOOK is an interactive web player with full individually sectioned tracks for each instrument and a digital music program. Bringing the history and joy of music to young people is at the center of their mission. PLAYBOOK has practice sessions played by real artists not by a metronome or Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), a sound simulator. However, with PLAYBOOK, you can practice along with expert musicians playing the music themselves. The mentors include: Sammy Miller (drums), Alphonso Horne (trumpet), Dr. Molly Miller (guitar), Corbin Jones (upright bass and sousaphone), Sam Crittenden (trombone), David Linard (piano), and Ben Flocks (alto and tenor saxophone). Each piece of music is conducted by Sammy Miller and the student has the ability to mute particular instruments. This customized practice experience provides the closest thing possible to in-person instruction and practice. Practicing is the biggest part of learning an instrument and PLAYBOOK makes practice something to look forward to. Playbook makes practicing fun and easy as per the tag line “Play music with a band from the comfort of your own home” is PLAYBOOK’s tagline. Sammy Miller and the Congregation teach as a band.

“It feels the same as being on stage during a concert. We try and compliment each other, we joke, we disagree, we listen. As different as opinions may be, we have the same values so it works. We all love this music and take sharing it with the next generation seriously.”