For me, summer at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association is full of season-end reports and preparations for next season, and combined with a lull in imminent deadlines and an inbox that seems to grow at a snail's pace, I am happy to have some time to reflect on the effectiveness of our programs and think about opportunities for growth and improvement. 

I recently received the season evaluation of our Music Activity Partnership (MAP) program, currently in the middle of a three-year partnership with select classrooms at 10 select Chicago public elementary schools. 

MAP works with classroom teachers (most without any previous musical training), integrating musical activities into their repertoire of teaching techniques.  Participating classrooms are given access to an exceptional array of opportunities, including Teaching Artist visits, in-school performances, and a trip to a Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Concert.  (For a more thorough description of the MAP program, visit here).

In the words of one participating teacher, MAP is "a jewel of a program...it's so holistic.  So many angles to getting music in the classroom."  

As the season's evaluation supports, participating students made large strides in understanding and enjoying music.  Considering the quality of the experiences offered by MAP, these results should not be a surprise.  But what is the difference between the students who participate in the MAP program and CSO audience members, amateur instrumentalists, or classical music enthusiasts?

The very short answer is "More."  More exposure and access, and the consistent involvement of individuals-teachers, parents, and others-who take on the responsibility of nurturing the growing interest.

The longer answer is enhanced, I think, by one of my favorite models of human behavior: Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  The Hierarchy, shown below, is a visual representation of the order in which we are innately drawn towards fulfilling different personal needs. 

At the bottom are basic, survival elements (food, water, safety and shelter).  As these are obtained, there are natural urges for emotional stability (belongingness, self-esteem, social acceptance) and, finally, complex understanding (beauty, justice, realizing one's full potential). 

Can this model be translated to illustrate levels of MUSICAL need?  Does this enlighten our understanding of responsibility to provide those needs?

I should pause to note that several bloggers have recently written about the benefits of a prolonged musical experience (Cincinnati pianist Joshua Nemith, Chicago bassist Jason Heath), based on a recent study by NAMM.  There is also a great page on the MENC Advocacy website with statistics and facts supporting the benefits of musical education on a variety of skills.  Needless to say that there is a growing body of solid support here. 

A hierarchy of musical needs

Musical "needs" are not tied to physical survival, however, evidence from any of the above sources (and from my own experience as a musician and teacher) supports the many ways that music enables the fulfillment of Maslow's higher-level needs, specifically esteem, aesthetic and cognitive needs, self-actualization.  So I insist on the use of the word "needs" in this transposed model.  

Exposure to music and music education is one common denominator among successful, satisfied, articulate people and should be a guaranteed opportunity for every child.  Moreover, an ongoing musical experience (ideally begun at a young age) is the answer to concerns about the stability of orchestras and arts organizations.  Although it will not sell tickets now, it is an investment in a future generation of musically-literate patrons and participants. 

Below is a reinvention of this hierarchy, with musical needs parallel to human needs.  (In my diagram, the hierarchy is presented upside-down.)

Increasing levels of this hierarchy do NOT have to be commensurate with musical performance skills.  That is to say that fulfillment is not limited to Juilliard Students or American Idols.  Musical participation and achievement IS available to everyone, and it is possible to begin at any point in life. 

In Maslow's Hierarchy, needs are achieved along a flexible continuum.  As life circumstances change, a person may move backwards, to a lower level of need.  By contrast, intellectual musical achievement is permanent.  

Consider this response from a student attending one of this season's CSO Very Special Promenade concerts (for children in kindergarten through 3^rd grade) as motivation for pursuing these needs.  When asked to describe how hearing the concert made him feel, he drew the picture below.

And, in a way, Maslow underscores this idea.  He includes creative abilities among the instinctual self-actualizing potentials, that is, among the skills that allow humans to be the best that they can be.  Creativity is given the same altitude as reason, problem solving, morality, and objectivity.  If creativity--at the core of musical participation--is among the few truly human traits, shouldn't these skills be nurtured at the primary levels of need?