Music for one and all.

Average. Everyday. Ordinary. Typical. Twenty-first century.

All these words describe the majority of students who study music, yet none is quite accurate.

In preparation for becoming MTNA president, I began talking with members and scrutinizing the association's programs. It became clear that some programs, like the student competitions, serve less than 5 percent of MTNA's membership. While we all take pride in the competition students and their teachers because they showcase to the wider public the quality of work of which MTNA is capable, placing students in the MTNA competitions is not the primary goal of most members.

As music teachers, we answer a much broader and deeper calling than that of preparing the super-talented students for competitive performance. We are preparing the future generation of music lovers, patrons and advocates. These students who love music and music making may not be bound for careers in music, but they are the future core of the volunteer choir, town band and community orchestra. They will serve in lay capacity on the nation's arts boards, be the future patrons of artistic endeavors and the audience for the next generation's musical artists. When the time comes, their children will be urged to study music, perpetuating the cycle of music appreciation and producing successive generations of music enthusiasts.

Let's not for one minute think that there is anything wrong with being one--or teaching one (or several)--of these students. After all, not everyone is destined to be a great musician, nor do they want to be a great musician. By that same token, I certainly do not advocate mediocrity.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of developing programs or specials projects to offer these students and their teachers. Now, MTNA is dedicated to serving, in a more comprehensive and visible way than before, the member who teaches these average, everyday, ordinary, typical students. Yet, the association remains committed to nurturing and advancing its programs of excellence for those elite students as well.

To date, MTNA has put into place several initiatives that fall under the "everyday" student umbrella: AMT's new "Polyphony" column (See page 70.), the MTNA Music Study Awards (See page 83.) and the MTNA Studio Festival Program. (See page 4.) The development and implementation of these programs has been accomplished with a great deal of assistance from MTNA volunteers and staff. More projects are in the works, including a "Tip of the Week" feature--from you, the membership--on the MTNA website.

While we've yet to pinpoint that one perfect word to accurately describe these students for whom music is at best a leisure pursuit, a pastime or a hobby, you know who they are, and you know if you teach one. It is time for us to stop hiding and start celebrating the average, everyday, ordinary, typical, twenty-first-century students.

Dr. R. Wayne Gibson, NCTM, is MTNA president: He formerly headed the Department of Music and Performing Arts at Kennesaw State University in suburban Atlanta, whew he also served as special assistant to the president for arts affairs.