Successful Habits of Small Historically Black College and University Band Programs

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify successful habits associated with the establishment, development, and sustainability of historically black college and university band programs consisting of less than 128 instrumentalists. The success of large Historically Black College and University (HBCU) band programs often highlights and markets the brand of the HBCU experience. Despite the gleaming success of widely popular schools, there is varied success among smaller programs with less visibility. HBCU bands around the country operate with fewer than 128 band instrumentalists, with some demonstrating more successful behaviors than their larger counterparts. Despite their efforts, these programs sometimes go unnoticed due to a lack of participation. The disparity in recognition perpetuates a cycle, causing these well-performing organizations to remain small compared to other programs. Smaller band programs are significant, producing stellar musicians and dynamic educators, which is a primary goal of such programs. This qualitative study investigated common experiences among small HBCU programs throughout the country from the perspectives of educators by conducting interviews as instruments of data collection. These interviews were conducted with the intention of identifying common challenges and solutions employed to combat those challenges. Perspectives on daily routines, long-term and short-term goals, and visions of success were identified as themes through exploring existing literature. The data from the interviews was analyzed and summarized to identify commonalities. This work is significant to the field of music education, as it identifies value in the systems and operations represented in smaller HBCU band programs. The characteristics expressed in this study could encourage further research and provide quality solutions to common challenges for current and future HBCU band directors. This study recovers the perspectives of HBCU band directors from smaller programs, providing a detailed account of the challenges they face, along with the solutions they have in place to combat these challenges.