In 2009, Steve Blatt noticed something missing in many schools' music programs: instruments. Working as the head of community outreach at Colorado Public Radio, he decided to launch an instrument drive.
āIn talking with a number of musicians who were also music teachers, [it came up] that even when schools had music programs, they often didnāt have enough instruments,ā Blatt explains. āSo all the kids who wanted to take part couldnāt take part. So we thought, āWell, why donāt we try this ā people probably have old instruments in the house that they're no longer playing. What if we collected those and made them available to schools?'ā
In its first year, the drive collected ninety instruments. Then Blatt's group took a year off to refine the logistics and ensure that each instrument was actually playable.
During that time, Blatt met with the president of the Colorado Institute of Musical Instrument Technology, Dan Parker, who offered to contribute repairs at half price.
āIt allowed us to get more instruments out in the world,ā Blatt says. āThe next drive collected hundreds of instruments, and then it just kept on rolling.ā
In 2014, Blatt resigned from CPR and founded Bringing Music to Life in order to support the driveās growth. Overall, the instrument drive has collected and distributed 3,800 instruments to 160 schools across Colorado.
For last year's drive, Blatt estimated his group spent $90,000 on instrument repairs; each repair costs around $150.
āEverything we get, we want to guarantee that itās in actual playable condition before we give it forward to a school,ā he says. āOtherwise, if itās not working correctly, the kid is going to get frustrated and theyāll stop or quit. Thatās the last thing we want.ā
Learning to play an instrument teaches students about more than just music, says Blatt.
āThey learn all sorts of life skills, even though they arenāt aware of that at the time,ā he notes. āThey learn how to listen carefully, and they learn about being disciplined, how to persevere and keep going. And if you do [keep going], good things can happen: critical thinking skills, the good kind of risk-taking ā being willing to get up and perform in front of somebody and have the confidence to do that. Suddenly, their self-confidence and self-esteem grows.
"One teacher told me, āMy student, the only reason she came to school was to play in band, but history is right after band, so she came to that,āā Blatt recalls.
The drive focuses its efforts on low-income schools. Having these instruments available has strengthened student motivation and a sense of community.
āFor a lot of kids, [band or orchestra is] the reason they come to school,ā Blatt says. āThere was an eighth-grader at Northglenn Middle School that said it was like a chosen familyā¦and thatās great! Thatās a pretty terrific feeling, especially for teenagers who feel theyāre different, strange or not part of the group. And here they are, all taking part with each other.ā
Blatt believes that music is an opportunity for students to participate in something bigger than themselves.
āI never put music as opposed to athletics,ā Blatt explains. āI donāt think itās an either/or thingā¦but you donāt ride the bench in music. You may be the fourth or fifth stand in your section, but youāre still playing. Youāre still a part of it. Youāre still making noise with someone else.ā
The Bringing Music to Life instrument drive runs Monday, March 5, through Saturday, March 17. To donate instruments, find out which of the sixteen drop-off sites is closest to you.