The Last WordYear 13PrefectsAssemblyLeadership
Oban Voice, 20 July 2026
The Last Word
Kia ora, I’m Oban, and I am honoured to be one of your Arts Prefects this year.
One of the best things in my life at the moment is jazz; listening to jazz, but particularly playing jazz. I keep wondering why I enjoy it so much. I have found it is because I can be expressive and creative when improvising. I have come to realise how important learning the basics is so that I can improvise. I think valuing the basics is essential for all our learning.
When learning a language or solving an algebraic equation, you first have to learn the basic concepts before progressing. This encompasses understanding concepts and being able to recall them. The next step is applying the skills in real-world situations, which might make me sound like a maths textbook, but it is true. The more you learn and apply the basics, the more those skills become embedded in your mind. This knowledge and skill allow you to be innovative and creative within the subject.
To start with, when you are doing an activity, you have to be in a safe and comfortable environment that allows you to work. I think Otago Boys’ High School achieves this well, setting the stage for good learning with safe classrooms and supportive staff. This allows us to be in control of our learning.
The next step is being exposed to the knowledge, whether through a parent, teacher, coach, or another role model. This allows you to become familiar with the skills.
Being exposed to great jazz musicians, such as Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis, inspired me from a young age to pursue jazz trumpeting. Role models can spark interest and provide motivation for working towards personal goals. For you, it might be Lionel Messi.
Due to the fast-paced world we live in, repetition is often seen to be boring. But practising is absolutely necessary to repeat and master skills so that you can apply them in different situations and reinforce what you have learnt. This builds resilience.
The main theme of all of this is that repetition of skill learning is the foundation for creativity and innovation, which I would like to add is anything but boring.
When playing music, musicians have different sets of notes they learn to play. These sets of notes, called scales, change within pieces, and for jazz they change pretty often. This means that musicians have to practise for hours just so they can learn and then apply the scales to flow with the music.
For myself, these scales allow me to improvise. That means being able to stand up in a performance and make up new melodies and tunes within these boundaries. Having the background and knowing the scales ensures that whatever I make up on the spot, there’s a much higher chance of it sounding good! This allows me to express myself and be creative.
Professional musicians and athletes learn these skills so they can be innovative when performing. This nailing of the basics leads to the expansion of the subject, whether it be a new technique for playing the instrument or better footwork in your game.
Music is a strong subject for me. I enjoy playing and writing music, and I have been surrounded by it throughout my life. I put extra effort into that subject, as I want to strive to do well. Most of you have a favourite subject that you put that extra effort into, allowing you to express yourself through a chair you made in Wood or a scientific report you completed in Agriculture. These subjects give you an opportunity to express yourself and be innovative.
Even in a core subject that you otherwise wouldn’t have chosen, you have an opportunity to be innovative within that subject and to feel good about it.
We’ve all had the satisfaction of finding out how an equation works after being stuck on it for a while! By putting in the extra effort, these subjects can also become passion subjects, as through effort, success is achieved, and the esteem from that success leads to further inquiry and interest.
I believe that, with investment in the basics, we all have the ability to be creative, innovative, and willing to take risks, just what society needs for a bright future.
Once you know the skills well enough, they become instinctive, which in OB’s tradition brings me to the end with this quote:
“You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.” — Charlie Parker
