Lesson Reflection Redux

Let's start with the good. I feel like the whole lesson went much better than the first. To be fair, I was in a much different head space when I prepared this lesson. Planning the first lesson got me over a severe mental block I was having regarding a place to start with the topic of Louis Armstrong. Once I was able to get the ideas together for the first lesson, though a bit shaky and underdeveloped, I was able to better structure and prepare the remainder (over more time than I would have imagined). I feel like I was better prepared both mentally and emotionally, and also with worthwhile teaching material. Most of the information I planned to discuss was touched on and presented aptly. I was able to think on my feet a little, too, when things started to head into territory I hadn't thought to include (but should have...more on that later). I felt like I was able to speak to the class in an engaging way, and tried to include many more activities of the music making variety than I did in the first lesson. The presentation of the rhythms in a MIDI program, and the audio elements were also helpful and worked well. I was also given a much better "review" from Professor Schneider, and I was glad I was able to meet his expectations of continuous improvement. 

Being in the fortunate circumstance of being able to present similar content twice in a row, I was able to learn more about how I could  have improved the lesson. First of all, the video I showed at the beginning of the lesson was too long even though it was barely 2:30 minutes long. While I think it did serve as a good introduction to the lesson, and jazz in general, I do think the time could have been better spent elsewhere (and so did the professor). I also neglected the reason why the polyrhythms that informed jazz were important to music in general....I think a simple statement regarding what type of music people danced to in those times would have done the trick. While it's great to learn the building blocks of how something changed, it's at least somewhat important to reference why (I would also have liked to include a map of the West Indies for a quick reference). Lastly, I feel I could have been a little more fluid. It's tough to seamlessly incorporate AV into your class lesson, and even with some preparation time, I did hit a few slight hiccups.

I am thankful I've had the opportunity to restructure my lessons after reflecting on my experience, and seeing what great things others did. I'd like to thank Professor Schneider and all of my classmates for allowing me the time to try things out.

Are You Not Entertained?

When it comes to building an audience for your school ensemble, I tend to have different viewpoints than some of my colleagues. There seems to be an idea that because an ensemble makes music, there needs to be someone to listen to it. I do not agree. While I do think that performing to an audience is absolutely important, I also think it depends on context.

I would be hard pressed to call the centuries old, mainly European instrumental music performed by wind ensembles and orchestras a form of entertainment in 2016 to the public at large. I do, however, think that learning how to play this music with all of its intended expression, nuance, and color is an incredibly important part of becoming a great musician. A performance might help in motivating a student to learn their music, but having the performance be the end goal can be short sighted, again, depending on context.

Music is an art form and does not exist for entertainment's sake. When we put too much of an emphasis on performance, we're really doing a disservice to the bigger picture. Performing itself is an art form, and being a great performer is part of being a great musician. But to act as if there needs to be some sort of audience for playing music to be worthwhile is inaccurate, in my mind.

When an audience needs to be built for a performance, my first priority would be to make sure the product is performance-ready. If that is the case, then I have no qualms with being tasked, as a music director, with generating an audience. With social media, and good old fashioned flyering and press releases, getting the word out can be done with minimal effort. If your school and community values performances, maybe repertoire should be selected or ensembles formed with that in mind. However, we should never forget that the craft is not in the performance for others, but for the work itself.

Thunder Soul

As someone who has loved music for as long as I can remember, I can't find an easy answer for how to create a love of music in others. One concept I truly believe in is meeting the students where they are, by using music as a means of personal expression and not as a primarily academic exercise. A great example of this concept can be found in the documentary film Thunder Soul.

In the late 1960s, Conrad Johnson met the students where they were when he took the job of music director at Kashmere High School in Houston, Texas. For almost 10 years straight, the group he conducted, composed, and arranged for was the band to beat in competitions, and was even asked to perform in Asia and Europe. While he infused the band's repertoire with a funk sound popular in the day, he also inspired respect and confidence in his students that would change their lives. In the film, Johnson says of his band's success, "it wasn't just playing, it was what you put into it." By teaching the core values of what it took to overcome adversity and become a great musician and person, along with appealing to the students' personal expression and creativity, he was able to touch almost a decade's worth of students in very meaningful ways.

So after watching this film, I'm not sure if I have any new ideas on how to create a love for music and performing in a music program. I did, however, get some confirmation of how music can change someone's life if you bring it to them and let them find their own way in. Once they are a part of a bigger community, then new experiences and collective successes inspire pride and continuous hard work that you can build a legacy on. Along with that, you're giving their soul a voice.