wrapping it up

The more I dwell on the fact that I'll soon be leaving, the more sad I feel . . . so, I need to quit thinking about leaving and start thinking about how to make my last week as awesome as it possibly can be. I feel like the last few pre-concert rehearsals are tricky. I want to rehearse the pieces straight through and see what the trouble spots are, so I can go back and fix them. It's challenging, though, because you need to gauge how much change you can effectively make. Whenever you're working on new concepts, you need to make the change/teach the idea and then REINFORCE it as much as possible - the students really need the reinforcement in order to solidify the concept and adjust to the change. Since our concert is on Wednesday, the B day classes will rehearse twice (Mon. & Wed) before the concert and the A day classes will only rehearse once (Tuesday). So, there's limited "reinforcement" time and I have a hard time gauging what adjustments can effectively be made. At the same time, though, it's important to keep pushing the students forward and encouraging musicality.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it at same point already, but in case I didn't, the orchestra teacher asked me to accompany the orchestra on piano for the concert (the band & orchestra share a concert). Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a good pianist. At all. My only piano experience is the two terms of piano that Lawrence requires for music ed. I took those two classes my freshman year, which is now four years ago. I was so nervous for my piano final that I totally panicked and blew it; it was terrible. My piano teacher was amazingly understanding and let me have a second go at it, since she knew it was just nerves. But really. I haven't taken or played any piano in four years, and four years ago, I had to take the final twice in order to pass. I warned the orchestra teacher, but basically I am the only person who can do it. I practiced the parts and actually felt pretty good about it . . . until I rehearsed with them last week. I assumed that beginner orchestra = slow tempo. WRONG. They are whipping through Jingle Bells and Ode to Joy like nobody's business. Suffice it to say that I have my work cut out for me.

People ask me fairly often which age group I prefer to work with, and I've actually spent a fair amount of time thinking about it, but I have a hard time coming up with a definitive answer. Everyone assumes that middle school kids are awful, and while they have sometimes frustrated me in ways that high schoolers never have, I also find working with them to be really rewarding. I love beginners - if I could teach beginner band all day every day, I would love it. I love their excitement and enthusiasm; I love their eagerness to learn. I like that they do not come in with bad habits to be redirected. I like the feeling that I'm giving them the musical foundation they will have for the rest of their lives - and I like knowing that setting a strong foundation will help them every step of the way as they continue on. I like knowing that I'm instilling a love for music, and I like that the results are so easily seen - it's very much an "instant gratification" thing at the beginning. Middle schoolers in general have a TON of energy, and I think this is why people seem to either love them or hate them. Tons of uncontrolled energy = chaos and misbehavior. On the other hand, tons of controlled/directed energy = awesome potential to work together and create something great.

I find that high schoolers tend to have less of this energy because they're more self-conscious. Middle schoolers aren't afraid to say or do anything, but high schoolers are worried about being cool and are very aware of everything they say and do, because they don't want to look silly in front of their peers. Because of this, I find it harder to start connecting with the students. Younger kids are inclined to immediately open up and they really want your approval. High schoolers are more reserved and kind of size you up before letting you in. Once you've established a relationship, though, I really like the relationship with older kids. I like that we can have in-depth conversations, because they can communicate on an adult level. I 100% feel that middle schoolers should be pushed to think and perform musically, but because of their age and musical experience, high schoolers are able to delve further into musical concepts, and I like being able to explore more intricate aspects of music. I like the sense of humor high schoolers have, and I like the general social atmosphere and the "school spirit." Also, high school music students are generally pretty committed to music, so between their personal investment and the maturity added on by the few extra years, a lot of the classroom management/behavioral issues have weeded themselves out.

I guess I'll figure it out as I go. :) At this point, I feel pretty open to teaching different levels.