Sol, Sol, La, Sol, Mi
We’re singing with the students Simple or compound? I had an incredible experience at Colgan High School! I am very thankful for the ability to travel to a school that is so dedicated to music and the arts. I truly learned so much!
Our day started very early. The school is a few hours away, so we left Harrisonburg around 5:00am. It was great to have meaningful conversations with another student on the way there. I feel like the journey to and from the school also taught me a lot in many different ways, but that’s a conversation for another time! The first class we observed was a piano class. We were greeted at the door by a female student, who told us she was a freshman. She showed us the room, and I could already tell that this was a creative space. One of the corners of the room was decorated with records, 8-tracks, album covers, posters, lights, plants, and more. The room was filled with pianos, headphones, and computers with GarageBand fully installed. During the class, we were able to walk around and listen in on the students pianos to see what they were working on. The pieces that the students were preparing ranged from classical, to taylor swift, to songs that they had written themselves! After listening and giving feedback throughout the class, at the end, the teacher asked one of them to play what they have been working on. Everyone was hesitant, but with some encouragement, the same girl that we met at the front entrance of the school performed her piece for us. It was an original, complete with piano accompaniment and lyrics. Listening to her work and her passion inspired me so much. I think about this student every day. Her drive and her love for writing music almost single-handedly rekindled my love and desire for writing and playing music. She doesn’t know that she impacted me in this way, but witnessing her passion made my passion grow even stronger than before! The next period was planning for the teacher we were observing. This time with him taught me a lot about being a teacher, and how secondary general music worked in the real world. He never quite sat down during his planning period. He took us to rewire and program some equipment in the pit for the musical, helped move chairs and percussion equipment into the orchestra room, observed a choir rehearsal, scarfed down lunch, and then went right back to the next class. During this period, I learned that you truly never stop as a teacher. He was constantly interacting with faculty and other students he saw in the hallway. He did express to us, though, that he had to be sure to be very prepared for the day, because he knew that he wouldn’t have his planning time to work on school-related things. This showed me that planning time is not only busy, but it is so essential for a teacher. Sometimes it’s simply impossible to plan everything they need in one night. Also, it is always nice to have a break within the day! The last two periods were the same type of class. They were called “music technology”, but at this point, they had already learned about the technology they needed, and had started to write and perform songs. The assignment that they were working on at this point was working toward performing the song that they had written for a previous assignment. The teacher scaffolded the projects in such a way that they were practically seamless, and I think the students appreciated it! These classes were almost entirely project-based learning, and you could tell. The teacher would facilitate and observe the groups, but he didn’t fully take control over anything- he just listened and gave advice where he felt appropriate. He then encouraged us to do the same! This is where one of my favorite parts of the day took place: I sat in on a group who had written a song. There were two vocalists, a pianist, and a rapper. The song had two rap interludes within the singing. In their situation, the rapper was having some trouble lining up the rhymes with the beat of the piano behind her. They asked me for my guidance, and quite honestly, I didn’t necessarily have an answer. They decided to run it again, and during this run, I simply sat on the cajon in the room, and came up with a very simple beat and just jammed with them. After keeping a steady, sensical beat behind the raps, she got more and more in time with every rep. THIS process of failing, trying something new, and succeeding, lit the students up. The whole room was full of energy and encouragement every time we ran through the raps and got one more phrase right. The happiness that radiated from all of them as their song finally came together was invigorating as a teacher. That was truly one of the best, most fun music making experiences I have ever had as a teacher with high schoolers. It was truly something I will never forget! Overall, I had such a wonderful time at this practicum. I literally think about my experiences and how much they inspire me every single day. I am so thankful for this experience, and am very excited to know that I will be having days like this for the rest of my life. It’s so great to get to do what you love forever! JMUke is a community outreach, music-making program that I have been involved in for a short amount of time, but I still very much enjoy everything that it has to offer. JMUke is a very low-stress activity that gracefully and quietly transforms community members into musicians. They do not have to participate if they don't want to, but they know that if they do choose to jam, they can do it in a safe environment that values mistakes over critiquing them. All of the facilitators of JMUke share a common goal of making music, and making friends. This is truly one of the most inclusive and meaningful community experiences that I have ever been involved in through JMU, and I can't wait to participate in more JMUke activities! |
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