I'll Trade Ya

On my way to Birmingham this morning, I stopped by the Apple Store for my appointment with the "genius" (apple's customer service reps). My iphone's accelerometer hasn't worked for months. It's not a deal breaker, it just keeps me from getting all of the functionality out of this amazing device. After five minutes with the genius, I had a new phone in hand. Wow. It was that easy. Thank you apple.

Punched

In music, a virtuoso is an idividual who is highly skilled at one or more musical instruments. I'm talking head of the field skills. If the value of a musical outfit were determined by the collective talent of its members, then Punch Brothers is as talented as any out there! I just returned from their performance at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts. I scored some free tickets, and Chandler and I eagerly attended the show.

Punch Brothers is fronted by Chris Thile, formerly of Nickel Creek. Chris single-handedly changed the way the world thinks about the mandolin. I think the word virtuoso accurately describes his skill. However, it wasn't just a rag-tag band of string players fronted by the big name. On the contrary, every member of the group was equally skilled in their instrument, be it double bass, violin, guitar, or banjo. An entire group of virtuoso musicians. Needless to say, it was incredible. They played the entire "Blind Leaving the Blind", a forty minute, four movement string quintet composed by Thile. These five guys played their instruments with as much grace and attention to detail as any orchestral player would. But, let me get back to Chris for a moment. Think about a singer and how a singer controls his or her instrument. The brain simply wills the voice to "play". There's no middle man. Any other instrument requires the brain to communicate with an inatimate object in order to produce the desired sound. Watching Chris play, the middle man fades away. It's almost as if his brain is communicating directly with his instrument. I imagine there have only been several such musicians in history. Perhaps Miles Davis had this trait. Maybe Stevie Ray Vaughn and his electric guitar. It's quite a site to witness, and I'm humbled every time I get the chance.

I had such a chance my freshman year of college. Back then, Chris Thile was still in Nickel Creek, and Sky Bar was still the Blue Room. Nickel Creek was playing at the Blue Room and I went to hear them. I got there extra early, and thus got a spot very near the front (it was standing only). The show was outstanding, of course, but the fun didn't end there. I went home and began getting ready for bed, when a friend of mine called and said, "Dude, come back up to the Blue Room. Nickel Creek is playing unplugged outside their tourbus!" I threw my clothes back on, grabbed my mandolin, and headed back downtown. I got there in time to hear them play a few old bluegrass tunes completely unplugged in the parking lot to the Blue Room. It was great. Afterward, I ventured up to Chris and asked him to sign my mandolin. I handed my bottom of the line mandolin that I hadn't played in several weeks to him. He flipped it around and began to play! (At this point, I froze. I knew I hadn't played this instrument in quite a while and I was sure it would be horribly out of tune). He played a lightning fast bluegrass lick, paused, and said, "hmm... still in tune." Wow. He flipped it back over, signed it and handed it back to me. I smiled and said thanks. Thus, my brush with greatness was over. Five years later, he's in a new band, but still just as amazing to watch and listen to. Thanks Punch Brothers for a great show!

We've got spirit yes we do...

The Pep Rally. An all important event in the collective spirit of a school. When I was in middle school, pep rallies were fun. We yelled, someone won the spirit stick, and that was all. Drake does pep rallies a little differently. The first pep rally I went to last year blew me away. The sheer volume of sound these kids produce is breathtaking. Teams come up with cheers to use at the pep rallies to compete for the coveted "Best Cheer" award. Nobody actually says it, but winning best cheer means you won the pep rally. "Most Spirit", thanks for playing, try again.
Students and teachers paint their faces and wear the most team colors they can fit on their body. Don't be mistaken, these pep rallies only slightly pay homage to the athletic teams of the school. For the most part, it's one seventh grade team versus another seventh grade team; one sixth grade team versus another sixth grade team in an all out scream fest. You can imagine that I, as a choral music teacher, cringe with every blood curdling scream, every vein popping yell, every hoarse student that attempts to sing in my class the following day. I try. I tell my singers not to yell so much, to let other members of their team carry the weight. Fat chance.
I was tasked with announcing the 7th grade softball team at the pep rally today. I decided to have fun with it since most of the softball girls are also choir members. I gathered the softball players and had them choose a nickname. Then, in my best Michael Buffer voice, I announced each player as "Suzie 'the thunderbolt' Smith" etc. After the pep rally, our bookkeeper asked me "Who was that announcer they hired?" Excellent.

We've got spirit, how bout you?....

Moroccan Around the Christmas Tree

My cousing Reid is in Morocco for two years working for the Peace Corps. Two years! You couldn't do it. So he's pretty much a bad ass. He started a blog today to chronicle his time in Northern Africa. So, I've devoted my post today, to his blog. Even if you don't know him, it'll be cool to read a blog written by someone living across the world! It'll be like a pen pal, except much more one-sided.

www.atlassnows.blogspot.com

Developed

Today, I took a half day off work so that I could drive to LaGrange, GA. My destination was Long Cane Middle School to see the choir director there. In music education, one often finds that he is the only professional in his field at a particular school. The closest middle school might be Opelika, but I've observed the teacher there and feel no need to go back. I met with Mrs. Biggs to discuss my program and music selection. I expected to leave with a few titles I could check out to get me on the right track. I left with four written pages of titles and composers of tried and true middle school repertoire. I dare say that this simple trip was one of the most professionally developing pieces of "professional development" I've ever experienced. Sure, I could flip through a J.W. Pepper catalog (music supplier and distributer) until my thumbs turn blue. But by meeting with Mrs. Biggs, someone who is good at what she does and has been doing it for a while, I was able to see tons of music that someone has done and that works. "This one is great," she would say. "You MUST get this one."

So now I have new direction, or perhaps a more precise heading in my current direction. I was affirmed in some of my teaching practices, which is always a plus. Now, I have the task of choosing from this huge list the pieces I want to do this semester. Wish us luck, and come hear us sing sometime!

Have I ever told you...

That I've been skydiving? It was one of the most fun experiences of my life. I also happened to live with Aubie at the time, and he came along. This video is actually of Aubie skydiving, but I'm in it! I'm the one in the yellow jumpsuit. Off we go, into the wild blue yonder.

Like a Charm

As a new teacher, I have faced a lot of challenges. As a good friend and colleague of mine said, teaching is one of the only professions where those who are brand new are expected to perform on the same level as those that have been doing it for years. My challenges have simply been trying to figure out how to do my job and do it better today than I did the day before. However, on a broader scale, one of my greatest challenges has been selecting choral literature that "fits" with my choir and the situation at my school. By "situation" I mean this: I have a 7th grade choir made up of 88 students. These students are split into four different classes. Each of these classes is a microchasm of the greater choir. There are about twenty girls and four or five boys in each class. This makes things much more difficult than if the whole choir was together at the same time. Each student doesn't have the confidence that they would if they had eighty seven other voices singing with them. Instead, they have to be one of twenty or twenty four voices. It is a challenge, but I must make it work.
As I said, selecting literature has become one of my biggest challenges and I have realized in the last year that it is one of the most important decisions a choral director will make in a given year.
Every school is different. So, I could ask for all the advice I want, but in the end I've got to choose music that will best fit my choir at my school. So, first semester, I decided to set the bar high and see how much they could achieve. I chose three part mixed, mostly homophonic music. Homophonic means that everyone is singing the same words at the same time, just different pitches. For whatever reason, my brain thought that this would be easier for them. We tried, and we did ok. I noticed that the main problem was that everyone wanted to sing the melody. Basically through trial and error, I learned that middle schoolers will want to sing the melody if they are singing the same WORDS as the melody. It makes sense. "I'm saying what they are saying, so I should probably sing the same pitches that they are singing."
So I'm rethinking literature selection. I was too ambitious first semester. I've scaled way down. I'm seeking more advice, browsing through more music, visiting another middle school choir director in LaGrange to compare notes. I want to get it right this time.
The other day, I stumbled upon a piece in my personal collection called "Yonder Come Day". I received a few copies of it while I was in Louisville, KY for a conference last year. Dr. Patrick Freer from Georgia State used it in his lecture on the boy's changing voice. It's an African American spiritual that uses several different melodies that eventually combine to create three part harmonies. I decided on a whim to try it the other day in class. It worked like a charm and is continuing to work better and better. EVERY CLASS today (even my tiny fourth period class) was confidently singing three part chords thanks to this fun, ingenious piece. Not only does it "trick" them into singing harmonies, but they LOVE the piece. "Can we sing that again?" they ask as they pack up their things at the end of class. What have I learned? There are ways to achieve what I want; ways to achieve the potential I see within these kids. I just have to keep digging until I find the key to unlock it. Today, "Yonder Come Day" was that key. If every class is singing it well, then I can't wait to get them all together and hear them sing it. I love days when I learn more than I teach.