a good teaching day

Yesterday during piano class, I let out a huge sneeze. I mean, one of those loud, knock you backwards ones that makes people next in the next room shout, "Bless you!"

Kalena's eyes light up - "Hey everybody!" she says. Kalena is always saying this. Usually, she's about to say, "Hey everybody! Let's run around the room screaming" or something equally productive that circumvents my authority, but this time she says, "Listen guys! I'm going to play a sneeze! She carefully considers, and plays a low cluster of notes, then a staccato high cluster that sound remarkably like the "ahhh--CHOO!" I just let out. "I can do it too!" Emma cries, and throws her whole tiny body into a crash of a keyboard sneeze. After several tries, she finds one she likes. Christian calculates carefully, until he finds a rhythm that suits him - a long note for the "ahhhhhhh" and a quick, accented one for the "Choo!"

The thing is, I'm always trying to get them to play sounds to try to spark their creativity - we recently did a song about rain, and I urged them to add thunder sounds, bird calls, the sun coming out, etc. And now, through some sort of organic teaching miracle, they're doing it on their own!

Later on, my vocal student was articulating to me the difference between good and not-so-good vocal technique that we had discussed in her previous lesson, but this time in her own words. She would hear the stifled sound, then make the adjustment on her own, and sing correctly! I'm telling you, it was a good day.

the real deal

I went to see the Concordia College choir yesterday. Concordia College is a small private school in northern Minnesota, with a huge music reputation - I almost went there, just to sing in the choir. They're not big on talent, but make up for it with discipline and artistry. Think one of those little college basketball teams that can comptete with the best, even though they don't have the big power players of a Florida or a North Carolina. The incredible teamwork reminds you of why you got interested in the sport/art form in the first place.

They sang a piece by Eric Whitacre, and I'm getting more and more psyched about his music. This stuff is the real deal - it's truly modern, and truly accessible. His pieces include what some might call gimmicks (rain and wind sounds in a piece called Cloudburst, train whistle-like sounds in Ghost Train, and in the one yesterday, the poem said, "I am out of words to describe this" but the song continued on "ooo"s). I prefer, however, to think of them as "hooks" - sometimes the obvious choice is the most natural and beautiful. However, he still thinks like a classical composer, and to hear such interesting and accessible material formed with such elegant form and glorious restraint is a truly unique and wonderful experience. This one has staying power, folks.
http://www.ericwhitacre.com/main.html