Orchestra With Desiree Van Zee

Dear me,

I hope you are fairing well. This is your last blog to yourself and it is being typed on a german keyboard. That's right, you typed this when you were in Berlin on choir tour.

School is out and this is overdue but I think it's very important to remember this information. My diary here in Europe is one that I'm always going to keep and it's the same with these music education related notes I take. So here I type.

Jeph and I walked inside CJMS and felt familiar with our surroundings because we had been in there several times before observing the band. We were led to the orchestral room and sat in the back of the room like usual.

The students filed in at random and each knew what was expected of them. They ook out their instruments and Desiree helped them tune them if needed.

What I liked most about this class was that Desiree picked out great repertoire. There was a Hebrew dance song that was very fun and different from what you normally would here in a Middle School concert I think. She choose an easier piece that they enjoyed playing, a more challenging piece, and they were just starting another one that was maybe somewhere in the middle.

She was very good at being short and concise with her directions to the class. I thought the posters and decorations could use a little help. The one describing key signatures was falling down. 

If I ever have to teach anything involving orchestra, I'm definately going to call her up when I have questions or need ideas.

Signing off for now,
§hänNÄle€

Elementary School #2

Dearest Me,


Chandra Lind is the orchestra teacher at Irving Elementary School. This was an extraordinary experience and I will always count it as one of THE BEST classes I've ever been in. 

She kept a very nice pace and it was obvious that she loves to teach and knows what she wants to accomplish in the lesson. 


The students were excited to learn and I think one reason that aided in this excitement was the structure and organization of the class. They knew what was going to happen and what the consequences were for the choices they made; good or bad. 


Mrs. Lind got slightly annoyed with the violins at one point because a couple of them didn't bring their music. She handled this very well. She let them know that she was "disappointed" and then that they were wasting time in rehearsal. Especially so close to a performance.


I liked how she did different things to help the students better themselves. She didn't bring her violin so that they would fix their problems on their own and use their ears more and she taught with questions. 

It was all a very effective class and she is a superb teacher and mentor.

Elementary Observation

Dear Me,


Hi. Observing at Irving Elementary was a great experience. The school was way different from what I was expecting. Not that I was expecting it to be terrible, but it is a little foreboding looking in my opinion from the outside. Anyway, everyone was so nice and extremely helpful to me. There was artwork everywhere and it was clear that the students were proud of what they were learning.


I was led up to the one of the 5th grade classrooms where band would start shortly. The orchestra met in the band room so the band needed to meet in a classroom. They pushed the desks out of the way and made room for their stands and chairs.


From my seat in the back, it occurred to me just how far back percussionists are. No wonder there are problems with their attention span and following directions. It is hard as a director to give your attention to all the sections in the beginning band that need it I would suppose. There's so much to cover and a limited time to do so. 


At the end she came up to talk with us again and answer any questions we had. Turns out she's primarily a choral person. This is her 3 year directing band. I thought she was doing a great job seeing how it wasn't her primary area and all. She is SO extremely patient and passionate about her job. I get so annoyed with beginning bands as it just is hard to listen to and they have a hard time listening too.


She told me that I looked worried and that I can call her with questions any time. Maybe it was that it was so early in the morning and I couldn't control my facial expressions as well. It's good to know though that I have so many people that I can get in contact with to learn and ask questions.


Sincerely,
ME

Secondary Observation

Dear Future Me,


This is a blog about the observation in Chief Joseph after you taught the rehearsal for the clarinet section. Jeph led the rehearsal this time and you observed and had to say all their names at the end. Here are some things you observed:

• It is helpful to the success of the learning process to have be thinking ahead and move swiftly. "Start at measure 5, this time for accuracy. One, two, ready, AND!"
• Each time you stop them, have something for them to listen for next time instead of saying "ok, let's try that again." Jeph had them listen for pitch accuracy and he demonstrated rhythm a couple of times too.
• They were all chatty Junior High girls except one boy. Reminding them of the prize at the end helps them to stay focused. We had chocolate that day, but it could also be a long term goal. Saying something like, "Remember that we have Music Festival coming up. How are you going to be prepared to sing in front of the adjudicators if we are wasting time talking?"

Overall this was a great experience and it left me wanting to help them more as a section. I had these above ideas in mind but when I taught, it didn't come out how I planned :) If I could do it again, I would've kept them more engaged by asking a few individual questions to keep them on task and remind them of the ending prize.


Sincerely,
Me

9&10 Observations

Dear Future Me,
Hello! Here are some more observations!

9)Secondary
I observed Mr. Certalics class twice actually. It was a great experience. I'm not an orchestra person and it was great to see what goes on.

10)Jazz Band
Holy Cow, if I ever have a Jazz Band I will contact everyone I know of in the area to come demonstrate and give me pointers. Mr Burdahl conducts it so well. It was so cool that they had a warm up where they all played an improvised solo. I got to count them off! "A-one, A-two, A-one-two-three-four!"

Hey you!

Hey you!
It is time to complete the observations you observed and compile them into these next blogs. So far you've written blogs about 3)CJI podium, 4)CJI names, 5)Supp. Materials, 6)CJI secondary, 7)BHS primary, 8)TE warmups. Here goes 1)Concert and 2)Pep Band:

1)Concert
The concert was marvelous. I have never seen such a Middle/High School Concert. The flow was fairly swift and they were all dressed the same (White shirts, black pants. For HS blue shirts, black pants.)

The blend of the ensemble caught me off guard as I heard that they had exceptional blend. I thought of how they might have achieved this. I have come to the conclusion that warm ups are part of the magic. Why not have them play just a couple of sections at a time so everyone else can hear them together. Also the ensemble could sustain a chord while you adjust them (wave the flutes to be louder, trumpets to be softer....) this would give them a visual of the balance being pursued.

2)Pep Band
There is not too much I can say about the Pep Band. I thought it was a lot like my pep band back home. They were fairly organized it seemed and played fun songs :)

Your friend,
Shannalee

Blog 7: Advocacy Letter

Dear Future Me,

Today might be one of those days when you think to yourself, "Self, why is no body on board with me with the knowledge of why a music program is so important?" or "Hey, why are the parents so hesitant to see why they should encourage their children to join band, orchestra, or choir?" Well, you needn't worry any longer my dear friend. All you need to do is call upon the wisdom of your past self who is writing this during finals week to pull up a comprehensive and witty letter to these said individuals. So. Without further ado...

Dear School Community (i.e. Parents, Teachers, and Administrators);

It has come to my attention that there is some confusion as to what the goals and benefits of being in a musical ensemble are. That is why I have written this letter. Within it you will find my goals as the teacher in all my ensembles. Though they are different, the outcome and benefits are the same.

Music has been, and always will be an important subject to teach students. This is because of its important role in our society and what music means to us on an individual basis.

The ancient Greeks knew this and made sure that music was taught along with the other subjects.  Teaching music appreciation in our public schools creates a more balanced and well-rounded student. Playing in an ensemble and learning to implement personal practice time teaches students the value of teamwork and making their individual voice a part of the group.

After seeing the effects of a well-rounded education that includes music, and understanding how participation in music classes helps to develop student’s brains intellectually, it has become apparent to me that music education is vital to every students’ learning.

As the conductor, I need to schedule and plan where we will perform and when. I make it a priority to schedule as much playing time around the community as I can. This could mean your student will be representing the school in community service and volunteer work while playing for the Christmas stroll or playing in a small ensemble at the nursing home. In my opinion, this is the best way to learn. As Gandhi put it, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

I believe that students of all ages benefit from Music Education. When students are involved in a musical ensemble, they learn teamwork, individual practice, and accountability. As a music teacher, I will create a classroom environment that is conducive these goals, and will help foster creativity and safety of the students.

As educators, it is our duty to inspire and make this essential subject available to everyone. I would like parents, teachers, students, and administration of the school district that I work in to be proud of the musical students they have in their schools. I hope they will also enjoy and appreciate the music that will be created through many hours of practice together as a team.

Warm regards,

Shannalee Finlayson