Going beyond the Sheet Music.

I think there is a great deal of value in teaching students beyond the textbook.  Beyond the sheet music.  Beyond the scales and rudiments, beyond the routinue of always following what the conductor tells you to do.

Don't get me wrong, I teach plenty of that traditional stuff.  In fact, probably too much of it and not as well as others do.  However,  this year I have been trying to force the kids to think beyond the norm every once in awhile.  

Young music students automatically think that a piece of music is more interesting if it is technically difficult.  If they see half notes and whole notes, they immediately think "BORING!"  Just like when they pick up a gift box at a birthday party and they can tell that clothes are inside.  Same response, BORING!

I'm trying to chip away at that stereotype.  So I intentionally chose a simple piece that the kids would look at and say "BORING".  But THEN, to trick them... I will show them that simple music can be breathtakingly beautiful.   I want them to be expressive!  Go beyond the notes!  Make MUSIC. 

At least, that is what I want to happen.  They may still hate it in the end.  But out of a class of 50, I think there will be a few that learn the lesson.  I will post a recording soon. 

Also, I want the students to realize that string playing goes beyond the orchestra setting.  The skills that they learn in their school years can help them to express their own musical tastes and compositions down the road. 

So today, I introduced the students to Andrew Bird.  Not only is he an amazing violinist but he is also an incredibly visionary indie rock artist.  

I played this clip in class:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFmfncE-jD0
A pretty amazing song, in my opinion.

He is coming to a Synagogue in DC in December to play a concert on just his violin.  I think an after school field trip would be awesome...you know, families, students and a weirdo teacher who wants their students to be cultured and uber-hip!

Pretty neat.

Diversity Wars...I mean Doors

So every year the Pyle guidance department holds a rousing competition of diversity sharing amongst the young middle schoolers.  Each year, children from all grades (Well, lets be honest....mostly 6th graders) bring in their most diverse materials from home and cover their TAG teacher's door in a crazy display.  Last year, I had 8th graders who were needless to say, rather unmotivated to decorate.  However, this year I have a lovely group of 6th grade students.

I told the students that they should bring in as much as they could find, from any country and any culture.  They certainly stepped up to the challenge.  By the end of Thursday last week, this is what my band room door looked like:

Yes folks, Diversity threw up all over my door! We even had chili pepper lights!  I thought they were doing a great job.  We were destined for a win!

However, Mr. Liddle's 7th grade TAG class caught sight of our door on Thursday and decided there was NO WAY a 6th grade class would beat them.  They didn't have much by Thursday afternoon, but they rallied together on Friday and created this masterpiece next door:

We were out done.  What a truly fabulous door!  Mr. Liddle's class ended up taking first place.  We were runners up, which isn't too bad out of a school of 1300 students!  I told my 6th graders they should be proud of their work and know that their efforts inspired older kids to really step it up and display diversity at its best.

We'll get 'em next year :)

My Orchestra Class

 

Just a quick shot of my 7th and 8th grade Orchestra

Cute :)

An Old Bike in the Old Ellicott City

My Love, Eli.

Oh Lady Gaga, that has been done!

Everyone's all in a tizzy over Lady Gaga's meat dress.

Yes, it is controversial.  Yes, it is somewhat disgusting.  Yes, it's never been done before.

WRONG!  It has been done before.  Lady Gaga's dress is just following the lead of artist Jane Sterbak, who in the 1987 sewed a dress completely made of meat.  It is currently on display at the Pompideu Center in Paris, France.  (The modern art museum there).   Ben and I saw the exhibit on our honeymoon (it looks more like a beef jerky dress now...).  However, the shock value is still there two decades later.

I won't post pictures on here, you can click the link yourself.

Jane Sterbak, 1987
http://viewoncanadianart.com/2010/08/12/fairy-godmother-of-the-arts-dies/

Lady Gaga, 2010
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/09/lady-gaga-explains-her-vma-raw-meat-dress/1

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Jon Waters Updated

Baltimore Festival Day

On Saturday, we decided to spend a day on the streets of Baltimore.  First stop, the annual Pigtown Festival.  This smaller festival is known for the "Racing of the Pigs".  Both Jon and Ben invisioned a home town twist on the Spanish "Running of the Bulls" spectacle, herding crazy boar down the backway alleys of the city.  Um, not quite.  But still entertaining.

Cheering them on!

They also raced the "ugly pigs" as the annoucer called them, or the ducks! 

You can always find interesting music at these festivals, and yesterday was no exception.  Lots of street performers, we loved this drum circle.  The little girls were adorable.

Tom Liddle, my colleague at Pyle, and his band Fall Catalouge also played at the event.

Everyone stopped by to listen

Then we went over to the Hampden Festival, Hon.  Home of the beehive, hipsters, kitsch and of course John Waters.

Jon Waters, in his element!

Another great day in Baltimore.

Times of Change

So it seems that this beautiful September is ushering in a time of change for many people that fill my life.  I feel like many of my friends are stepping into new adventures, or furthering their studies to reach a higher understanding of their careers or themselves.  It is exciting for them!  

Ben is going to school for a Master's in Humanties.  His reason to go back was very noble...to truly educate himself on a variety of interesting topics (history, love, philosophy, art, etc.) so that he can not only become a better teacher but a more knowledgeable person.  I love that.

Danny, Ben's brother, is on a 4 month adventure in Ecuador.  He is studying Anthropology while experiencing everyday culture by living with a host family in Cuenca.  Amazing!

Renata, Danny's girlfriend, just found a perfect job in NYC doing exactly what she hoped to do.  She is now an assistant producer at the New Victory Theater in Times Square, working with children and educating the public on the power of drama.  She's living in Brooklyn.  Wow, what an adventure.

Caitlin

Caitlin is in Brooklyn pursuing her art.  Fabulous!

Other friends are traveling the world, going to school, starting families and really moving into a new phase.  It's fun to think about the possibilities.

While I'm still in Ellicott City, things are getting a bit more exciting.  Kate Thomasson, my very dearest friend, is moving to Baltimore!!!!! I can't imagine a better friend scenario:  Our best friends are within a 10 mile radius of our house.  Both Jon and Kim AND Kate and Matt.

While traveling the world is tremendous and something I love to do, and while living in a new fantastic city is completely awe inspiring, I do appreciate being so close to good friends. 

It makes life much more enjoyable. 

Office Space

I needed a place to do T.P.S reports!  

Actually, since Ben was starting grad school and I teach oboe lessons at the house, we decided it would be fun to fix up one of our spare bedrooms as an office.  I am normally a fan of the cool color palette, but I decided that a burst of aqua and some fun decorations would make the office an exciting place to work.  Ben built these amazing bookshelves from scratch!  I'm really proud of him, I think they look fantastic. 

Yeah, our room looked like this for most of the summer.

The finished project (almost)!

Blue with pops of orange....also did you get the bike wheel theme ( that is for Ben...I'm going to add music stuff later)

The bike wheel will hold pictures.  I also plan to put flowers on the table, you know to keep the soul happy.

A Few Mrs. Townsend Moments

Tuning

Tubas

Teaching

Taking the Time to Celebrate Success!

A Walk Through Urban Toronto

This past weekend we traveled to Toronto for Brinsley and Samantha's lovely wedding. In between the reception and the ceremony, I was able to wander around the neat city. I tried to capture the light and design of an urban setting....in a cocktail dress and heels!