Today, I was at a District Band Clinic that ends with a concert later this afternoon. For those of you that are not sure what that means, I'll explain...
I blogged before about how music students audition for the prize of a place in a District or Region Band. Well, the prize includes a day of rehearsing with students from other schools under the direction of a guest conductor. This culminates in a Concert performance for parents and the community after only 12 hours of rehearsing. Picture an All-Star Game of the sport of your choice.
This is great for the students. But what good is it for the Band Directors who have taught these students?...
We as directors are given a tremendous opportunity to not only network with other directors, but to literally go to school for a day and learn from the guest conductor as well. The guest conductors are considered Master Teachers in the Music World and display some of the highest levels of teaching models. It is priceless to watch another director work with a group and pick up new tools of teaching to use with my students. I have begun to have a notebook with me when I come to take notes and reminders of the things I should take back to my classroom (I have a horrible memory). And it's free... with no registration or convention fees.
I, as a director, cannot wait until these days in the school year when I can sit down or stand in a hall with fellow directors in the area and brainstorm. After years of teaching, I am not afraid to bounce ideas off of others to test and see if they are really great ideas or just stupid ideas that I should change or forget all together. It is a pride issue when I risk the chance (and often it is the case) that my idea is truly off-base and I am embarrassed to have spoken. However, I have most often discovered that my colleagues are forgiving and willing to help me find a solution to my issue. Sometimes, I will even come to the conversation having a full knowledge and be able to help someone with an issue they are struggling with. Still further, is the chance to make connections and schedule with fellow directors from another school a time when they can come and work with my students during class time. These conversations are such an encouragement for me as I go back to my classroom the next Monday to work at improving my students. We cannot be the best teachers we can be by ourselves. We may be very intelligent. We may have loads of experience. We may even have 5 degrees to our name. But, the world of teaching music is changing almost daily and the only real way to keep up is collaboration and communication with others who may have different contacts with the music world than we have.
The Band Clinic/Concert experience is a microcosm of the best in Music Education. Students work hard like athletes for 12 hours. Teachers go to school to improve their teaching. Friends and colleagues are given an open opportunity to network and brainstorm for the betterment of the students who are not even at the event.
Because, after all, it really is all about improving student's lives in the end... Right!!
Showing posts with label Band Concert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Band Concert. Show all posts
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Band Concerts and Tipping Points - How Great is Our God
This morning I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't sleep. I do that sometimes when there is a lot on my mind. Today just happens to be the morning after my band's Winter Concert. (I wish we could call it a "Christmas" Concert, but that's another blog.) You would think that I would have gotten a lot off my mind and could rest, but that is not the case.
So, I think to myself (while lying in bed) that I have options here:
1. I could just lie here and think about upcoming events (and how I'm going to deal with them as well) along with other random thoughts that creep in (again, another blog).
2. I could go running in 28 degree weather to run off some energy (how stupid would that be).
3. OR.... I could blog.....
Our concert was really a great success and that is saying a lot considering all that we go through to put it together.
Disclaimer: I don't normally write about school in my blog because that can get me in trouble if I say the wrong thing. But this is a good thing and what is truly on my mind, so here goes....
You see, we have a particular schedule at our school that does not allow for my 7th and 8th grade band students to have a class together during the day. This schedule works well for academic classes and allows teachers to plan together for better student success. I agree with that. It just makes it difficult to keep the band as a whole (and all fine arts) performing at the same high standards as other schools. So we have to hold a Rehearsal every Tuesday Afternoon for an hour so they get time to practice with each other, challenge each other among their sections and just generally mingle with each other (to create an atmosphere of kinship that leads to high school band in the future). Holding these rehearsals is quite a challenge with all of the events that students are involved in at school (especially intelligent and well rounded band students). But many of our students this year have done a really good job of getting to rehearsal each Tuesday. It is also becoming evident that many of our students are choosing to become musicians and focus on band as opposed to athletics ... or just nothing (as is often the case). We are moving toward a "Tipping Point" in our band program.
Malcolm Gladwell describes a moment when some thing or idea becomes popular and well known seemingly over night or all at once. This moment he calls the "Tipping Point". When I read his book it was interesting to see how I have been running band programs in a certain way as to obtain this point when band becomes a really popular and important part of the school environment. Gladwell notes that change happens slowly over time but will climax at a certain unpredictable moment when, without realizing it, people just have to be a part of some thing because it is cool to do so. (He relates it much like a Sickness Epidemic moves across a people group or how a certain shoe becomes popular to wear).
I would take it one step further and realize that this unpredictable moment is ultimately controlled by a Sovereign God who is in control of the whole universe. This relates to me in that He loves His children and wants what is best for me. He has given me talents and intelligence to understand how things work and how I should go about each day to Glorify Him in every decision and action that I make. In learning about "Tipping Points" I learn that Malcolm Gladwell has again proven that we serve a Mysterious God that reveals Himself in a myriad of ways. Some may say that the changes that occur in this process are a result of man having grand ideas and the patience to work the problem out. I say, who gave man those ideas and that patience. I know I don't think of a lot of brilliant things on my own but rather get most of them from the truths found in Scripture as I read them from the Bible. And the patience thing is still working on me after 12 years of teaching band.
No... any success that we have in our band program (like our Concert last night) is because God blessed the efforts and rose up within our students the ability to perform well under pressure. They don't get to practice the music with all of the parts together except every once in a while, yet they performed last night as if they had worked each day as a unit together. That is a blessing from God that I cannot make happen on my own.
How Great is Our God
-waxler
So, I think to myself (while lying in bed) that I have options here:
1. I could just lie here and think about upcoming events (and how I'm going to deal with them as well) along with other random thoughts that creep in (again, another blog).
2. I could go running in 28 degree weather to run off some energy (how stupid would that be).
3. OR.... I could blog.....
Our concert was really a great success and that is saying a lot considering all that we go through to put it together.
Disclaimer: I don't normally write about school in my blog because that can get me in trouble if I say the wrong thing. But this is a good thing and what is truly on my mind, so here goes....
You see, we have a particular schedule at our school that does not allow for my 7th and 8th grade band students to have a class together during the day. This schedule works well for academic classes and allows teachers to plan together for better student success. I agree with that. It just makes it difficult to keep the band as a whole (and all fine arts) performing at the same high standards as other schools. So we have to hold a Rehearsal every Tuesday Afternoon for an hour so they get time to practice with each other, challenge each other among their sections and just generally mingle with each other (to create an atmosphere of kinship that leads to high school band in the future). Holding these rehearsals is quite a challenge with all of the events that students are involved in at school (especially intelligent and well rounded band students). But many of our students this year have done a really good job of getting to rehearsal each Tuesday. It is also becoming evident that many of our students are choosing to become musicians and focus on band as opposed to athletics ... or just nothing (as is often the case). We are moving toward a "Tipping Point" in our band program.
Malcolm Gladwell describes a moment when some thing or idea becomes popular and well known seemingly over night or all at once. This moment he calls the "Tipping Point". When I read his book it was interesting to see how I have been running band programs in a certain way as to obtain this point when band becomes a really popular and important part of the school environment. Gladwell notes that change happens slowly over time but will climax at a certain unpredictable moment when, without realizing it, people just have to be a part of some thing because it is cool to do so. (He relates it much like a Sickness Epidemic moves across a people group or how a certain shoe becomes popular to wear).
I would take it one step further and realize that this unpredictable moment is ultimately controlled by a Sovereign God who is in control of the whole universe. This relates to me in that He loves His children and wants what is best for me. He has given me talents and intelligence to understand how things work and how I should go about each day to Glorify Him in every decision and action that I make. In learning about "Tipping Points" I learn that Malcolm Gladwell has again proven that we serve a Mysterious God that reveals Himself in a myriad of ways. Some may say that the changes that occur in this process are a result of man having grand ideas and the patience to work the problem out. I say, who gave man those ideas and that patience. I know I don't think of a lot of brilliant things on my own but rather get most of them from the truths found in Scripture as I read them from the Bible. And the patience thing is still working on me after 12 years of teaching band.
No... any success that we have in our band program (like our Concert last night) is because God blessed the efforts and rose up within our students the ability to perform well under pressure. They don't get to practice the music with all of the parts together except every once in a while, yet they performed last night as if they had worked each day as a unit together. That is a blessing from God that I cannot make happen on my own.
How Great is Our God
-waxler
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