Last Day and Reflection

So today was the last day that I myself can go to visit the musicians (as they have become more than just a group of kids with instruments) at Los Cerritos. I arrived as usual, and now they have become more oriented to working on concert readiness than just general music ed. They worked on the run through of their music, and now instead of me fine tuning their playing technique and posture, I decided to work more towards the finer points of musicianship. I began to help the trumpets learn how to use their tuning slides to more effectively "center" a note. While their musicality has grown greatly, their maintenance has gone a bit unchecked. Most of them haven't properly lubricated their instruments since the last band practice before break, and that greatly concerns me. I had shown them in previous classes how to properly lubricate an instrument, and only a few have taken time to do it on a regular basis. It isn't entirely their fault though, most can't even go to the music shop to buy what they need. Only a handful of trumpets had acceptable oils, and even fewer had the proper slide grease. So I have decided to send them a few supplies if I have the resources to go and purchase starter kits for them. It ultimately falls onto them. I can see many of them pursuing music into their later years, and that's what I have aimed for. Since today was one of the final days I'd see them, I brought in a few examples of what makes music fun later on. I brought my plunger, a mute for brass instruments that makes a "wah wah" sound when moved over the bell of the horn. They were all amazed with it, and even further amazed when they heard that I have played music for eight years. They have started becoming more musical too. They have began to sing parts of music when they aren't playing, and most of the time their singing is close to the pitch in the song. This is of great importance, because playing music becomes vastly improved when you can center the pitch by voice and instrument. I have barely begun to practice singing my music parts, and these kids have already picked up that skill. They have also began to write their own music. I didn't begin this until my freshman year of high school. While the pieces are short, they are showing a love for music, and that makes me very happy. In all, these kids have come a long way from last semester. From making fart sounds from a trombone and shrills from a flute, they have become students that are eager to grow into their instruments. I'm just glad I was part of the process.

As for the summary of my feelings and struggles of the way here, there have been a few. Most of the troubles were simplifying things for 5th graders. I had to rework the methods I used on players in High School to have a similar effect on 5th graders but be simple enough for them to understand and do. It took me a few weeks, but I finally found a method that works, with the help of my Mentor. This taught me the skill of breaking things down to be easily understood by the younger generation.

Of the other issues, there are two. One, I  had to learn how other instruments worked outside of brass. I first learned maintenance, which was easy enough, then I had to learn basic skills on each one to more effectively help the students. The second issue was transportation, because the times I went to Spruce or Martin, it meant I was walking home with a load of school work and an instrument. But it was worth it in the end.

As for the many memories, the best stand out. For me personally, it was playing along to a song that I played solo in 5th grade, and replaying it was just a big flash back to me. The others were more towards me adapting to a 5th grade mindset. I'd encounter students with their instruments assembled backwards and their music upside down at times, and it kept amazing me to think "yup, I started the same way." That was really the bulk of why I became rooted in this work. I wanted to help them so they'd be able to be at a higher level at my age. This world needs musicians, and with this work, I hope that I have made that future a little more possible.

Despite this being my "Final Blog" I still hope to go back to the school to further help the students.   

Mentorship Work 7

So last Friday, I went again to Los Cerritos. It was same as normal, but I suggested giving exercises I have made for the students over the summer. The director seemed okay witg it, since the year is begining to wind down. He also wants to expose them to more performances, so I hope to show the students some of my performances. As the year winds down, I begin to hope to see the students continue work in their musicianship. I'll get to see the grand end result next thursday at their year end concert.

I have now completed the 25 hour minimum with the total of my outside and on location work.

Mentorship Work 6

Last Friday (3/21) was the most recent day that I went to work with my mentor, and the last time I planned a exercise routine was earlier today. For last Friday, I went to Los Cerritos and worked with their band as they prepared for their concert April 17th. Since I last attended, they have improved in their musicianship and the brass players that worked with me have become more definite in their note transitions and technique. Overall, the band has become more of a band. The basic foundation has been laid, and I noticed that one cut off in particular was exceptionally good and a sign of proper development. They are responding to the conductor properly and are accustoming to the proper mindset of a concert environment. I also noticed how the students themselves are becoming aligned with their instrument. As studies have shown, each instrumentalist has a certain personality based on the instrument they play. In general, the flutes and clarinets are calm, collected, and very social, and there is no doubt that the woodwinds I have seen fit that description. The brassier players tend to be a bit more rambunctious and full of energy and competition, and most all of the students have displayed this behavior, most likely due to my influence of being a brass player. As for the sax players, being an in between of the woodwinds and brass, usually tend to have a laid back feel to things, and they fit that to the mark. I believe that these young musicians will do excellent if they continue down this path.

As for my outside work, I have referenced several pages out of my Arban's Method Book of Conservatory Method For Trumpet, notably the first studies and the lip slurs section. I hope to give copies of exercises to any trumpet players that are interested in furthering their development.

I am at a total of 22 hours now, with only 3 to go. 

Outside Project Work

Basically, while I am not working in the classroom setting with my mentor with the students at various schools, I have spent a few hours researching on how to properly teach elementary school kids how to play music. My primary source was my music teacher at South San Francisco High School, Mr. Talbert. I spend about an hour weekly talking with him about music education and how I can apply it properly. What he has told me is that the simpler it is, the more easier it is digested by the students. He explained further, saying that the same method works across all age levels. It encompasses a three step method: the first is if the student can clap the rhythm. The second is if the student can say the rhythm. The last one is if the student can sing the rhythm. If the student can do these three steps, they will have an easier time trying to play the rhythm that if they didn't do the above steps. He also said that they have to have thier own idea about how they play. If they think something needs work, it's a good sign of musicianship. My mentor knew this before I did, leading to his implication of it in his classes.

Aside from this, I have done experimenting with the lip slurs that I have been designing for the elementary level. I have referenced different things, like the internet, collegues, and personal method books. I am still in the process of determining what method would be at their level of achievement and growth.

These total the four hours outlined. Along with those are two more done in prep work, putting me at 20 hours. I aim to meet the 25 hour minimum within the next month.

Mentorship Work 5

These last two Fridays were the most recent days that I went to work with my mentor. I went to the same place as usual for Fridays, Los Cerritos. The first of the two (2/21) was when my mentor couldn't make it to class, so I subbed in for his combined class from 2 to 2:40 pm. I knew that I would be subbing a week prior, so after confirming it with my mentor and the school office, I began to research how I would plan the days activities. I also reviewed what my mwntor wanted to have done in class, so i spent some time planning how the class would run. I arrived at the school at around 1:30 to set up the 40 chairs that were needed to fit the combined class. After I set up the chairs and music stands, I read through the note and e-mail my mentor left me with, and I flipped through the method book that would be used for the lesson. After studying the music scores, the kids came in at around 2:00. From there I proceeded to take them through a routine warm up that their regular teacher does, and then I conducted them through the list of songs given to me. The song playing took up the majority of class, with some work on things like performance standards and volume control. That conculded my work for that day. The second Friday (3/7) was a normal day with my mentor teaching and me assisting.

This puts me at 15 hours of work under my mentor,and I have done 2 hours of prep work on my own, putting me at 18 hours total, and 7 to go to meet the requirement.  

Mentorship Work 4

I was late on updating the blog this week, so this post will cover the work I did at Los Cerritos Elementary two weeks ago on January 31st. I still do remember what I did, since I have gotten used to the routine that I carry whenever I go visit a school. I walked into the class and helped the students warm up. From there I'd usually let my mentor take the wheel and I become the assistant. Recently I've been able to work with the brass players separately on technique, and for them I have their separate schedule that I have planned based of my experience as a brass player and my knowledge of building technique to this day.

I showed them the exercise last week, so that week I got to return to judge their improvement from week too week. There will always be those who do practice, and those who don't, but despite this there was an improvement in the cleanness of transition between notes across the board. Some have become accustomed to the strain on their lips and have become able to do the exercise much quicker than others, and others are still adjusting to the feeling of the strain. What this says to me is that those that have gotten used to the work need a more challenging exercise and those that haven't need more attention from me to help them. I personally did not learn this exercise until the 7th grade, and these students are only beginning 5th graders, so I aim to get all the students at the same level before moving on to more challenging methods.

Overall the students at this school are getting a better grasp on the basic necessities of musicianship, like subdivisions and note quality. I just became aware that these students are doing long tones in class. I have barely begun my long tone work last year. If my mentor and I can instill proper musical instinct into these children, these students will become the next wave of amazing high school musicians seven years from now. 

As of this update, I have a total of 12 hours with my mentor, and 2 hours in outside work/planning, totaling me to 14 hours overall. 

Mentorship Work 3

This week, I went to two schools. Last Wednesday I went to Martin Elementary. At that school I found that the class was a bit smaller due to other kids going to Outdoor Ed that week. My mentor took the opportunity to use the smaller class size to work out the finer points of musicianship. I as always primarily aided the trumpet and trombone players, but I also found myself correcting posture among the other instruments. One thing that I noticed about every school that I have been to is that there is one trumpet player that has his or her tuning slide inserted into the horn upside down. I correct it whenever I see it, and I hope that I can correct maintenance of horn issues in the future.

Last Friday I went to Los Cerritos. There, since I had a bit more grip since I started there, my mentor allowed me to take the brass players away from the rest of the band and work with them separately on brass only technique. I taught them an essential concept for any advancing brass player - Lip Slurs. these exercises are the equivalent of doing reps with weights; they are designed to wear out at the muscle in the embouchure and build stronger replacement muscles. The standard procedure is changing notes without the aid of changing valve or slide position, as this is the most challenging method. Since these kids were new though, I designed it so that it builds up to that level. notes that are played with the same valve/slide position are called partials, so there are notes between each partial. I had the students build up to the partial above a base starting note to teach them the importance of the exercise. They all managed to change between notes when a position was changed, but only a few could manage to shift between partials. They all commented that it was a hard process, and that "their lips feel weird and tingly." This tells me that the exercise works, and it is building the needed muscles in their young embouchures. I told them to practice them daily to ensure that it becomes easier as the muscles strengthen. Coming Friday (1/31) is when I will see them again, and at that time I will grade their improvement from the previous week. I hope to implement this method of exercise into as many schools as I can in the time frame I have.

I have also done some light research on techniques useful to teaching music, and I hope to test them out on Thursday (1/30) to see how they work.

As of now, I have accumulated 10 total hours in work. I aim to have more than 15 by the end of February.    

Mentoship Work 2

So as of now I have done three more hours, puting me at a total of 6 hours of physical work with my mentor. The work was done half and half at two schools over the week. On Thursday I took my first visit to Spruce Elementary and helped the two classes over there from 1:00 to 2:30, and on Friday I went to Los Cerritos from 1:00 to 2:45.

The group at Spruce only has an issue with behavior and discipline, but their playing is coming along well. Los Cerritos simply needs to work towards focus.

Since I do have a Marching Band background I was focusing mainly on posture again, since it is really important to set that habit from the start. In specific, the kids that have gotten used to my advice have become more aware of their posture. The trumpet players are also starting to make sure their grips on their horns are proper, which is important because a good grip leads to flexibility and strength later on.

What I noticed about the way the schools are doing music classes is that now all the classes are done as one unified band. While thats good for uniformity, I feel that it takes away the honing of skills on ones instrument before integration into a full band. Therefore I have asked for permission from my mentor to work with the Brass instruments seperately at the begining of class to help them further their skill. I hope to get all the brass players in the district to a level where they will be more than prepared for a fruitful musical career in school.

I also plan on doing individual research on teaching music to new players.

Mentorship Work 1

So over the past two weeks or so, I have completed 3 hours towards my 25 hour requirement. The first hour was a simple introduction to the elementary kids I would be working with. The other two hours were actual hands on work. While my mentor directed the class, I corrected individual problems and focused on the brass group since I am a brass player. The next time I plan on working with my mentor is coming thursday with the brass group at Spruce Elementary. I aim to have at least 10 hours done by next month.