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.
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