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.
