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.
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