The Gift of Music

This week started the new semester. I finished last semester well, though I would have liked to do better on one of my exams (not the one I expected, surprisingly!). I received three notables and two sobresalientes, that roughly translates to three Bs and two As--not bad.

It feels good to be done and starting in on new material. This semester I've only got four classes, so supposedly I'll have more time (such an elusive commodity!) at very least to study a bit more. My classes seem interesting so far although three of them are repeats in my mind: "Living together inside and outside the classroom" (Convivencia dentro y fuera del aula), "Equality and Diversity in schools an society" (Igualdad y diversidad escolar y social), and "Family, School and Society" (Familia, escuela y sociedad)!

All seem to be along the same touchy-feely line dealing with diversity in the classroom and conflict resolution. Having three classes with similar material can either be a blessing or a curse: they can feed off each other and help consolidate the material, or they can confuse themselves with one another and cause a huge mental mess! I'll let you know which is the case come the end of the semester. My fourth and final class will be my favorite I think. Have you guessed what it is yet? That's right, you guessed it: "Musical Education".

It's a lot of music appreciation and basic theory. By the end of term, those students who know nothing about music should be able to read a simple sheet of music, enough to be able to direct kids in a song or on their recorders. This week's reading was an introduction to theory and since I know how to read music and had quite a solid foundation in music theory as an elementary student myself, the only challenge is learning the vocabulary in Spanish! Did you know, for example that they name the notes using Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si instead of the letters of the alphabet from A-G? Those of you who are musically inclined or remember Julie Andrew's song from The Sound of Music will note that even this scale varies in two notes: "Sol" (So..."a needle pulling thread" and "Si" (Ti..."a drink with jam and bread"); which are the notes G and B respectively! (What a mess!)

Then of course there's the vocabulary involving all the notes themselves: whole, half, quarter, etc. You'd think it would be easy, music is the universal language, but it's actually quite hard to remember these second names! Thankfully, this isn't my first introduction to music vocabulary in Spanish. The first two years I lived here in La Roda I played in the community band and so learning vocabulary like bemol, sostenido or compás (flat, sharp, measure) wasn't too painful since it was in context. However, I never could learn to refer to the notes by their Spanish names.

Some of you may be wondering about my music history. How is it that I have such a grounding in music theory when music and arts programs have been suffering significant budget cutbacks for the past two decades? How is it that I learned to play recorder and auto-harp in second and third grade and picked up the trombone when I could barely reach the spit valve all in a public elementary school? When I tell you that the majority of my elementary education (and ALL of my musical education) took place in a two-room school house with a total of 42 students K-8th grade in a town of only 350 inhabitants and two hours from anywhere, the only explanation I can come up with is that the State had forgotten about us at Junction Elementary School. And it was just as well.

Somehow, in a school so small that we only needed two teachers--one for the "lower graders" (K-4) and one for the "upper graders" (4-8)--we also disposed of teacher completely dedicated strictly to music and dance. Each student had a private lesson one hour a week with the teacher and the bands (beginning, intermediate and advanced) practiced on Fridays. In folk dance we learned traditional Israeli dances along with swing and square dances; we sang Christmas carols in German, Eric Clapton and folk songs like Oh Shenandoah in choir; and also had an hour a week dedicated to music theory and history. We studied the circle of fifths, how to read key signatures, major and minor scales and the great composers. Tina Merrier was the woman who made all of this possible.

She was a tall, thin, proper lady with short grey hair and small gold-rimmed glasses. She loved music and it was contagious. When I think back to my years at Junction and just how much time and energy Tina (never Ms. Merrier) put into her work at the school, I am in awe. Now that I am looking ahead to a future in elementary education, I can't imagine where she got all her energy and motivation from. We had spring and winter concerts and we played for 3rd grade and 8th grade "graduations." Just thinking about the hours of planning, ordering music, and practicing with students one-on-one exhausts me, and yet Tina was always chipper, in her place, demanding our best and making the best of what we gave her.

I loved making music. In sixth grade I took up a second instrument, clarinet; and Emily and I both dabbled with the piano, enough so that my Grammie gave us hers (now sitting at home, out of tune, and with no to play it!). I attended my first honor band in Eureka and I even composed a silly song in my diary (I wrote out the music and everything). I remember telling my parents I wanted to play for "the band that made Disney soundtracks!"

When we moved to the Sierra Valley, I enrolled at Feather River Middle School in Portola because the schools in Loyalton didn't have a music program--a reality that had never occurred to me. At Portola, the concert band doubled as a marching band for the homecoming parade each year and so I got my fill of John Phillip Sousa and pep songs like Wooly Bully and She Drives me Crazy. My junior year the new director created a jazz band--the Portola "Jazz Cats"--Summertime and Girl from Ipanema joined the repertoire. ;)

Music had been an unquestioned part of my life since second grade, but it wasn't until my sophomore year at Pacific University that I decided to join the Wind Ensemble on campus. Music was my anchor. Although I didn't have time (or didn't make time) to practice much, working through the music with the group was therapeutic. Since my first honor band experience, I had fallen in love with the cooperation, dedication, balance and care it takes to make a beautiful piece of music. And at Pacific I rediscovered that joy in the Wind Ensemble. We were a mix of interested students, music majors and community members; but all of us were dedicated musicians.

When I joined the community band here in La Roda, I had a similar experience. I was far from home, in a new country, a new town and it had been at least three years since I'd picked up a trombone, but I found I could follow the music just as well as anybody. My lips were swollen after that first band practice, but I left giddy with excitement and with paso dobles tripping through my head. Although I'm not currently playing , I have no doubt that I will play again. This Christmas there was a trombone-piano duet concert here in town that left me longing to be part of a band again.

When I think about what music has meant to me through the years I cannot help but be excited for this semester and my music class. Although the arts are suffering in the U.S. with budget cuts, etc. it seems that, at least in the music department, we are light-years ahead of the Spanish. Here, the only instruments played in school are recorders as far as I can tell. School concert bands do not exist. If you want to learn an instrument it's up to you to look for a teacher/group on your own time. One of my first conversations with the community band director was about the great music programs we have in the States. I was skeptical, knowing the truth about budget cuts, etc. But when I stop to think about honor band, music camp, marching bands... it's true that there is an emphasis on music in the U.S. that doesn't exist here.

Last night I watched Mr. Holland's Opus (required for the class), which perfectly portrays this exact issue: struggling to balance the importance of music in schools against impending budget cuts. It is the perfect film to start this class--not only is it about music, but about the dedication and struggle required to be a great teacher. I was crying through most of it. And of course, as I watched it, I couldn't help thinking of the incredible role music has played (haha) in my own life and the teacher to whom I owe such a gift:

Thank you, Tina.