Drama, Drama, and More Drama

     Thirteen plus four equals thespians galore!  That's right.  Seventeen teenagers meet in one room for two hours every Friday for the Senior Drama class.  What a super group of kids we have this year!  This being my first year to participate with our co-op group makes it impossible for me to compare with other drama groups in years past.  However, I know a good group of kids when I see one.

     I took over this class at the beginning of the spring semester when the last drama teacher regretfully had to step out of the program.  Stephanie Land spent the first semester working with the kids on integrity in dramatic portrayal, relaxation techniques, character development and many other facets of acting.  She chose the play "Looking Glass Land" by James DeVita.  As you may have guessed, this is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass".

     Thankfully, Mrs. Land also cast all of the students and worked out most of the blocking for the play (fyi, "blocking" is deciding where each person enters, exits, and moves around during each scene).  We are still "tweaking" some of the scenes but very glad to have the foundation laid by Mrs. Land.

    Many from the senior drama have been able to meet outside of class and work on some of the set and scenery.  We will continue to complete some of this prep work during class-time.

    At the beginning of this semester, we spent a portion of class-time playing drama-related games.  These activities were each geared toward strengthening specific skills that will help them with the production (i.e. public speaking, communicating emotions, working together as a group on stage and off).  This energetic group really seems to enjoy games of any sort. 

    As the performance date draws nearer, we are spending more focused time on the play itself.  The kids have been great about voicing ideas, suggestions and volunteering their strengths to make this play a success.  I really enjoy seeing them work together toward a common goal.

    I also want to thank everyone, parents and teachers alike, for their patience with me this semester.  I do not have much experience with drama production and am thankful for all of the help I can get, whether it is with ideas or execution of a plan.  Along this line, I want to publicly thank my wonderful assistant, Katie Kirton.  She will do just about anything I ask of her and even goes beyond my limited brainpower to think of things I am not.  I could not do this without her.

    We are finding new ways to improve the scenes each week and the teens seem to delight in watching each other further develop their characters.  I am really looking forward to seeing the final production, but am enjoying the process along the way just as much!

Lara Slawson 

We're Homeschoolers--We Don't Do Tests!

     I know, I know, not all homeschoolers feel the same about testing.  It is probably safe to say that every homeschooling family feels differently about testing:  when to start testing, what subjects to test on, standardized tests or not.  So why has the co-op implemented a policy that students have to pass an exit exam before moving up to the next level for Theory?

     I think to answer this question we need to go back to our reasons for even teaching theory.  Part of our missions statement is, “to provide comprehensive, high-quality musical education” for our students.  We feel that a comprehensive musical education includes learning music theory.  It might be easier if we were simply to say that we wanted our teachers to focus completely on the music that the students will perform at the concerts.  However, we do not want our co-op to be performance driven.  We want to give all our students a knowledge base that will help them in choir, with their instruments and anything else they may want to do musically.  We do this so that our students will have a strong foundation that they can continue to build upon for the rest of their lives. 

     Giving our students a complete musical education is not the only reason for teaching theory.  We have classes for 15 weeks a semester, once a week, for 55 minutes for each musical class.  That means that the teachers have to utilize every minute they have with their students.  If a teacher has to spend even 5 minutes explaining that a quarter note receives one beat while a half note receives two beats, that means that they have used almost 10 percent of their class time explaining a concept that could be taught in theory.   Teaching the basics of music in a theory class allows the teachers to focus all their time and energy on the musical elements that need to be taught in a choir or band setting.

     That brings us back to our original question of why we are requiring students to pass an exit exam for their theory class.  The answer is simply that we want to make sure they have the knowledge base that is necessary to continue to build upon as they go into the more advanced classes.  Just as you cannot learn multiplication without first knowing how to add in math, you cannot learn how to count how many beats are in a measure without first knowing how many beats each note or rest receives.  You have to have a firm grasp on one concept before moving on to another.  The tests are simply a tool for the teachers to use to make sure that the students know the information they need to know before moving on.  Our intention is not to embarrass or “hold back” any student.  The test can be taken multiple times and we are more than willing to work with parents and students to get the students where they want to be.  By doing this we hope to continue to provide high-quality music education for our students as they advance in the co-op.

ARC

TMEA: Improvisation

     For years, I have asked various people who knew how to improvise how they did it.  The most common response was, "I don't know...I just do it!"  That was decidedly UNhelpful for me since I wanted to learn, but didn't know where to start. 

     I was so excited to see several classes on improvisation scheduled at the TMEA convention...especially since I had already started teaching my band kids to improvise!  I was also amazed to hear many different lecturers talk about how important improvisation is.  I heard that idea first from a violinist, then from choral singers, then from the professor teaching all the improvisation classes, Christopher Azzara from Eastman School of Music.

     Dr. Azzara explain that learning music is a lot like learning speach.  As we learn to speak as small children, we first listen to lots of talking, learning what sounds go together to make meaningful phrases.  Then we begin trying out different sounds and phrases and begin communicating that way.  Usually, it is many years later that we learn to read and write words.  We all often begin our musical exposure the same way...by listening to music and beginning to sing and try different things.  When children are old enough to begin musical instruction on an instrument, the approach is often changed to reading music and playing only what is written.  Dr. Azzara has developed programs to help students learn to audiate (hear the music in their heads), sing and play, IMPROVISE, and read and compose music--all at the same time, or at least close together.  He says that being able to read music without being able to improvise is like being able to read words without knowing how to speak the language and understand what is being said.  We all improvise in speaking all the time--that is what conversation is!  Musical "conversation" involves improvising with a group of people. 

 

Some basic steps in learning to improvise include the following:

• Learning rhythms that tend to go together.
• Learning pitches that tend to go together.  (In solfege, Mi, Re, Do is an example.)
• Learning to hear and sing the bass line.
• Listening to LOTS of music and learning melody lines of many songs.
• Using silence or space in music to allow for others to respond to what has been "said."
• Trying.
• Trying again without worrying about being "wrong."
• Trying some more with others.
• Keep on trying.

I hope to be able to use some of these principles in my own musical development and in how I teach in  the co-op.

 

Jeannette Duke

TMEA: To Be or Not To Be.....Intimidated!

     Texas Music Educators Association.  I don't have a degree in music.  Everyone in this place is a better musician than I am.  They are all public school teachers or college professors.  Dare I even look anyone in the eye?
      I had many of those kinds of thoughts as I went to my first TMEA convention last week.  When I finally got up enough courage to admit what I do, I was in for a shock.  Everyone I spoke to was impressed with what we are doing in our little co-op!  I got nothing but supportive comments! 
     When the speakers in the workshops were introduced, all their amazing credentials were listed, which I found very intimidating.  But when they began speaking, they seemed more approachable.  Then when I actually spoke to them, they were all very supportive of what we are doing.  The leader of Dallas Brass (they perform internationally) told another person in their booth, "I like this woman and what she is doing!"  I bought some music from him and he said he would transpose the bass line up an octave for me since we don't have low enough instruments.  A professor from Eastman School of Music spoke to me quite a while about learning and teaching improvisation.  The person in the Sound Tree booth helped me figure out the most economic way to improve the sound of our recordings.  All because I got up the courage to introduce myself and explain our situation.
       So are you a little intimidated about going to TMEA?  Please don't be!  Start saving your pennies, pluck up your courage, and plan on going next February!

And the Results are in!

Congratulations are in order for the students who participated in the Galveston Federation Festival on Saturday, Feb. 19.  This is an annual event in which several students of the GHPAC have participated for the last 6 years.  This year, we are happy to announce that every student participating received a Superior rating!  This rating earns the student 5 points; when 15 points are earned, the student can earn an gold cup trophy, and again each time a multiple of 15 points is earned.
    This year, for the first time, the GHPAC choirs also performed - all four of them!  The choirs were judged by two judges with many years of experience in music education: Sharon Barron, who has taught music in Houston I.S.D. and currently, LaMarque I.S.D. and Izola Collins, a retired music teacher with 60 years experience as a band and choir director in Galveston I.S.D., Hitchcock I.S.D. and Bay City I.S.D.  (Note: Yes, Mrs. Collins is the mother of June Pulliam, but she did not judge the choir in which June accompanies, and in which Janae and Jasmine sing!)  These two judges were informed that this was our first year entering choirs, and they wrote very positively about our first year entering.  Some excerpts from Ms. Barron's notes about the Elementary Choir: "Excellent decorum...Good execution of slurs...All words clearly enunciated..." From Mrs. Colins' notes about the Primary Choir: "My, but they followed instructions well!....Excellent memory of such challenging words for those so young!...all in tune and singing challenging words and notes!"  From Mrs. Collins's notes about the Intermediate Choir: "They remember their parts very well...good for only 5 students...I enjoyed what is happening, musically"  And from Ms. Barron's notes about Secondary Choir: "Good attacks and releases...Good vowels...Bass came in strong at end"
     Ms. Barron and Mrs. Collins did make various suggestions for improvement, for example in area of intonation for Intermediate Choir and Secondary Choir, but both assessed our first efforts as "Superior Plus" for each choir.  Well done, GHPAC choirs and choir directors!

If You're Happy and You Know it, Please Don't Bang the Rhythm Sticks!

     I have been trying to think of something witty and funny to write as an article for the last two weeks and even today I still hadn't come up with anything I thought was worth spending time on.  I seriously considered just leaving the newsletter with the two articles from June and Jeannette, but I figured if I did that I might get fired.  And then I remembered that this isn't a paying position and they can't fire me.  Plus I knew that getting rid of me would mean that the board would have to find someone else to be the editor, so I was fairly confident that I would be OK if we only had two articles this month.  But I reminded myself that I volunteered to do this and that when I did I made an unspoken agreement with myself that I would work to put out the best newsletter I could every month, and slacking off would not be living up to that agreement.
     Unfortunately, even that pep talk didn't inspire any grand thoughts about what I should write about.  Then I finally remembered that I had a plan to ask some of the different teachers to write articles about their classes.  I figured if other teachers were going to be writing about their classes I could write about one of mine first.  Yay!  Finally, an idea to run with.  I know everyone would love to hear about Rhythm Band!  As a side note, I could not do anything I do in Rhythm Band without my helper Katie Kirton.  She covers all the extra bases to help me get in some semblance of teaching.  I appreciate her help so much.  None of the following would be possible without her!
      My first thought was to write about how loud it gets in Rhythm Band, but then I decided that noise level is something that can not be adequately conveyed through words.   You definitely have to be there.  Then I thought maybe I could write about how crazy it is trying to corral twelve 4, 5 and 6 year olds and get them to do anything productive.  But if I wrote about that all the parents of the kids in my class might wonder what was really going on during second period.  I briefly considered just saying how fantastic it was every week to be surrounded by these darling angles who do everything I ask the first time and no one ever plays an instrument too loudly and about how we sit in a circle making beautiful music and everything is perfect.  And then I remembered that the parents of my students would be reading this and they would know what a bald face lie that was!  So I decided to just be honest and give an account of what a typical hour is like in the infamous Rhythm Band.
      For those of you who don't have any knowledge of what Rhythm Band is, it is a class for 4, 5, and 6 year olds.  The goal is to teach the children about different rhythm instruments, help them learn to tell the difference between different beats, and hopefully help them learn to follow a director.  Those are very lofty goals that sounds great when I write them down!  The truth is that we're dealing with 4, 5, and 6 year olds, and if I can teach them to play their instrument when I point to them I think I'm doing pretty well!

       A typical period for Rhythm Band begins trying to corral all the kids away from the toys in the room.  They always find their way right to the toys as soon as their first period is over!  None of them ever want to actually leave the toys to participate in the class, but after a few minutes we finally get them all to the other side of the room and away from the toys.
      Right now we are working on our two pieces for the concert so the first thing we do is line everyone up and pass out their bells so we can practice "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  Don't be deceived!  Its not as easy as it sounds.  We've tried calling out a name and pointing to where they should stand, but we have found that they never really make it to where we're pointing.  Actually, there's no telling where they might think you're pointing to.  Some of them try to go back to the toys!  And some are so busy talking they never actually hear you call their name.  We have found that the best way to get everyone in a semi-straight line is to physically go get the child and bring them where they are supposed to be.  But the passing out of the bells should be easy right?  Nope!  Everyone wants a different color than what they get.  Even though we've been handing out the same bells to the same kids for several weeks, there is always an issue with someone wanting a different color than what they have.  Once we have that issue taken care of we can finally practice the song.  That part is actually the easy part!  All the children are doing a great job of holding their bells correctly and playing when its their note and paying attention to what is coming.  They're going to be fantastic for the concert!
         Once we're done practicing that song we collect the bells which is usually uneventful.  Next we need to get set up to practice our other song, "If You're Happy and You Know It".  This should be the easy part.  The lineup for the bells and the lineup for "Happy and You Know It" are the same lineup.  (We did that on purpose :).  The problem is that everyone got out of line to come and give us their bells to put up.  And in the 30 seconds it takes us to actually put up the bells everyone has gone back to the toys.  So the process begins again to get everyone lined up correctly.  Once again, when we start the song everything goes great.  Everyone seems to enjoy the song and they are learning to motions very well.  I'm telling you, they're going to be a knock out at the concert!
         After that song is over we spend some time going over one of our rhythm instruments.  The transition is a little easier this time since we aren't having to put anything up so we are never actually looking away from the kids, giving them an excuse to run to the toys.  We get everyone seated in a circle.  Again, not as easy as it sounds, but I think you're getting to point by now.  Once we're in the circle our instruments get handed out.  For this example I'll use rhythm sticks.  For those of you who don't know, rhythm sticks are basically two wooden sticks that you can use to make noise.  Hopefully it is constructive noise, but 24 wooden sticks banging on a tile floor is noise, no matter how well they do keeping the beat!  We have very specific rules for our rhythm sticks, such as no hitting yourself or others (they hurt!) and no touching the sticks while the teacher is talking (yeah, they still don't have that one down).  We use the sticks with different songs.  Some of the favorites are "B-I-N-G-O" and "The Wheels on the Bus".  We also use the sticks to learn about how some beats are fast, some are slow, some are loud, and some are soft.  Granted, my idea of soft and a 4 year old's idea of soft are slightly different, but as long as they are not banging as hard as they can we call it soft.
         At this point, I have spent about 40 minutes listening to varying levels of noise.  That is the point of Rhythm Band, after all.  But I think even those of us used to listening to small children running screaming through the house have a breaking point. Things are starting to wind down.  The kids are getting a little bored with the rhythm sticks and they are getting a lot bored listening to whatever it is I might have to say to them.  Some stare quietly off into space while others use this time to pick up the sticks and just start banging them however they want to.  Once one starts their neighbor notices and does the same and so it quickly spreads to even those space watchers who were oblivious before.  I quickly find myself trying to talk over 12 sets of sticks making some manner of noise.  The kids are usually talking at this point too.  So I  ever so gently (who am I kidding, I have to yell just to be heard) ask them please, "DON'T BANG THE RHYTHM STICKS!" 
       They stop for one blessed moment and I use that second to tell them they are free to go play with the toys.  And that is where their next teacher will find them!