Syllabus Day(s)

as a school operating on an alternating block schedule, i effectively had two first days at central high school. as a reflective journal/blog, it is not my intent to spend time on the regularities of basic observations, school play-by-plays, or accounts of my daily schedule. rather, i intend to take a snippet (or snippets) of my day and reflect on their effect to what i am learning about being a real teacher.

one of the first inquiries i threw at Mr. Rohrbaugh was about a suggested reading, as a music teacher. evidently, he was prepared with a book that "changed the way i taught." the book is called The Creative Director: Alternative Rehearsal Techniques, by Edward Lisk. since yesterday morning i've been wading into the book, while keeping an eye out for how i can apply concepts sooner rather than later. thus far the book has been discussing the use of hemispherity as a means of understanding how to approach music not only from a detailed and analytical standpoint, but also to involve a wholistic approach. i'm finding the text pretty thought provoking, especially when considering that as teachers of music, a big chunk of what we do is fix mistakes and critically evaluate music making based on what is wrong with a performance. lisk stresses the importance of "right brain" involvement in the rehearsal, in order to infuse the music with emotion, and to really involve students on an affective level. it is also explained how bands who focus energy on entirely "left brain" processes tend to be accurate in the tinniest of details, but when it comes to the finished product of performances, these groups are methodical and "sterile." when the music making is explained in a verbal setting, what attempts to be musical expression is seen as mechanically "contrived."

in my experience of both performing and instructing, i apparently believed that this methodical approach to performance is a path to success, even if it lacks non-verbal musical expression. but really, i suppose that what what i've been experiencing isn't simply a lack of right brain, but more of a shifting process of left to right. in the university wind ensemble, orchestras, and solo playing, preparation has involved and almost entirely left brain process, initially. hammering out notes, dynamics, phrasing, etc are all part of this first phase. but once the mechanics of the notes are there, what is involved in switching what's happening as a human midi reading device to human performers of art? how do we put emotion into notes on a page? how do i get students to "go beyond the music?" is there a way to relate non-verbal attributes of right brain imagery to a sort of verbal blog? i guess that's where the teaching thing comes in!