One Day, I Will Be Able To Look Back On This And Laugh., Episode 9

As we learned from How I Met Your Mother, everyone has gaps in their knowledge: integral pieces of information needed for life or career that somehow got left at the station when the cognitive train rolled out.  My week started off with one such incident.  I was discussing teaching rhythm with my brass classes Monday morning.  I introduced a few of the major methodologies for teaching rhythm: ta, ti-ti; watermelon, apple; Takadimi; number counting; and a few others.  I kept referring to the ta, ti-ti method by its creator, Kodaly, whose name I pronounced Ko-dah-lee, as I have since I learned about him in undergrad.  Well, as one of my classes was quick to point out, his name is actually pronounced Ko-die.  Silly Hungarians.  But, it doesn't stop there.  You see, I had heard of this guy, Kodaly (Ko-die).  And, somehow, I never made the connection that these two people, Kodaly (Ko-dah-lee) and Kodaly (Ko-die) were actually the same person.  How on Earth could this have happened?  My only thought is that I must have had a professor in the past who mispronounced the name or who didn't correct me when I mispronounced the name and that maybe I encountered his name in one class in written form and in another in spoken form and never actually made the connection between the two.  Yikes!



The day took an interesting turn when I got to Night Owls rehearsal in the evening.  One of the pieces I am conducting, Sandpaper Ballet (yes, you can click here to hear it), is written in cut time.  But, I have made the decision to conduct it in 4 because the group just can't keep the tempo when we try to feel it in 2.  I did get a few questions and concerns about it from the members of the ensemble, but I stuck to my gut and kept doing what I had decided was the right course of action.  Later on in the rehearsal, Dr. C. (my adviser and founder/ conductor of the Night Owls) was conducting one of her pieces - a piece also in cut time - and was asked by some members if she was going to do it in 4 or 2.  She replied that unlike some other people (looking directly at me and grinning), she would actually conduct in cut time.  She made another comment that being a new doctoral student, I must not have gotten to the cut time page in the text book yet.  She totally took a shot at me!  And to make matters worse, it caught me so completely off guard that I was rendered speechless and was unable to come up with a witty retort!  On the bright side though, it is good to know that our professor/ student relationship has progressed to this level.  She won't sneak one past me again.  I should also say that at the end of rehearsal, she made a point of telling me that even though she made the joke, she supports my decision to conduct the cut time piece in 4 and thinks that it is the right call in that situation.

I had another week of understanding statistics.  Bam!

Temple Prep Wind Ensemble is not going superbly well.  This past rehearsal was not a stellar one.  To start, it was raining, so 1/3 of the ensemble did not show up.  The sad truth of the matter is that the students in the group cannot read rhythms.  It is a problem that can be easily fixed... if I had the time... which I don't.  So, I find myself doing more rote teaching than I would prefer and it hurts my soul a little bit.  But, it reaffirms why I am doing my Ph.D. 

After Temple Prep, I took a trip out to the suburbs to go clothes shopping.  I determined that my winter professional wardrobe needed a little help.  It turns out I need help.  I stood in the middle of two different stores, surrounded by clothing options, unable to figure out what I should buy, what goes with what, and how to combine colors.  I ended up coming home with nothing.  I need someone to decide they want to step up and help me buy new clothes.  Someone with some fashion sense, please!  I did come home with some 2012 Samichlaus that I found at Total Wine, so it wasn't a complete waste.

As promised, this week I will regale you all with a summary of a research study.  Many of you have likely heard of the Mozart Effect.  Do you know where it came from?  It might surprise you.  In 1993, Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky published a small, unassuming study in a journal called Nature.  In the study, 3 conditions were explored: listening to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, listening to a relaxation tape, and silence.  36 college students participated in the study.  Participants heard 10 minutes of a condition and then had to complete a spatial reasoning test.  All participants underwent all three conditions.  Spatial IQ scores were recorded for each condition.  It was determined in the study that Spatial IQ scores increased from the Mozart condition, but not for the other two.  The catch is that the benefits resulting from listening to the Mozart lasted for only about 15 minutes after listening.  Subsequent studies have had mixed success replicating the results of the initial study.  Some researchers attribute the benefits to a state of arousal that is achieved from listening to music that one enjoys.  Does Mozart make you smarter?  It seems probably not.  And if it does, it only makes you spatially smarter for about 15 minutes.  And only if you like Mozart.  And specifically that Mozart sonata.

Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1993).  Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365, 611.

Ravens have sunk to last place in the division.  I don't want to talk about it. 

Well, I think that just about wraps it up for this week. 

Future Dr. Mitch, out!