Well hello, everyone and welcome to this special, road-trip edition of my blog. I am writing to you now from somewhere in the mountains of southern Virginia.
.jpg)
Aren't they pretty?
I'll come back to being on the road in a little bit.
You might recall from last week that I had been having trouble with Scherzo Without Instruments in Night Owls. You might also recall that I was going to work on a new approach to teaching the piece. (Wait, you don't remember? You better start taking notes on your weekly reading; there will be a test at the end of the semester!) Getting back on track: I had much more success this week with the piece in rehearsal. I selected a manageable chunk - just the opening 21 measures - and made it my goal to be able to do just those measures with a high degree of rhythmic proficiency and clarity. I announced that objective at the opening of my work with the piece so the group would be on board with it as well. I started by having the group internalize the pulse of the music. I had them tap their feet on the macrobeats and count the subdivisions. I was aware that doing this might feel a little juvenile to some of the members, but I felt it the best course of action. After we had established a steady and consistent tempo across the ensemble, I had them clap the major rhythms in their parts while tapping feet on the macrobeats and counting the subdivisions. Then, once the individual parts felt secure, I had the ensemble layer the parts on top of each other. By the time I was done working on it, the group was sounding a lot better! I think I will continue this course of action as I work on the next section of the piece this week.
My statistics professor said some interesting, marginally-class-related things this week at the end of class. The first was a research study he described that had been recently conducted at Temple University. The study examined the difference in professor attitude toward their students as a function of their personal emphasis on research vs. teaching. The study found that research-focused professors were very different from teaching-focused professors and professors that strive to strike a balance between research and teaching. Research-focused professors tended to view their students as stupid and incompetent, and felt that the quality of student is dropping every year. Teaching-focused professors reported loving their students and using assessment data to differentiate instruction and make adjustments to course curricula to meet the needs of the students.
After the professor told us that story, one of the students in the class asked him if he was research- or teaching-focused. He told us that he doesn't do research anymore and, moreover, feels that research, in its current form, has no business in a university. He said that studies like the one he quoted show that when professors are so research driven, the quality of education at the institution drops. He went on to say that, with the amount of money parents and students are paying for college, they should be getting a quality service, grounded in good teaching, not a heavy research focus.
I had an assignment due this week in Measurement and Evaluation. The assignment was to create a written quiz on the material in our text book and to use a variety of question types. When I reminded Dr. B. that I would not be in class this week, he asked if he could show my work to the class in my absence. He said that he has come to expect a really high level of work from me and didn't want my absence to negate me sharing my work with my classmates. Well, I wasn't able to submit the assignment in time to have it shared in class (more on that later), but I guess I did turn in work of the kind of high standard Dr. B. was hoping for.
This week was the big Wind Symphony trip to Nashville, TN. We performed at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) conference.
The university provided us with per diem money to cover food on the trip (I don't want to look at my receipts; I am pretty sure I went way over budget this trip!). When I signed for the money, I was handed the cash in a sealed envelope. I immediately opened the envelope to count it. The person at the desk asked me, in a very insulted tone of voice, "You are going to count the money?" I tried to explain to her that it wasn't that I didn't trust her, just that I know that human error happens. I think she was insulted, nonetheless. Regardless, it is good life protocol to read everything before you sign it and count money when it is handed to you! The one time you don't do it will be the time it bites you in the ass.
I wanted to get a lot of work done this trip, so I decided to ride the front bus and sit all the way up front. I figured this would be the most quiet and distraction-free environment for the trip. From what I was told about other bus seat locations, I made the right call. I ended up getting a lot of things accomplished, though there are still some things unchecked on my to do list. So far, I made a tentative schedule for myself for next year; I sent a nice, long email to a friend; I finished and submitted a research proposal; I cleaned out my email inboxes; I completed a couple course assignments; I did a little creativity reading; I looked for summer employment; and I wrote this blog. I still have a long bus ride today to finish knocking things off of the list.
Because I was sitting at the front of the bus, I got to talk to the band directors and get to know them a little better. Dr. T. was sitting across the isle from me on the way to Nashville and Dr. B. was sitting across the isle on the way home. Among other things, I spoke with Dr. T. about my upcoming presentation at NAfME in October. She gave me some great tips about preparing a presentation, and specifically about speaking to other band directors. She said that as a relative youngster in a room full of accomplished teachers, it is important to not come off as "preachy." She told me to speak as an authority on the topic, but to focus on process, not product. She advised that I use my experience as an example of my topic, not as the end all solution. She told me to pose questions that will prompt my audience to think about their own experiences in the light of the information I present.
Dr. B. and I had a nice conversation about teaching band, both in the public schools and in college. He showed me how the iPad marching band drill programs function and shared a lot of his own experiences teaching band. He offered to let me write a show for the Temple University Marching Band so I can put it in my CV, showing that I have done work with college bands. I am definitely going to take him up on that offer. I would like to try and find some way to incorporate work with the band department into my curriculum at Temple, either as part of my assistantship or as an independent study. I think it would be good to get some experience working with the college bands as the jobs I will apply for after getting my degree may include band director responsibilities.
There were three Nashville miracles the first day in town.
- Nashville Mircale #1: after being folded up and stuffed in my suitcase for two days, my tuxedo was not wrinkled and needed no ironing!
- Nashville Miracle #2: it is insanely difficult to catch a cab in Nashville. We were trying to make an appointment and were going to miss it. But, we hopped on the hotel shuttle and gave it a shot anyway. The shuttle was going to have to drop us off at a spot that wasn't very close to where we were going. But, there was traffic and the driver took an alternate route, a route which ran right by where we were going! So, we made it on time!
- Nashville Miracle #3: the place we were going in Miracle #2 was a local distillery and we were trying to make it in time for the tour. We did make it in time, but the tour was full! In a last ditch effort, I asked if we could do the tasting anyway. They said that normally they don't do that, but for us since we were only in town a short time, they would.
The Temple University performance was very well received. The group played extremely well and it is a testament to all the hard work put in by faculty, staff, and students on this project. I will provide a link to the concert recording if it is made available to me. I, however, did not have my best show. I am not really sure what happened, but I was a little self-conscious about my sound. I think I may have gotten a little star struck by the caliber of the audience, something that does not happen to me often. I dialed back on my "turbo contra" sound, a sound that people keep complimenting me on, and played much more reserved. Because of that reservedness, I wasn't supporting my sound with enough air and ended up cracking a note in my one little solo. I doubt that anyone caught it, but I am disappointed in myself, nonetheless. I did get to play in another major symphony hall: the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, where the Nashville Symphony plays.
A trip to Nashville is never complete without hat shopping.
Well, that is all for this week. Hope you all have a wonderful week and Happy Passover to those of you who are celebrating.
Future Dr. Cowboy Mitch, out!
