So, we are now one week into the 49-week cycle. You will have noticed, perhaps, that I missed week 1 -- sort of intentional on my part, but mostly due to my quick jaunt to Portland, OR for the wedding of the first of my siblings, my older brother. A good time was had by all, I think....in fact, dancing with my younger brother was sort of a cultural education in itself, but I digress...
On the last day of classes, my dear Loyola students were kind enough to collaborate with me in gathering some "solfa aphorisms" -- it brought me back to my days in girls' chorus when we (being the littlest bit dorky) carried around what we called "autograph books" (a la Laura Ingalls Wilder) to collect little sayings from our friends. Don't judge....we were homeschoolers, so we didn't have yearbooks. Anyway, here are some of the sayings that we came up with just a bit over a week ago, many of which transcend solfa and the musical realm:
"Let us take our children seriously! Everything else follows from this...only the best is good enough for a child." (ZK, paraphrased)
Live a little. Music doesn't belong in a china closet.
Modes are messy.
Solfa class is just like therapy....a place to share your troubles. When you talk about your problems, they become easier to solve.
You cannot be a great teacher without giving a little of your heart to every student and in every lesson you teach.
Chromaticism is just a splash of color.
Sometimes anger is just a part of caring.
Solfa is like a workout for your brain.
Listen. It's better than making noise.
We teach people. We teach music. Remember to love both.
Teach your students as if you were teaching your own children.
You choose what you take with you.
You never know for sure what seeds you plant will wind up taking root and flourishing.
Being a good teacher to yourself is a necessary step to becoming a good teacher of others.
The British Invasion would've really taken off if they had used solfa syllables.
Your teacher knows better than you at this moment.
Drinks are better than drama.
Sometimes sitting with failure is more valuable than a thousand successes.
C, D, E.....as easy as ut-re-mi!
You have both your strengths and your weaknesses for a reason. Embrace them. Know them.
Obviously, some of these are more serious than others, some are mostly inside jokes, and some are firmly in my favorite touchy-feely realm. However, I have to say that I think it's valuable to reflect on our recent experiences in the solfa classroom in ways that are both comical and serious, both concrete and hopelessly abstract, and both practical and merely ideal. After all, solfa is a musicianship course, and we all know that our personal experiences and reflections and senses of humor are inextricable from our artistic behavior.
As we ease into this new year, and in the spirit of all of the above, I invite you:
All Levels:
Take a moment sometime this week to write down what you enjoyed about this year's solfa experience, and record the ways in which you know you've grown. Brag. Revel....just a little.
Then, take another moment and write down the things you wish we would have spent more time with in class, the gaps in your own experience that you'd like to have spackled up, and the goals you have for yourself before embarking upon the next phase of your musical training.
If you feel comfortable, please share either or both of the above lists with me. I cannot overstate how important it is to me that each of you feels that this course is supposed to be for YOU, to help YOU grow and succeed. Believe me when I say: if it lies within my power to help you, I want to do that. Also, knowing what you want to work on during the year will really help me guide my posts here on the blog -- at the moment, I sort of follow my nose and try to give you all a nice variety, but if there's something you'd like me to focus on, I'd be glad to do that.
And, just so I don't feel totally soft-core about this week's post:
All Levels:
Each day, select 2 Ottman examples to sight-sing (one in major, one in minor), using the principles we discussed this summer....most importantly, DON'T STOP! If you're wondering what chapter(s) to use, try:
Rising 2's - ch. 6, 8, or 9
Rising 3's - ch. 11, 12, or (if you're feeling frisky) 13
Rising 4's - ch. 13, 7 (if you'd like to practice alto clef), or 20
Enjoy, my friends, and please do consider sending me some feedback -- just like at Burger King, I'd like you to have it YOUR way.
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