get out there and share!

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” —physicist Albert Einstein

I come from a family replete with teachers and mentors, by profession or personal commitment: Math, Language, Kinetics, Psychology, Engineering, Chemistry, Art, Music, Economics, Aviation, Equestrianism, Politics, Religion, Construction.  I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t curious, and I definitely remember around the age of 4 how excited I was to start school.  I saw the desks in the high school classroom where my grandmother taught and I couldn’t wait to be sitting at one like all the “big kids” with books and pencils and rulers and all the tools I thought would lead me to knowing cool stuff.  My favorite annual holiday gift tradition was started by my Aunt Mel, a box of assorted books (that seemed so huge as a child!) which would transport me to all kinds of places in my mind.  I’m endlessly grateful to my parents who took the time to model trying new things, poking at stuff, making messes in the kitchen, tending plants and animals, general silliness and creativity, and observation/inquiry.  My dad loved reminding me how as a child, during the bedtime routine of story telling and tuck-in time, I announced to him that I had decided what I wanted to learn at college was “everything”.  I’m happy to say that initial draw of discovery, wonderment and sharing, the childlike glee at turning over a stone to find some slimy cool thing underneath, is still the primary driver of my learning - and the thing that drives my teaching and mentorship. 

“Teaching is a great way to keep learning.” —poet Matthea Harvey

I’ve been lucky to teach in a variety of capacities for educational institutions, arts organizations, community groups, and through individual instruction.  Some of my most favorite work is lecturing on whatever “classical” music is, on various sub topics, to retired people in their 7th, 8th, and 9th decades of life.  These are people who have self selected this nerdy topic despite having a fair amount of experience with it, or precisely because they feel they know nothing about it, and everything in between.  It’s a bit daunting to teach a classroom full of people whose lived experiences are richly varied and whose depth of knowledge through those experiences is vast, but they’re placing their trust in me as the expert in that space and I take that very seriously.  For about a dozen years I’ve taught this age group through an elder hostel program called Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and in various community based settings.  One of the things I love most about this age group is their candid and efficient sharing of feedback.  These people aren’t buying the green bananas!  They don’t have time for your shenanigans and tomfoolery!  Don’t come at them with your Charlie Brown Teacher Voice wah-wohm-wah-ing them into an unwanted nap!  They are going to tell you exactly what they think about your topic, your delivery, your content quality and quantity, and they will do it with a practiced precision that only 70-90 years of dealing with people can equip them to do.  If you are a teacher, parent, mentor, or manager, I 10/10 recommend this experience as a way to ensure your continuing education.  Nothing motivates me to research, discover, question, and consider like teaching and preparing for teaching.

death? or deaf?

I’ve just finished a four part series for a group of about 30 retired folks in a community setting, on performing musicians, conductors, composers, and audience.  Here are some of my favorite questions, quotes, and moments:

“Are you saying DEATH or DEAF?” - After I casually mentioned the rhythmic complexity present in Swedish Death Metal, the application of Konnakol, and how an initial listening might not readily show this. Please note, this person was actively taking notes for further independent research and wanted to get it right. 😎

What does a conductor actually do??  Do musicians even need conductors if they know how to play their instruments and the music??

Upon learning some basic conducting patterns, and observing an instructional video of superstar conductor Marin Alsop working with a young professional conductor on a tricky section of The Rite of Spring - “Stravinsky was so mean to conductors!!” 😂

Do composers really write down every single note that the whole orchestra plays?? How do composers “hear/see” all the parts at the same time and how they will fit together? 

Re a challenge to think about what the “classical” music designation even means, from a retired Methodist pastor, conductor/composer/musician - “The label I most abhor is "serious" music as in differentiation from "popular" music.  I want to reply, ‘Oh, and you don't think Adele or Lady Gaga or Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson are serious about their music?’ ” ❤️🔥💪🏽🤘🏽

Final thoughts:

Humans are innovators and we need each other’s divergent points of view. Sharing knowledge and lived experience makes for powerfully addictive “aha!” moments.  What’s to be gained from hoarding or hiding it?  NOTHING. So get out there and get to sharing!