You can feel that "end of school year" feeling even here at the National offices; you know, the workload seems to get "lighter"! (even the days get lighter.........until June 22, when they start getting shorter again!). The number of incoming requests from teachers and students has lessened (although the ones that do come in are usually a bit more complex, as some teachers/schools are now figuring out how to cope in the face of budget cut decisions)....and even responses to surveys indicate schools are closing and folks are winding things up in the classroom until next year.....and the honeysuckle which has been crazily prolific and heavy scented the last couple of weeks is finally receding from its intoxicating lure, and letting the lush green foliage take over with its whooshing of leaves in the wind (trees look like big ocean waves, all swaying in unison in the fresh strong summer breeze...."clapping their hands" (paraphrased from "The Peaceable Kingdom") - - makes you think of swinging on a hammock out in the back yard with a good book and glass of lemonade, watching the clouds drift by.......
Monday, a request came in from a current collegiate MENC member who is graduating, and starting his first year teaching in the fall. He was looking for resources to set up his elementary music classroom, wanted to be fully ready to roll come fall! Talk about eagerness, excitement and wanting to be prepared! I hope he's able to do what he wants in his classroom and gets the funding and support he needs and wants! In referring him to a few sources, looking through a few websites and catalogues for this student, it reminded me of how much joy I used to get out of elementary music class (seeing pictures of rhythm instruments, recorders, song books in the catalogues.....). It reminded me of the fun we had had back in school, music time was the best thing! How we loved to use the (old fashioned) painted and grooved wooden sticks (lummy sticks?) for clacking together in beat to the songs, the tambourine, the Orff instruments (oh, to be chosen to play the Orff! me, me!! hands going up wildy!), singing the rounds and piano playing!
Looking through the music vendor supply catalogues on Monday, I wanted to buy EVERYTHING in them, and set up my OWN classroom at home for ME to play and make music in! ;-} (but really, would LOVE to give it all away to kids, if I were a music teacher, I'd so spoil my kids with "stuff" to use in the classroom! Watching little kids make music, singing, and then the little ones dancing and responding to music is one of the rare beauties of life!).
So! Back to reality....with this little lull in the rush of member requests, with most surveys sent, and results coming in or in already, there's time to catch up on back requests, and look ahead a bit and try to plan for projects/work in upcoming months. It seems we'll barely get caught up and on course, when mid August, suddenly, there's an upsurge of requests, as more schools are starting the school year in August.....I used to plan on doing long pushed-to-the-back-burner projects in the "summer", meaning July and August, but now I'm the wiser to know that it's really more like June and July when things are a bit quieter, and it all starts again in August! (of course, when MENC National Assembly happens in July, or other executive level functions come onto the radar, as they are this year with the Centennial Congress and surveys for National Assembly, there really isn't much of a lull at all!)
One of the surveys that recently came to conclusion is the May on-line Question of the Month, on the use of sacred music in the classroom, classroom management, out of pocket expenses, and overtime work for the music teacher. We've asked these same questions two previous times, and as in the past, have received some of the highest response rates from members in this voluntary on-line survey. 765 responses this year! Hoping to publicize some of the results in the October news pages in Teaching Music, and eventually, hopefully on the website so members can read how others are dealing with these issues. It's so helpful to hear back from our members on all these issues! Thanks to all who responded and shared!
AROUND THE WATER COOLER:
Best summer song: "Summer Breeze", Seals and Croft
Click to see more songs with seasons in the title!
Remember "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry? If you've never heard, you've GOT to! Will bring a silly smile to your face! (can't link to it cuz it's on commercial sites...but you can easily find it on the web!)
What's your favorite song about summer? ! (write to info@menc.org to get a link to a neat interview with Daniel Levitin (mentioned in EWL's blog yesterday) about music, memory and emotion!)
Picking up on EWL's mention of the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album - June1, driving home, heard great BBC radio program about the making of the album (Links to all BEATLES stuff - please write to info@menc.org, because me and technology don't mix and this blog won't take my links!)
The BBC commentary talked about how for this album, a 40 piece orchestra was hired....they interviewed some of the musicians who were in that orchestra for this album! They commented that to them, it was just another gig, and some of them did their 10 - 5 with the Beatles, then went off that evening to another gig! For the song "A Day in the Life", the orchestra was requested to come in full concert dress. The producers/Beatles had re-created a party atmosphere in the studio for the recording of this song....colored lights, party hats, soda/beer, and members of orchestra and production team had to wear false mustaches, noses, etc. For the famous "sound of car crash" (or however you want to interpret it!) orchestral part in between verses, there were 40 empty measures to be filled by the orchestra. George Martin instructed the orchestra to glissando from the very softest they could play to the loudest......
This commentary so inspired me, when I got home, I informed my husband that June 1 was the 40th anniversary of the album, and we promptly put the record on and sat and listened and remembered and got recharged as my husband sang Paul's bass guitar line while imitating his picking, and I did my famous pretend to be their back up singer gig - imitating John's nasally drone and Paul's old-timey vaudevillian sound....
And as if that wasn't enough, Sunday 6/3, on Washington's 100.3 FM, their Beatles Brunch featured more of the history of Sgt. Pepper, with actual interviews with the Beatles about the songs. Did you know "Good Morning" idea came from a cereal commercial? And they ended the show with a GREAT live version of "It's getting better all the time" that Paul did on a recent tour.....and finally, John on tape, with his 4 year old son Sean singing "I get by with a little help from my friends" .
Anyway, "We'd like to thank you once again" (quoting the Fab Four).....for being members and reading this blog! Hope your summer is off to a good start!
See you next week! SR
