Okay, so this is admittedly going to post late, but it's going to post, which keeps my streak alive, at least in some fashion, so that's the important thing, right?
I'm just going to go in the order things happened today. I was going to start with the teaching stuff, and then jump around, but doing it the other way seems easier, so here we go:
I got the turntable set up today! Finally remembered to ask SL if that 1/4" adapter was still in her purse last night, and she dropped it off this morning before work. Then it was a simple matter of seeing which set of inputs and/or outputs the red and black wires connected to the 1/4" jack needed to be hooked up where, and bang! The turntable was live. I listened to a bit of Bear Creek before I got distracted by something else musical.
SL sent a text saying that Matchbox Twenty was streaming their new record in its entirety on their website today. I knew that North had dropped today, but somehow it hadn't occurred to me to check and see if they'd be streaming it. Besides, I don't usually listen to those things in advance. Even still, I had just cranked up their old stuff on my ipod before she texted, so I caved and checked it out. Well, I wasn't able to find the stream of the whole record, but I listened to (and watched the video for) the new single. They also had posted a series of mini webisodes on the making of the album, so I watched all 4 of those.
The single was good enough that I was tempted to go out and look for the album. I found it at Kmart here in town, and I that wound up being the second biggest surprise of the day, although at the time I expected it to be the biggest. I listened through the whole album tonight after dinner. Can't tell you how good that felt. It's been a long time since I've gotten through a whole album on its release date, and not in the car, spread out over a series of days. I want to listen again before I do any sort of review, though. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Before I let myself go out and look for the Matchbox record, I sat down and put together a folder for my student at 4:30. I got to where I was teaching about 20 minutes early, which was good because my student and her Dad showed up about 5 minutes after I got there. For a first lesson, I thought she did really well. Especially having never played before. She's got previous handbell experience, though, which will be something we can build off of when it comes to notes and chords, so that's definitely a positive.
I'm really glad to be teaching again. Not only will it be great to pass on my love of music to someone else, in the hopes that learning how to play can give them some of the deep happiness that music has provided for me over the years, teaching again will also help to reinforce the basics (at least a this point), and will definitely strengthen the work I'm doing individually. You always hear people say that "if you can teach it, you must know it exceptionally well." I'm not completely sure I'm sold on that theory, although I can see its merits. I think that extensive prior knowledge helps more in translation to the student, but I also think that, if you can stay one step ahead of them, the drive to stay ahead can be a powerful motivator. I know that teaching will definitely make me sit down and practice more, and it will change the way I look at learning, because as I'm trying to pick up something new, I'll be thinking about how I would translate this to my student(s).
Also of note, I'm a firm believer in teaching theory. However, I'm also well aware that kids have a tendency to got bogged down in what they see as "boring." Therefore, I've always found it easier to incorporate the small bits of theory into song-based learning. If someone can learn a new scale, or a new chord within the context of learning a song they really love, then it makes the theory seem less painless and more interesting (or so I think).
I know that, at least with this first student, I'll be teaching a year's worth of lessons. This wound up being the biggest surprise of the day. The fact that they were willing to commit to that up front was astonishing to me. The level of confidence that shows in my ability is simply incredible, and it drives me to be better, so that I can be a better teacher.
What an incredible day for music! I'm sure there will be more cool stuff that happens tomorrow. I still need to sit down and take some notes on this first day of lessons, if only so I can keep a record of what we're working on so that we know where the stepping stones are. Technically, I should've done that immediately on getting home, but then again, I should've posted on time, too. Always room for improvement, even on the incredible days.
I'm just going to go in the order things happened today. I was going to start with the teaching stuff, and then jump around, but doing it the other way seems easier, so here we go:
I got the turntable set up today! Finally remembered to ask SL if that 1/4" adapter was still in her purse last night, and she dropped it off this morning before work. Then it was a simple matter of seeing which set of inputs and/or outputs the red and black wires connected to the 1/4" jack needed to be hooked up where, and bang! The turntable was live. I listened to a bit of Bear Creek before I got distracted by something else musical.
SL sent a text saying that Matchbox Twenty was streaming their new record in its entirety on their website today. I knew that North had dropped today, but somehow it hadn't occurred to me to check and see if they'd be streaming it. Besides, I don't usually listen to those things in advance. Even still, I had just cranked up their old stuff on my ipod before she texted, so I caved and checked it out. Well, I wasn't able to find the stream of the whole record, but I listened to (and watched the video for) the new single. They also had posted a series of mini webisodes on the making of the album, so I watched all 4 of those.
The single was good enough that I was tempted to go out and look for the album. I found it at Kmart here in town, and I that wound up being the second biggest surprise of the day, although at the time I expected it to be the biggest. I listened through the whole album tonight after dinner. Can't tell you how good that felt. It's been a long time since I've gotten through a whole album on its release date, and not in the car, spread out over a series of days. I want to listen again before I do any sort of review, though. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Before I let myself go out and look for the Matchbox record, I sat down and put together a folder for my student at 4:30. I got to where I was teaching about 20 minutes early, which was good because my student and her Dad showed up about 5 minutes after I got there. For a first lesson, I thought she did really well. Especially having never played before. She's got previous handbell experience, though, which will be something we can build off of when it comes to notes and chords, so that's definitely a positive.
I'm really glad to be teaching again. Not only will it be great to pass on my love of music to someone else, in the hopes that learning how to play can give them some of the deep happiness that music has provided for me over the years, teaching again will also help to reinforce the basics (at least a this point), and will definitely strengthen the work I'm doing individually. You always hear people say that "if you can teach it, you must know it exceptionally well." I'm not completely sure I'm sold on that theory, although I can see its merits. I think that extensive prior knowledge helps more in translation to the student, but I also think that, if you can stay one step ahead of them, the drive to stay ahead can be a powerful motivator. I know that teaching will definitely make me sit down and practice more, and it will change the way I look at learning, because as I'm trying to pick up something new, I'll be thinking about how I would translate this to my student(s).
Also of note, I'm a firm believer in teaching theory. However, I'm also well aware that kids have a tendency to got bogged down in what they see as "boring." Therefore, I've always found it easier to incorporate the small bits of theory into song-based learning. If someone can learn a new scale, or a new chord within the context of learning a song they really love, then it makes the theory seem less painless and more interesting (or so I think).
I know that, at least with this first student, I'll be teaching a year's worth of lessons. This wound up being the biggest surprise of the day. The fact that they were willing to commit to that up front was astonishing to me. The level of confidence that shows in my ability is simply incredible, and it drives me to be better, so that I can be a better teacher.
What an incredible day for music! I'm sure there will be more cool stuff that happens tomorrow. I still need to sit down and take some notes on this first day of lessons, if only so I can keep a record of what we're working on so that we know where the stepping stones are. Technically, I should've done that immediately on getting home, but then again, I should've posted on time, too. Always room for improvement, even on the incredible days.
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