Uppers (6th-8th) Electives: Band
Middle schoolers, potentially the most self-conscious cohort of humans alive, are also some of the most vulnerable and heartfelt people. At least in band practice. This week, out of the 9 students in band, 7 got up to sing, play instruments, and share ambitions, each solo and unplanned. The shares, as we call them, are a way for students to showcase something they are working on and get feedback from peers. It's hard to understate how thoughtful and kind they are to each other, giving enormous self-esteem boosts after each share. With the rain pounding on the roof, and the cozy space of the after school room risers and pillows, imagine these quotes from the audience after sharing:
"That was so beautiful, I want to find that song and make a playlist with it to do work at home."
"I like how you hit those high notes just like the artist did in the recording, because I know that song and you sound a lot like her."
"That was really brave."
"I learned that song on violin and there's so much to talk about in it."
Band member Julia sharing an original song at All School
We spoke about our goals in this class, coming together around a few core ideas:
Play instruments together
Make music videos and original songs
Do a lot of singing, including the "angel singing" or singing harmony
Revive old all school songs like YMCA, Space oddity, and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Learn more Ghanaian music
The band is also excited to be a part of All School sing-alongs and we started working on a Ukelele ensemble to perform A Place in the Choir. In our first practice we got into the music theory that underpins sing alongs like these. We dug deeper into what a 7th chord is and why it adds tension, frustration, and leaves such a good space for resolution when you come back from something like G7 to C in this song. This practice as a large group may also give way to smaller ensembles of student design to incorporate many of the instruments that the students play including: bass, guitar, piano, flute, voice, ukelele, violin, percussion, adenkum (ghanian gourd instrument), and xylophone!