Ponderosa

Instead of taking in two kids at the same time (like last week), Mr Ferreira told me to take in the one who needed more help first, which is what i did. So i worked with this kid and he was exactly like Tommy- he didn't know his notes and also had bad tone. I pointed out the notes and had him name them then play them. I also gave him practicing tips. I told him to work on all of the songs they play during practice so that it'll be easier to play when he comes to rehearsals. I also gave him advice on tone, I told him that the more air he uses, the easier it will be to play especially when he tries to play higher notes. i plan on working more with his tone next time i see him because if he wants to play better, it will be easier if his tone is fixed in my opinion.      

the next week at Buri Buri

Today i gave an individual lesson to Tommy. I was notified by Mr. Ferreira that he didn't know his notes. To fix this problem, i pointed out certain notes then had him say them and also play them right after. By the end of the 30 min, he finally got the hang of it, but i also told him to do this when he practices at home or else he'd easily forget  them. The next time i see him, i plan on working both on his tone AND notes.

first day at Junipero Serra

Today I went to Junipero Serra Elementary.  The first thing I noticed was that they weren’t as good as the other schools; probably because they only get only one day out of the week to rehearse as a band. I didn’t get to give to any sectionals or individual lessons today, I wish I did though because their trumpet section wasn’t the best, which means I’ve got to work with this school the most! but for some reason, their percussion section was better than the other schools.   

day2-02-09-11, Ponderosa Elementary School

Today the first thing i did was help out the drummers with rhythm, i am not a drummer but i know how to read the rhythms (they were easy because it was out of a beginners book). Next, my mentor told me to go and help two trumpeters with their tone, he also gave me advice on what i should teach them when it comes to tone. It was harder today, because instead of one kid like at Buri Buri, i had to teach two. One of the kids knew how to play better than the other, but i felt bad because i was giving more of the lesson to the one who didn't know how to play as well. It's very hard to teach them when it comes to tone on trumpet, because it varies for us brass players... we all have different embouchure's (muscles around lip). I have to be in the kids body to know what he's doing wrong. My goal for next time is to make their trumpets actually sound like one...

first day of mentoring/teaching

Today caught me off guard, i thought it would be easy but in reality... it's super hard. I went to Buri Buri elementary  school to help and teach kids with the music, i was then asked to help one kid who plays trumpet (he didn't know how to read at all). When i was working with him, i first noticed that his tone was horrible so i had to keep giving him tips on how to get a better sound. After about twenty minutes, it improved just a little, but i didn't even get to teach him how to read music due to time. This will be my main goal on Thursday when i come back.

MY TOPIC

For my senior project i will be learning how to teach kids, specifically in the area of teaching them how to play an instrument, and how to read and understand music.