Cleaning ‘House’: Holidays Offer Time to Organize, Prepare
By Dinah Menger, TMAA Vocal Vice President | Monday, December 06, 2010 9:44 AM
As all of us prepare for the holidays ahead, one of the best/worst things that must be done is cleaning and putting order to our homes in preparation for guests, family members and huge gatherings. This is not unlike our everyday lives in our rehearsal halls. The best atmosphere for success is one of order and ease in facilitating our daily rehearsals, events, contests and concerts. The act of “making ready” for our family or our students is a humble way of showing that their presence is important to us. As a teacher or as an adjudicator, it merits keeping this humility in mind. Ego has no place in this process. Aren’t we lucky to teach and adjudicate in the music arena? Our jobs are to create and nurture the finest of arts and to make sure that this purest art form stays intact and keeps ringing for generations-long after we are gone. I am reminded of a great story that one of our school guidance counselors shared with our faculty.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle... a battle that goes on inside every person. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is BAD; it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other wolf is GOOD; it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.” The grandson pondered these words for a moment and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
One of the best ways to “clean house” in our own lives is to make the choice to be an aggressive and constant seeker of knowledge. Make it a point to go and sit in on your colleagues’ rehearsals. Learn from them. Listen and blatantly steal ideas from them. Watch their students’ faces. What is working in their rehearsals…what is not working? Use some of their descriptives in your own classroom. Apply this to your teaching. Letting go of ego and letting IN every opportunity for growth is very freeing.
Practice humility by inviting guest directors and clinicians into your rehearsals. Don’t be afraid to “give over” your students to others. They need exposure to different approaches as do we as directors. Make it a point to listen more and talk as little as possible (not only in your rehearsals but in your life). As an adjudicator, this newfound and constant quest for knowledge will aid in giving comments that are articulate and fresh. Seek ways to write comments that are not trite or stale.
In constantly listening and assessing sound, keep your ears “clean” and receptive for pure musical tone and expression. Remember that the critiques you write will be kept and passed on in a school from director to director. Make those critiques count. Your critiques will be a way for students and directors to assess performance issues and to set the bar for continued successful musical experiences.
However, as one last reminder, don’t write comments that you, yourself aren’t doing. As adjudicators, we can intelligently write comments because the advice we give is tried and true…by us with our own performance ensembles. Keep it honest.
Many blessings and wishes for a music-filled season for you and yours. How lucky we are to make our livings by doing what we love most. Very few can understand the magic
we get to make each and every day with students whose lives, hopefully, we can profoundly touch and change through the power of this finest of arts. Never doubt or diminish the intense importance of what you, as a music educator, are charged with creating in the lives of your students. They look to you.