Holding Babies, Singing Songs

"I am terrible with kids. I simply don't have the patience for them." This is something more than one family member and friend has heard come out of my mouth. My summer plans must have come as a bit of a surprise to those who know me. Back in America, I avoid kiddies like the plague. "No, I don't want to hold your baby. No, I am not interested in babysitting. You want to pay me twenty dollars an hour? Nah, I am still not interested."

Not only do I now teach music, I also hold babies at weddings.

Perhaps my tune began to change in Germany, where I taught English to first and second graders. But come on, six- and seven-year-olds are super cute, particularly when they are speaking in a foreign language or with an accent. Nonetheless, my time ETA-ing at Tiefburgschule got the ball rolling for this summer. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I teach a music and art class for eleven to fourteen-year-olds, the toughest age group in any part of the world: pre-teens. Without fail, it is the best part of my week.

Since most of my students have never encountered music education, I decided to teach the basics: pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, melody, and performance. First, I am hoping to teach the kids concepts that they can utilize when I ask them to create a Stomp-like performance from found instruments. So far, we've gotten through pitch, rhythm, tempo, and yesterday, dynamics. 

Class began with a rain rondo, and then I asked the students to describe a rain storm to me. Storms start out quiet, a little pitter-patter. Then they become louder and louder, with lightening and thunder. Finally, as the clouds blow over, the rain becomes quiet again. I explained that in music, these different levels of volume are called dynamics. In order to practice our dynamic markings (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff), we learned a song in honor of July 4th, This Land Is Your Land. While singing, students had to respond to the dynamic markings one of the volunteers held up in front of the class. So from my kiddies to you, Happy Fourth of July!