Let me start by saying I video-recorded the entire two hours (much to my dismay, Dr. T!). I can't make myself watch it tonight, but I will in the morning. Teaching in a language you are not fluent in is extremely difficult, especially when these aren't words that you can mime to the kids! Also, teenagers are mean! At least the younger kids at the Center for the Arts worked with me; they would help to each me the correct tense and pronunciation of whatever I was trying to say. These kids just stared at me like I had five heads. I'm sure what I said didn't make sense half of the time, but I don't think it was THAT bad..
My lesson today started with an activity I learned from Mrs. McKee in my General Methods class this semester. It takes the students through a cycle that builds upon itself using all body percussion. The kids really enjoyed it! I transferred this over to sticking patterns. I know without watching the video that this could have gone better, but it's okay. The kids eventually caught on, and we made a round out of the exercise. I used my incredibly poor Spanish vocabulary to explain the importance of counting and listening while playing. We repeated these exercises at quicker tempos.
Because the students mastered this much faster than I had anticipated, I experimented with some rhythms I thought might work with the songs I'm compiling. We assigned Spanish phrases to four different rhythms. We clapped, patted, air drummed, and actually drummed all of these rhythmic patterns. They did so well!
To end the class, we listened to all three of the original songs. I told the students that their homework was to create at least one rhythmic pattern per song to share with everyone tomorrow. My hope is that this will encourage the students to listen again at home, as well as to feel that they have ownership in their product. Honestly, I'm hoping I can use a lot of what they come up with!
After class was finished, I went to the Center for the Arts to use a keyboard. With the help of one of the older students on guitar, I was able to decipher the melody of all three songs as well as decide the flow of the final product. It took us about 2.5 hours, but we did it! I haven't begun writing anything down, let alone worrying about the various drum parts. It's a start, though!
Tomorrow I will work with the students playing both the snare and bells, roughly 30 people. I'll have to assess skill level on bells to begin, but I hope to work on the easiest of the excepts, even if I don't have it written out yet. It amazes me every time how much the music culture here is completely aural and how well students achieve with aural repetition despite the lack of musical training. It's not even that they just mimic; they want to know the names of the notes and how to count rhythms. It is so much different than my experience in the U.S. I want to learn how to bring this drive and curiosity back with me!
I'll report back tomorrow. For now, though, I'm off to write music!