Be In Tune

A guitar is a very delicate instrument. Inspite of the fact that players like Townsend, Hendrix and Cobain smash the crap out of them, they are delicate instruments. Made of wood, metal with many knobs to adjust, tuners to manipulate, guitars are tough to keep in tune. The weather effects the wood, expanding and conracting it with temperature and humidity to change the tone of the 6 strings. Strings wear out. Hell, just playing the thing gets it out of tune. I remember trying to learn to play with an out of tune guitar. Everything sounded the same.

The same is true in the classroom. So many variables can get your class "out of tune". The weather, the mere thought of a snowflake turns a great class into animals. A class has more strings and variables than the guitar. Students, teachers, visitors the lesson all have an effect. You have to think of each lesson to start in tune. Make the start good and you should be good for a while. It is important to set the tone from the beginning and refuse to start until you are in tune. Even as the lesson progresses you find that you need to tune up as the lesson continues. It is important to stop, tune up and then proceed. You see musicians do this constantly. Good ones can tune in mid song. Other can banter with the audience and tune up. I've seen BB King break a string, install a new one, tune it and never miss a note of a song. It takes years to perfect but that is the goal we are trying to achieve. To be in tune the entire class and make adjustments along the way.

Chapter 1 Make the Singer Look Good

Much to the chagrin of drummers, bass players and especially guitarists, the job of the rock band is to make the singer look good. That is who the audience looks at the most, and connects with. The band's role is to find songs that make the singer look good, play it in a key, tempo, and provide the best instrumentation to make the singer look good. Even if he is not that good the job of the band is to make them look good. If the singer doesn't look good, neither does the drummer, bass player or the guitarist.

The converse is also true, the singer makes the band look good. If he is happy then the audience is happy and so is the band.

In the classroom we must figure out who has the role of the singer. It could be the teacher or the student. From the teacher's viewpoint it is the student. The teacher has to be the band that makes the student look good. Especially is this era of NCLB, where learning is mandated. Kids legally have to learn or punishments will be handed out to the teacher. Teachers need to make the student look good. Teachers need to provide the platform where the student can shine, be successful, feel confident to perform their best.

Introduction

If asked what I wanted to be when I grew up at 18, I would have proclaimed "Rock Star". But as time moved on I felt needed to have a backup. Teaching was my backup. I have taught for 15 years now and for the last 5 spent my free time knocking around in a part time have fun cover band. What I discovered was, what I learned from the music, directly helped with my teaching. I found playing practicing and learning music made my teaching very insightful. I found working with a group made my teaching better.

I sat down and made a list of lessons I learned from the band and found them analagous to my teaching. So, here is my list of understandings that I have discovered with my duel life Rocker and Teacher.

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TEACHING I LEARNED BY PLAYING IN A ROCK AND ROLL COVER BAND.

Here are some lessons I learned while playing in a Rock and Roll Cover Band.

1. Make the singer look good.
2. Be in tune.
3. Don’t break the instruments.
4. Bad Practice=Good Gig.
5. Good Practice=Bad Gig.
6. Everyone learns the songs differently.
7. Invite your mom to the gig.
8. Do the hard stuff first, then do the easy stuff when your tired.
9. Warm up with an old favorite
10. You can’t rock all the time sometimes you need a ballad.
11. You need a gig you can’t just practice.
12. Everyone has a different role.
13. Most bands break up and move on.
14. Remember you play for the audience.
15. You play music it’s supposed to be fun.
16. Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate David Baker.
17. Practice parts, Put parts together, practice putting parts together.
18. Your band is only as good as the weakest member.
19. The whole is better than the sum of its parts.
20. Always play with people better than you or you’ll never get better.
21. Woodshed
22. Build a repertoire, practice it and build on it.
23. Gig with other bands.
24. Super groups always break up.
25. Do a Sound Check
26. Never stop taking lessons.
27. This is what I've got so far. I'll explain my connection to teaching with these in the coming months.