Lessons Day 1

Hello! Sammy and I gave our very first lesson today to the kids at Buckman Elementary School! We had five students total: 2 for me and 3 for Sammy. Because today was an introductory day, we started by teaching them the basics. I taught my 2 students how to put together the parts of the flute, including aligning the headjoint with the keys on the body, etc. Then, I told them to remove the headjoint from the rest of the flute, and taught them how to get noise out of just the headjoint. I was so ecstatic when both of the girls made sound! We then put the flute back together and I showed them where their fingers should be on the flute and how to sit with proper posture. After we were done playing, I taught them how to properly clean the flute and how to put it away safely. Towards the last five minutes of class, Sammy and I reunited and showed the five students metronomes, tuners, etc. Overall, it was a very successful class and we are so excited to keep working with them! With a little bit of practice, all of the students will be able to make beautiful music in no time!

-Jessica Lee

WE ARE OFFICIAL

We had our very first music lesson today!!! 5 kids showed up, 3 of them at first wanting to play the clarinet and 2 of them the flute. After one of the boys couldn't get sound out of the clarinet, he switched to flute and liked it a whole lot better. So in the end, 2 clarinets and 3 flutes!

It was a very good day today. It was mostly just introduction, but we taught them how to set up their instruments, instrument care, and how to make noise on the head piece. All the kids look promising!!

Still one concern is rentals. We have 2 flute players who are now currently renting, but everyone one Jessica and I just emailed asking if it was something the parents were able/willing to do.

-Sammy

Day 3

Tried the high school's instruments! Surprisingly, a majority of them we could use! I also got a few more emails from parents expressing interest in playing the clarinet! So far, all the kids want to play clarinet so we are hoping we can get a few to switch over to flute for Jessica!

-Sammy

Google Day 3!

Sammy and I got the chance to test out some instruments that we were able to rent! Each of us played about for four clarinets and flutes, respectively. We each chose the three instruments that sounded the best! Our lessons start next week so we are very excited!

-Jessica Lee

Finalizing!

As Sammy mentioned in her previous post, we didn't get a chance to play in front of our target audience, which was the fifth graders,, who were supposed to be there today. But, we did finalize our schedule! We decided to start on Oct. 31 so the students interested in the program will have enough time to rent instruments. We can't wait to start!

-Jessica Lee

Oh No!

Today after school, Jessica and I went to Buckman again to promote our program. This time we were suppose to see the choir kids and speak with them after class. But miscommunication occurred about the time we were suppose to arrive and we were told 4:30 when actually their class ended at 3:30! Soooo...we played for the few kids and parents there were left. And a few parents were interested. Yesterday definitely went better than today...But on the plus side! We have finalized our starting date to October 31st and will be continuing our classes until winter break! If we have enough students we may even start up another session after break until March.

Finally!

Like Jessica said in her last post, we finally got the program running! We arranged for today and tomorrow to present out program and see if any of the kids were interested! THEY WERE. So far I've already received 2 emails from parents asking further questions and saying that their children were excited about learning how to play an instrument! (both interested in the clarinet so far :) ) And we have arranged the final time of Wednesdays at 3:25-4:25. This is us from today, the first day of promoting EFM! So excited about tomorrow's presentation

-Sammy

Settling down.

After much deliberation, Sammy and I finally set a schedule with the Buckman Elementary School! We are going to be teaching the students once a week for an hour. Sammy printed out fliers and sign-up sheets so we are looking forward to seeing the students sign up! Today, the two of us went to Buckman and had a chance to see the kids and staff. We talked about our instruments, explained the parts to it (mouthpieces, head joints, etc.) and performed a short duet of the "Star Spangled Banner". We were thrilled to see that the students seemed to be genuinely excited and eager to learn! When we asked them if they had ever seen or heard of our instruments, almost all of their hands shot up in the air. We were so relieved that the kids seemed interested and are looking forward to getting started on the lessons!

-Jessica Lee

Day 2: Figuring Things Out

I never realized just how difficult this Google Project would turn out to be. Jessica and I STILL aren't 100% sure where we can host our program. Since Day 1 there has been countless phone calls between organizations and it seems like everything is proceeding very slowly. But, nonetheless, still excited about what we are trying to do! I got a call from a school saying that they MAY be able to have us and that when asking the kids about it some of them were really interested! I will be calling them again tomorrow to finalize the days we will be able to come and teach, hopefully the slow progress will pick up speed and we will be able to actually teach kids soon!:)

Google Day 2

            For the past couple of weeks, Sammy and I have been reaching out to multiple organizations that we could work through to teach children about music. We remained undecided about whether we were going to teach at Buckman Elementary School in the SUN district because there was already a music program running there. So, Sammy was able to gather some information about another non-profit group created by her clarinet teacher. However, the Buckman Elementary School contacted us today and said that most likely we would be able to teach at their school.
            Today during Class, Sammy and I created a worksheet that we could use to teach the children the basics of music. Because these children have no prior experience or knowledge in music, we started with simple notes and rhythms. The worksheet contained how to read notes through concepts such as FACE and Good Boys Deserve Fudge (G, B, D, F). Also included on the worksheet were explanations for different beats and rhythms. We explained how one hole note equals 4 beats, and one half note has 2 beats, etc.
            Sammy and I are excited to say that we will probably have a definite answer from the SUN district about us teaching by the end of this week. Let's cross our fingers!

-Jessica Lee