^ Half Way There ^

I have reached the one month mark of my Japan student teaching.  Strange.  Wait.  What?

I'd like to reflect on the brass band club a bit... it is very, very, student led.

(again, Shinonome only, NOT all Japanese schools)

First week- I tried to walk around the school and help different sections.  They only have full ensemble two to three times a month.  Every day after school, the brass band club members practice in sectionals.  The sections that accepted my help were clarinets, flutes and oboes, and trumpets.  Euphoniums did not want my help, and in fact, asked me to go away.  Tubas and contrabass have hidden themselves from me as well.  Percussion, of course, welcomed me and we had a blast.

Second week- I was able to observe one of their full ensembles and also a group meeting.  One of the students went to Disney and came back with Snoopy cookies as souvenirs for the entire band.  These kids are GREAT.  Playing music for the sake of music, and many of them love classical music.  Pieces they're working on: Pirates of the Caribbean, African Symphony, and an abstract piece by a Japanese composer. 

Third week- The trumpets and I are bonding and I taught them some fun breathing exercises.  The percussion were struggling with watching the conductor for new times, so I conducted them in a sectional.  Every now and then I go and just play on the drum set for fun.  It's nice that I can still practice percussion and piano like once/twice a week.  I also helped with clarinet by keeping time and working with the Eb clarinetist.

Fourth week- I conducted Pirates!  The music teacher gave me 20 minutes to rehearse them.  There is no warm up procedure because they all tune before the start of rehearsal.  Since this is not a class, there is no assessment or grade.  However, it was just fun.  I was finally able to use short Japanese words and a lot of gestures. 

Observation
1- Teaching music in a foreign language requires a lot of singing, acting, and conducting
2- Teaching oboe is WAY harder when you can't communicate more complicated concepts
3- Greetings are so important, a good greeting will make a great rehearsal
4- Learning short words like loud, soft, fast, slow, section names, and measure is VERY important.
5- Enjoying yourself is important because students are the same everywhere, even in Japan.

Conducting Pirates was pretty amazing.
They were NOT the stereotypical perfect-pitched and balanced band that everyone thinks Japan has.  Instead, I still had to talk about air, phrasing, balance, articulation, tempo, attacks, and releases. 
Problems I encounter are no different here.