I have not picked up the trombone since I was in junior high school, so when Mrs. McGorry asked if I would like to join the Beginning Band for the Spring Fine Arts concert, I paused. I thought, “That’s a fun idea.” And then I thought, “Oh boy, I cannot read music anymore. I have to start over; I have to begin from scratch.”
Have you heard of a Beginner’s Mindset? Its definition is the attitude of approaching something with a fresh perspective as if seeing it for the first time. In education, it is something great teachers are aware of as they teach new knowledge and skills. One could argue this is true of any profession – and even in parenting – as someone attempts to help someone else learn. Because this expert/experienced person has been using this knowledge or performing this skill so frequently, s/he loses what it was like to learn it for the first time. In the classroom, this is a real challenge because the teacher is educating multiple learners over multiple class periods. While I had played the trombone for multiple years, it has been multiple, multiple years since this feat was done. Decades later now, picking it up again to perform, I am hoping that this experience falls under the it’s-just-like-riding-a-bike: once you know how to do it, you never forget.
I did not have to think about a Beginner’s Mindset, I was living it. I had to start practicing – nothing like an upcoming concert and performing in front of hundreds of people to be a motivator – and I needed a lesson or two. Mrs. McGorry would be a big help. Annually she has a Beginner’s Mindset because her band members are exactly that: beginners. She knows what it takes to start to learn how to play an instrument: what it takes to put the instrument together, to blow properly to make sounds, to read music, to count properly with rhythm, to listen to fellow musicians in and out of one’s section, to receive feedback from the director, to make music.
I first needed to become a 21st Century learner and use my educational tool: YouTube. I found Patricia Kline and her video on playing the “Attack of the Slide Trombones.” I can’t really read music, so she became my model for success. I watched her slide positions and wrote them down under the notes on my sheet music. I emulated her sounds as I practiced, so when I was with Mrs. Gorry, I was ready for her feedback. Joining me was Ms. Batts, our new sixth grade science teacher. She played trombone in college, and while it had been a while since she too had played the trombone, she was at a higher skill level and could be my next model of success.
One-on-one support can be so helpful, but I think success comes more quickly and is more sustainable when there is another (or others in a small group). The partnership can be a team. You struggle and persevere together, feel the same emotions, think the same thoughts, and support each other throughout the challenge. When Ms. Batts was not available and I had my own separate lesson with Mrs. McGorry, even though I KNEW Mrs. McGorry was not judging me, it was crazy how my brain turned on me without my bandmate present. I felt shy, embarrassed, and concerned. Without Ms. Batts at my side, the struggle was mine alone, and I felt exposed.
On the other hand, when I joined my fellow sixth grade compatriots and ran through the song as a group, I felt a little lost in the crowd. There were many trombonists and other brass players, so I no longer had the individualized attention. I had to own my learning, to reflect on how well I did, and figure out what more I needed to do to meet the expected level by the concert.
Friday, May 3 is the Spring Concert. It has been good to be a student again and remember what it feels like to learn something for the first time. It is a wonderful reminder for me to remind my teachers that although it may be the sixth time that that particular lesson is being taught, it is the students in that period’s first time learning it. We need to keep the Beginner's Mindset to be responsive and supportive of all learners.
May is a great time for family and friends to acknowledge all the time and effort that has been invested in learning by both SMS’s learners and their teachers. Confidence and pride are the result. No one is seen as a "Beginner" any more…until next year when another grade level starts the learning opportunities all over again. Before that happens, we need to end this year strong, to celebrate all levels of achievement with one another, and to take pride in what has been gained in nine months.
Wondering my level of success for "Attack of the Slide Trombones"? See ya at the concert to find out!
Weeks at a Glance
- Tuesday, April 23 - Friday, April 26: MCA math and reading make-ups
- Friday, April 26: 8th Grade Send-off Dance (6:30 on the 7/8 campus)
- Monday, April 29 - Friday, May 3: Science MCA (8th grade)
- Friday, May 3: Spring Fine Arts Concerts (Band) (7:00 at the high school)