Last night at 10:00 pm I got a text from the same friend asking if I was free today to fill in for an instructor that couldn't be there. (also a college friend)
It was for the last rehearsal of a group of girls ages 9-11. Their performance is tomorrow. While I do have a fairly strong reputation as a music teacher of kids, I knew if he was asking me (the former would be camper) and it was 10:00 at night, he was desperate. I could not pass up a teaching adventure.
So from 1:00-3:30 today I taught a preteen girls rock band. I taught it in a building where I used to teach general music. So first I present the steps I would walk up and down (with equipment- pre-ipod- bag of cds, instruments and a giant boom box) at Woodburn Elementary.
This first one is from the front door- the bottom looking up.
This second one is from the top looking down.
The walls did not have the cool graffiti they have now. The steps are not standard size in height. They are a little shorter. It's kind of amazing that I made it out of that job without broken bones. There was never time for more than one trip so all of the above mentioned supplies were carried in tandem. It makes me tired just looking at them.
This is the front of one of the rooms where I taught 5th grade. I clearly remember trying to teach the words to the French Christmas carol Trois Grands Roi. I carried an electronic keyboard that day.
This is the other side of the room, the same room I taught rock band in today. The window shades are exactly the same. I am not.
There was a lot of talk about listening and concentrating which for 5 girls under the age of 12 from 1:00-3:30 pm in an un-air-conditioned summer afternoon was a challenge and an accomplishment. They didn't love me during the repetition but they were pleased with the end results.
They wrote a "protest against parents" song called Feedback. It was a thrasher style song with three drums an electric guitar and a voice. The first line is "I know you're the boss of me..." There's another line "who likes broccoli anyway..."
They are also performing a cover of Ed Sheeran's Perfect. It went from falling apart after 8 beats to recovering from any rhythmic jumps after each section. If you look for PopShop on Facebook, they will be live streaming their performance at 1:00 tomorrow. It was a trip.
In other news, I'm back in it to win it in food consumption. The return from vacation shift to overnight oats for breakfast sort of clicked things into place. Yesterday was roasted broccoli in a very General Tso's kind of sauce with sesame seeds. Today was Caprese Portabella's
Before
After
Probably the most delicious meal I've ever made.
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