March 22nd-28th: Online Is the New Black
This week, I spent a lot of time on my phone, checking up on friends and family, and scrolling through Instagram and Facebook looking at all the music, videos, and Corona Virus stuff going on. I also had my fair share of air-time, when Thursday night, Stephanie Green and I continued our series of live shows from her house. This week, we had nearly 300 people watch us over 90 minutes, and there were some great folks who tipped us dearly-I want to personally thank them for that! It means a lot that those who can tip, do in these hard times. We’ve even been getting tips after the show-so people are really paying attention, so thank you!!!
This week, I also attempted to teach one lesson; however, it had to be executed over Skype, which was something I was not familiar with. But, in the spirit of giving it the old college try, Wednesday night I got all my equipment set up in the basement, installed the program on my iPad, and spent 60 minutes working with one of my best students. After we logged off, I thought about how the session went, and these were some of the things that came up:
My internet is not the greatest-don’t get me wrong, internet is internet, and I appreciate it no matter what it is; for this particular activity, communication is key, and with the slight lag time from video and audio, I felt like there was definitely more effort being put in (on both ends) to hear and see what we were doing. To add to that, the fact that you’re not in the same space with your student as a teacher is more difficult. Example- if I need to show my student something visually, or if I have to move their fingers manually to demonstrate something, it solidify a that thing more than if I have to explain it over a video chat, especially if the concepts are more advanced.
For someone to really learn efficiently in this context, it would almost be essential for them to have an understanding of how to read notation and/or tabs on their own OR just have a basic understanding of how to count rhythm. It’s much harder to learn a song when the rhythmic aspect of it is foreign, which is the case for most people when looking at paper.
As much as I understand that most music related things have a business undertone, the flip side of it is that as humans, we love to express music to other humans, cause it encourages growth and connectivity and diversity; I think that teachers lose this facet when they teach in this format. I know that when I hear my student(s) work through sections of music where they’re having trouble, I can see and hear the frustration and determination just by watching and listening; and when they finally overcome it, it can be overwhelming for me and them both. The ability to show someone that you are capable of doing something difficult, even if it’s small, is significant. And not being in the same moment, in the same space, sacrifices that.
In other news, this week, I had a flurry of days where I came up with 2 great (or what I think is great) songs. The first one came from a post my neighbor made about a small town in PA called Centralia, out near the Johnstown area. The town was used as the loose base for the popular 2006 movie “Silent Hill.” She posted photos of the eerie town, with a small description, and after I read it, I had to write a song about it, aptly named “Silent Hill.” The other tune came the next day, out of nowhere- and I’m not really even sure how I got the idea, because it’s in the style of what people call pop-country these days, and it’s a love song about 2 kids getting married, of which I have never been married or had the experience of proposing to anyone, so that’s kinda weird. Anyway, I managed to write a killer book and 2 verses, and today I’ll be finishing up the bridge and recording a phone demo for later use. I also want to go through the tens of notes I have for songs I’ve started but didn’t finish, to try and clear up some space there.
I want to post a question this week, cause I don’t do it often enough, and with all the downtime in your life right now, I’m giving you an opportunity to get you thinking a little, and to keep you occupied for a while. Here’s this weeks question:
In response to one of my newest songs, “Silent Hill” which was vamped into a movie format, what is your favorite movie and/or movie score (they can be different) and why?? My favorite movie and movie score would be that of Indiana Jones and the infamous John Williams. In any of his work, John has always been able to captivate the masses with signature motifs for all his movies he’s had the pleasure of working on. Also, who doesn’t love a middle-aged archaeologist who handles a whip like a badass and hints for treasure?? I mean, cmon! Anyways, let me know what your response is below! We’ll see you next week!