On Wednesday mornings, I get dressed very differently than I do to teach on Monday or Tuesdays. I put on my old jeans, my hiking boots, pack my extra penny whistles and head out to Adelbert Farm in Fairview. The drive takes me 25 – 30 minutes, depending on the weather, and how far down the eight mile stretch of road I get before I’m stuck behind the garbage truck, which then really slows me down, from 35 mph to even slower. Initially, it made me nuts. Now, after eight weeks, I’ve come to appreciate the opportunity to slow down… in driving my car, in my life, and being able to authentically embrace the “be here now” principle. Old Fort Road, that leads to the farm, is lovely. It’s waaaaay out in the country, windy (which forces me to actually drive at the speed limit), and yes, it really is eight…miles...long.
This weekly opportunity I get to slow down in my life, is also when I get to teach the penny whistle to a group of homeschoolers, ages 7-9. It is by far, one of my most favorite hours of the week. I just finished week 8 last week and I have come to appreciate each child and the journey they are on with me. I notice how easy this instrument is for some, how difficult it is for others. Some of them practice a lot. Some of them don’t pick it up outside our lesson together. But during our half hour together, there is not a more relaxed and happy bunch than us. Right now they are learning to play basic nursery rhyme songs. Because they learned them when they were just babies and toddlers, the melodies are ingrained in the brain (I love how that rhymes!), which makes learning how to play the melodies with fingers on a new instrument pretty doable pretty quickly… for the most part. Because next week is Thanksgiving, we reviewed at our lesson yesterday, several pieces to perform at next weeks’ celebratory “Thanksgiving Hike/Art-Music-Drama Presentation/Lunch” event for families.
Within 20 minutes of our lesson, (and only EIGHT lessons at that!), they played Hot Cross Buns in two keys, Mary Had A Little Lamb in two keys, Row Row Row Your Boat, London Bridge, I’m A Little Teapot, Shave and a Haircut….Shampoo! and lastly, Baa Baa Black Sheep. Nine pieces of music. Nine! Two of the kids who practice pretty regularly and play other instruments as well, wanted to play the most recent piece I’d taught at the last lesson, something outside the world of Nursery Rhymes – Michael Row the Boat Ashore. They nailed it after just one week. I was blown away. After the lesson, Willa wanted to play me a piece she’d worked out by herself, something very big these days on the radio - Stereo Heart by Gym Class Heroes… Her pal, Harrison, smiled and said, “Oh I love that! It’s my favorite piece right now.” He proceeded to play it right along with her, in perfect time and rhythm and phrasing. She had just taught it to him the previous week.
After just two months, these kids had become quite comfortable on the whistle playing nine nursery rhymes and then, a new song, something unfamiliar about Michael and his rowing the boat ashore. I’d like to think they were becoming empowered, confident, more skilled, more excited. But I’m not sure what was brewing inside their heads and spirits. What I do know is that they were able to figure out on their own, to improvise, noodle around and have fun. I watched them play that song they love hearing on the radio while looking at one another, smiling, giggling at times, and wanting to do it again and again. I was so happy for them. And it made me happy. Today I realized that those two minutes of them showing me what they could do, was my happy moment of the day. It made me realize deeply again, what power there is when we are feeling the joy of being in the music.
Getting stuck behind the garbage truck these last eight weeks, anxious to arrive on time, was all worth this moment. And I’m willing to get stuck behind that truck every Wednesday morning from here on out. What a delight to witness children discovering the music inside themselves.
Eight lessons, nine nursery rhymes and a folk song… Music of the heart just rolled on out of those two kids, like a cup that runneth over. Imagine if you stuck with something for eight weeks, what would birth itself in you?
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