My first musical love was singing with family: harmonizing in the car, singing side-by-side in a church pew, joining chorales and ensembles to sing classical and popular pieces, making up corny jingles, and composing music to honor individual family members. I thought every family did that sort of thing. What I have learned over my 33 years of teaching is that, no, not every family has that kind of experience. I do have hope that after my tenure as a classroom and private teacher, perhaps a few more folks do that today, than might have done it had I not crossed their path. I learned to give them a lot of encouragement, a little coaching and all the love I could. I’m not sure I always got the right combination of the three above, but I tried.
A “recapitulation” in musical form is a part of a musical work that restates one or more initial musical ideas which are first presented in a section called the “exposition.” The theme(s) is then expanded upon and undergoes creative changes and blossoms in a section often called the “development.” In my teaching career, a parallel seem to be the statement or “exposition” that was music teacher training and the ‘development’ that occurred through experiences of teaching, the counsel of good colleagues and reflection on both. That has been a robust and colorful journey and I’m not sure it is complete. But if it is not quite over, at least I will try to foreshadow a “recapitulation” of the theme of teaching music that I have developed, and to lay the groundwork for reflection on this vast work that was my passion for these many years.
RecapitulationSong 