I have a feeling this will lead to a lively discussion. Because Clarissa’s post is so elaborate (thank you Clarissa) I thought I would put this post here for others to leave comments. Short comments specifically about the discussion should be left here. As I read several items in today’s paper, I am struck by the enormous variety of musical (and artistic) styles and genres available. Here are two, reviewed in today’s paper (this is ONE DAY!) – music and dance.
1 – the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain:
2 – Sutra, by Sidi Larbi, recently performed at Lincoln Center. Here is a video of excerpts of one of the pieces,
I found last night’s event to be very inspiring. I will consider their experiences when I teach music in the future. However, I believe in balance, therefore my teaching method would be more of a hybrid of their unconventional approach and the “old school” way.
Fun fact: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain made an appearance in the British drama Skins. In this clip, JJ serenades a girl he likes with his version of “True,” accompanied by the G.B. Ukulele Orchestra, so that she will forgive him. The “Sorry for being a knob jockey” poster also gave me quite a laugh.
Last night’s event was one of my favorites from all the shows that we’ve seen. The music was good, that one song about a teenage boy and the girl he likes was adorable. The show exceeded my expectations, because I thought it was going to be a boring lecture. I love that they included the audience, and made a few jokes to keep us entertained. Although I don’t have much prior knowledge about the musical aspect, I did understand all the psychology reference. It was so cool that I was able to follow what they were talking about with the areas of the brain and think to myself “Oh I learned that in class before”. I went in with very low expectations, and ended up coming out of the show very impressed. If I could do that for the next show, maybe I’ll get the same results.