In Silence

I typically dictate my blog posts.  Ever since I picked up my Google Pixel phone several years ago, I have been dictating my posts as a first step.  I helps me get my ideas out with a bit of flow.  Then, I go back and edit for clarity, spelling, flow,  accuracy, etc. If you read my blog, I bet you have caught a mistake from time to time.  A misspelling. An odd use of a word.  That sort of thing.  

I do the same thing with my students' college recommendations.  Also with emails. This workflow really helps me get my ideas out quickly.  Then, I can always go back for accuracy and clarity. 

But, not tonight.  Tonight I am typing.  Why?  Because I can't talk.  Last Thursday I had a nasty polyp removed from my vocal chords.  So, I am now on extended vocal rest. Tonight is day 5. That's right. I haven't said a word in 5 days! Those of you who know me may find that hard to believe.  I think it has been a nice break for my wife. 

I started noticing a problem quickly after we went to all zoom classes at the beginning of Covid-19.  I was simply talking too much and over projecting to get through the computer on Zoom. I was limping to the finish line at the end of last school year when I led a sing-along/jam session for seniors on the last day of school.  I sang too long in the heat, with no water, and knew the whole time I was hurting myself.  As I went home that day in May, I knew the damage was done.  

I knew because I had the same problem in 2008, 13 years ago.  When I first came to NCSSM in 2001, one of my teaching duties was chorus.  I over-sang for several years as a crutch against my lack of pedagogical skills as a choral musician.  7 years of over-singing took its toll.  I had developed polyps and the only remedy was surgery.  

Back then they used a scalpel.  Now it is a laser.  (Much less invasive.) Back then, the recovery was 4 weeks and now it is more like 2.  One similarity is vocal coaching afterwards.  Tomorrow is my first session.  I am dreading it.  Back then I had little boys at home who needed my attention. Now they are all adults and my wife and I have the place to ourselves.  It is much quieter than in 2008.  I learned back then that there is a lot of one's identity tied up in voice.  How deep?  How does it project?  This is particularly, I believe, impactful for a teacher like me.

Tomorrow will be my first day back at school.  My orchestra students have been so nice.  They are concerned about me!  It is so hard for me to take time off.  I have definitely rested and allowed my voice to recuperate, but my mind goes a mile a minute.  I miss being at work. I miss all the social interaction.  

So, what does a guy like me learn in 5 days of no talking?  Let me see if I can give you a list.

• I like to listen to podcasts
• It is frustrating to not be able to respond to conversation or pick up the phone
• Vocal surgery makes one tired!
• I enjoy long walks
• I really do enjoy listening to others
• It is so easy to get lost in my phone
• I like to cook
• Anesthesia messes you up for a day or so
• I appreciate my family
• My wife is an angel and a saint
• One notices the world around when you can't speak
• I truly like my work and miss going to school
• My students are the best!
• It was so fun to watch the Steelers with my sons, without talking (or cheering)

I am sure there is more, but these are some starters.

I have been communicating with a white-board at home and plan to continue to do so at school for the next two weeks. Wish me luck!

For now, take care of your voice.  You need it.  I know I need mine.  And, I am hoping that it will be back in its old clear form in just a few short weeks. And then, I can go back to dictating my blog posts.  For now, enjoy the silence!

Peace.

Scott

The CATS Method of Learning

Many of you know that in recent months, I have become more and more involved with KidzNotes ( www.kidznotes.org )the Durham-based non-profit that is part of El Sistema USA and modeled after the well-known Venezuelan Youth Orchestra Program, El Sistema. The primary goal of this organization is to bring children out of poverty through classical music training in an intensive after-school program. Kidznotes will be launching this weekend in East Durham and I am thrilled to be involved. I am a member of the Board of Directors of Kidznotes and have been working on a variety of fundraising efforts as well as doing some teacher-training and performing to promote the cause. I am also proud to say that my corporate partner and sponsor, D’Addario Bowed Strings, has also jumped on board and has generously participated in preparing instruments for our young students to use. The will certainly be set up with wonderful instruments as a result of D’Addario’s generosity and the generosity of many other organizations and individuals.

One of the models that El Sistema uses is the concept of each student being part of the “CATS” model of teaching and learning. “CATS” stands for Citizen, Artist, Teacher, and Scholar. When I heard the acronym for the first time, it resonated with me on so many levels. In many ways, this has been the model that I have used with my students for almost 25 years of teaching. But, it was never stated so clearly and succinctly for me before my work with El Sistema USA.

For my students at NCSSM, I want you to take some time to think about the challenges that this model offers us. It is easy to think your job as a member of an orchestra or a class is fairly one-dimensional. That is, to assume that you are to come to class, participate fully as a musician and student, and move on to the next class. But here at NCSSM, we want to challenge you to be so much more than that. We want you to be engaged in class. We want you to own the environment. And we want you to pursue scholarly excellence in all that you do. So, let’s look at each word in the acronym and consider them individually and collectively.

First, we encourage you to be a CITIZEN. We expect you to own your citizenship. With citizenship comes responsibility. We expect you to care about the environment from start to finish. What does that entail? Citizenship, to me, equates to affirmative community membership – encouraging others, leading when appropriate, following when appropriate, caring for the injured, supporting the weak, loving the unloved. It requires a lack of self and a concern for others. In short, ask not what your organization can do for you. Ask what you can do for it and the good of the whole.

Next is ARTIST. It may seem like a reasonable expectation that a member of a musical organization or class be expected to act and think like an artist. Personally, I never really became comfortable with the notion that I was an artist until well into my adult musical years. I am not sure that I was ever really encouraged to think that way. Or, if I was, it was never really articulated in a way that I understood or incorporated into my life in a meaningful way. What is it to be artist? One definition claims that an artist is one who is able by virtue of imagination and talent or skill to create works of aesthetic value. So, an artist must be imaginative, talented, skillful, creative, and aesthetically inclined. One who is interested in aesthetics is interested in the creation of beauty. I believe it is my job to encourage you in all of these ways. When you are truly using your imagination, talents, skills, and creativity with a goal towards creating beauty and moving people’s emotions, you are on your way to being an artist.

TEACHER: On the surface this is a curious one. After all, you are, by definition, a student. First off, trust me when I tell you that I have learned ten times as much as a teacher than I ever did as a student. When we teach, we really must understand process. We have to much more clearly define objectives and goals. We have to exhibit patience, too. When students teach, they develop much deeper understandings of the processes that they are going through. Students teach every day. Just ask my seniors. I look to them to set a tone in the classroom. A section in an orchestra is always better when there are a strong front couple of stands. They are modeling for the rest of the section. They are, for all intents and purposes, teaching. And every player can in some way, teach their stand partner from time to time. We teach when we do it right and we can also teach when we do it wrong. I have learned a great deal from less-than-exemplary models in my lifetime. We must all be teachers.

Finally there is the aspect of being a SCHOLAR. I would seem to be a no-brainer that we should be scholars. But, I want you to bring true scholarship to everything that you do, including orchestra. Again, how often I see students that come to class just expecting to go through the motions on a given day. That is not true scholarship. Scholarship requires a thirst for knowledge that has been accumulated by many over the years. It includes a desire for accuracy, an appreciation for history, a respect for the science, and understanding of the mathematical principles, a desire to comprehend the theory of everything that we undertake. True scholarship requires academic curiosity and academic enthusiasm. Do you bring scholarship to every rehearsal that you attend?

I understand that these are lofty goals. They are all-encompassing. They are a challenge. But why would one want it any other way. You are here to “accept the greater challenge.” So here it is. Adopt a fundamental commitment to the “CATS” model of learning. Every day, in every class, in every endeavor, I encourage you to be a Citizen, Artist, Teacher, and Scholar. Let me know when you succeed. I will celebrate with you!

Peace.

Scott