
Day 14* ~ Music Teachers
I have the sincerest appreciation for music teachers that can hear through the initial cacophony of children learning new instruments and/or finding their singing voices. The patience that these teacher exhibit while the students slowly move towards finding the melody is such a gift. I had the great pleasure of attending the middle school music concert at The Girlie's school on Friday night. Time and time again, I was blown away at how much each musician has learned since the beginning of the school year, but even more impressive was how confident and self assured they all seemed. This was spotlighted by many instrumental and vocal solos throughout the night. I was moved to tears many times during the evening, not necessarily because of the beauty of the music (although it was grand), but by the beauty of children feeling the music, and sharing with us, their love of it. I feel very much the same way about The Girlie's guitar/voice teacher, Sally. Often times I just sit outside the door with this ridicuous smile on my face while she and my girl work a piece of music out together. It's just a beautiful process to hear unfold. These teachers know that teaching music is about so much more than the notes on the page. It's self expression, perserverance, practice, collaboration, improvisation, confidence, creativity and so much more...They are the holders of that space while these kids acquire the musical building blocks they need to bring it all together. It takes a truly special kind of person to do it well, and I'm so thankful that we have them in our lives.
*I meant to finish and send this post out last night, but stayed at a holiday party much later than expected so it got bumped to today. It's silly to clarify really, but I like to pretend that I have some sense of order in my life, and along those lines I feel the need to explain why I'm off track a little. A little neurotic, I know, but there you have it.