Playing for little kids

jtlownds · #1 12-21-2007, 06:51 PM

I had an interesting, and uplifting experience Wednesday. My wife teaches kindergarten in the local school system. She asked me if I could put a small group together to play for the kindergarten classes. She has allways been very supportive of my music, so I figured I owed her one. I got Mike, a vocalist, guitar / banjo player, my brother Don on mandolin, and myself on DB. We worked up a bunch of kid's tunes. We decided to quiz them on the instruments. Just about all of them knew what a guitar was and about half of them knew what the banjo was. The mandolin really stumped them. When Don told them it was a guitar that he picked before it was ripe, 80 5-year olds shouted back "NO IT'S NOT". We tested their math skills by having them count the strings on the instruments. When I asked them what the bass was, 1 little girl yelled out "a bass" and about 5 of them said "a violin". I didn't hear 1 cello in the crowd. When I asked them to identify the bow, 1 little boy said "it's a stick that you play that big violin with". The kids really got into the music and spontaneously started clapping on the 1 and 3 and keeping perfect time. Hell, I've played with a few drummers who can't do that. We had them sing along with us on a couple of choruses and was surprised at how on pitch they were. Better than some female singers I'ved played with. I know that some of you guys are teachers and are allready aware of this, but to the rest of y'all, I would highly recommend putting on a little show at your local school. The kids will be the most appreciative audience you will ever have (including the teachers and administration) and it will be one of the most heart warming experiences you will ever have.

Valerus · #2 12-21-2007, 06:58 PM

Very nice story! I would like to do something like this at least once in my life.

reedo35 · #3 12-21-2007, 07:20 PM

I just did this at my daughter's pre school, and it was a blast! And who knows, maybe some of them will be inspired enough to start learning an instrument. And to you guys who would like to do this but never tried, I recommend it highly as a very satisfying experience. Usually all it takes is a phone call to the school, and working out a time with the teacher.

Johnny Crab · #4 12-21-2007, 08:17 PM

Sounds like a great time for all.

Hmmm........

bassist1962 · #5 12-22-2007, 07:48 AM

It does uplift, and encourage. Sounds like you had a wonderful experience.

Vandelay · #6 12-22-2007, 08:34 AM

Good story, thanks for sharing.

Last year, I visited my daughter's 1st grade class with my electric bass. It was her turn as "special person of the week", and she got to bring in a special guest, so that was me. I asked the kids to sing really high notes, then really low notes, talk about the difference between the # of strings on bass vs. guitar, I gave them some extra picks, and I accompanied my daughter while she sang lead on a song ("Proud Mary"). The kids also had lots of questions for me to answer. It was a good time.

jtlownds · #7 12-22-2007, 10:45 AM

Thanks for sharing your stories guys. We have a lot of disadvantaged kids in our school system. A lot of them are children of migrant farm workers who are here for 2 or 3 months and then gone off to pick the next crop. My wife had one little boy in her class that was wearing a pair of shoes that were 2 to 3 sizes too small. He was having difficulty walking in them, so my wife went out and bought him a new pair, in the proper size. The next day he came to school wearing his old shoes again. When my wife asked him where his new shoes were, he answered that his mother had sold them for drug money. There are many other equally sad stories at that school, but there is not a hell of a lot that we can do about it. I just hope that our little show brought a little sunshine into their young lives, especially during the holiday season.

mcnaire2004 · #8 12-22-2007, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtlownds

I didn't hear 1 cello in the crowd.

One small step for bass, one giant leap for bass kind.

bassist1962 · #9 12-22-2007, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtlownds

When my wife asked him where his new shoes were, he answered that his mother had sold them for drug money.

I don't get people sometimes.

Mike Goodbar · #10 12-27-2007, 04:55 PM

My kids' string teacher at elementary school is great, and when she got wind that I was a jazz player, she asked me to come in for a demo for her violin classes (grades 3-5). So happens one of the other kid's Dad is a drummer, and the principal of the school is a pianist. We put the trio together and played a few Ellington tunes (we knew that the kids had learned about Ellington in class).

Then it was the kids' turn. We played a simple Dm vamp and had the kids improvise. Some of them just stayed on open D and messed around with rhythms, but some had fun with wiggling their fingers a little. By the end, they were loosening up and experimenting a lot.

Very cool way to spend 7:00 a.m. on a Tuesday.

Sam Sherry · #11 12-27-2007, 09:49 PM

Whenever there are kids around I give them a chance to play some notes on the Big Bass and feel that belly-shaking power. It's never too early to give kids the clue about what the good stuff is . . .

+ + +

Jim Lownds, thank you for reminding me how lucky I am to bring my kids up in a town with good school buildings full of great teachers and the children of motivated parents. Your wife is some kinda good person for taking on the critical job of shoveling sand against the tide.

jtlownds · #12 12-28-2007, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

Jim Lownds, thank you for reminding me how lucky I am to bring my kids up in a town with good school buildings full of great teachers and the children of motivated parents. Your wife is some kinda good person for taking on the critical job of shoveling sand against the tide.

Sam,

Thanks for the kind words. My wife is indeed a special person. She 71 years old now, and should be retired, but she's in it for the kids.