Hike with OMP

Today I got to go for a short hike/walk and informal picnic concert with some wonderful young musicians from Opportunity Music Project.  I am constantly grateful for the way these courteous and musical individuals teach me more perspectives on life.  From a young high schooler from Uzbekistan, to his friend recently arrived from Venezuela, to the father I shared the car ride with who told me of the life he shared with his son, to the people in the front seat, one from Japan, the other from China, and the kid who I had coached to play his sixteenth notes with gusto who chose to sit next to me to eat his calzone.  Other children came to show me the young toads they were catching, many of them chased one another around the picnic area before they were cajoled into playing a short concert between the drizzles.  It is wonderful to have an organization, especially in the midst of the stresses of New York, that treats both music and people with such humanity.

Courtesy

Courtesy may be one of the most musical virtues I can think of.  Sometimes when it is rush hour and it seems necessary to push and shove in order to get to work on time, I try to remember to be more musical.  And in doing so, I realize that I give myself and the people around me more time and space.  I exercise courtesy for their presence, and the living that surrounds them.

When we play, we must have courtesy for every note, to give it room to breathe and live.  It is one of the traits of a great musician that they can control time in this way, can make it stop, make it hang in the air, because they have so much respect for it.  They defer to it, live within it, and become it, and so can take on its form and dance in its being.

So many times I've sat on stage with a wonderful pianist, playing the cadenza of a concerto, the stage lights reflecting and consumed by the black shine of the instrument, the audience silent, everyone clinging to each sound.  The disparity between my lived reality of time and the one being spun was so great that I feared I would scream or an alarm hidden somewhere on my body would suddenly go off.   But it never happened.  Only the moment, from one to another.  The crush of living in the present.

Musicians can do this.  Anyone can do this.  We can learn to respect the present and in so doing, control it in a new way.  When it is rush hour, or any hour, we can choose to have courtesy, to be more musical in our demeanor, to see the people around us and trust that others will see us.  We can live in our time, whether it is late, or early, or imperfect, or punctual.  Regardless of the time or space we occupy, regardless even of our feelings about it, we can exercises and express courtesy for ourselves and others.  And in so doing, can open new possibilities for living.

Chelsea to Greenwich to Washington Square Park

I had to say goodbye to a student that I really came to love today.  We only had three lessons, but sometimes things just click.  She belongs to another.  It's just the nature of teaching that it is important to love deeply and let go freely.

And this evening Andrew and I went to a Feldenkrais class, and in a very relaxed state walk through Chelsea to Greenwich Village where we had a lovely dinner at a cash-only French restaurant called Tartine.  We then strolled over to Washington Square Park, seeing huge bubbles by the fountain, a light saber battle expo, dogs with casts, on wheels, and on skateboards, free poems, a tall Jewish man promising to freestyle upon request, a baritone sax player filling up the beautiful sunset for his own satisfaction, demurring at our "tip" offering as he packed up to leave, presumably to eat his box of glazed donuts.  We watched two games of chess on the way out and found our way through groups of people savoring their Saturday night, sharing their presence with the world.

Saying Goodbye to Group

Group classes take a little more planning and a little more energy to teach.  Balancing what different students are able to do, and their attention can be challenging.  There are also so many opportunities for creative interaction and questions about what is pedagogically important that it can be confusing where to begin.  But I still really enjoy working with a group of students in a way that private teacher just doesn't quite touch.

So it was difficult today to have teach my last group lessons at one of my schools today.  I requested to pass them along to another teacher because I felt that several of my students were in need of longer lesson times, and I didn't have the time in my schedule to do everything.  It's always hard to say goodbye to unique experiences.  And also hard to say goodbye to unique groups of students.  But I'm excited for what they will be able to experience with another teacher and happy they will get the diversity of teaching this way.

And now to deepen the tone with those with whom I will have more time.

Cool Rainy Day in NYC

It is nonsensical but true that it seems to rain more often when I teach at OMP.  And also that if I go directly to the subway station after teaching at LMS, people will be coming up the stairs having just gotten off a train I've just missed.  But if I use the bathroom at the school first, I catch a train quite quickly.

If I close my eyes while students are playing, they listen more.

I've drawn so much inspiration from so many teachers.  There isn't one truth above all others, no perfect form or substance to teaching or offering.

Gardening on a Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day in New York.  I was in my apartment for most of it, but went for a run along the Hudson and by the 95th (?) St flower garden in Riverside Park.  One of the gardeners was out, tending to it, pulling weeds, I suppose.  My whole-hearted thanks to people that have some reason to make the world a little more beautiful.

Eyes Up, Ears Open

A student came into my lesson today and even though I had something to offer, it was obvious it was not what he needed.  Things quickly shifted from offering to receiving, and thus, hopefully, sharing in a different way.  Listening is an important part of music.  I'm just hoping that I heard his thoughts as fully as possible.  I suppose that can never truly be the case.

After another great Feldenkrais session, I took the train home.  There are so many people that ask for food and money in New York that it upsets me to always blankly be saying no, or looking away or just staring at my book.  I decided that when possible, I would always give a quarter.  It isn't much, but it's something and it's something that I can give every time asked and not loose much, even if it goes somewhere I'd choose against.

One woman got on the train and asked for food and I had none to give.  Another man came on the train singing America the Beautiful, harmonizing himself a cappella, singing beautifully.  "I'm not homeless, I'm not hungry.  Contribute if you like what you hear, or hear what you like.  I also take bribes."  He joked around, observing all the people on the train and the way they avoided his eye contact, despite his lack of pleading.  I would have given him a dollar the way another woman did, but I didn't have any money, not even my quarters with me.  Regardless, it felt good to be able to look at both of them as humans, knowing that I really would have given something had I had it.

Sometimes we're not prepared for what comes to us.

Dalcroze Lessons

As part of this conference, there are several keynotes each day and usually they include a teaching demonstration.  On the first day it was just a general class, on the second day we got to watch a group of elderly people do Dalcroze for the first time, and today we saw a group of children.  There is so much to learn from the teaching that goes into these and so much to see as an outsider from the growth that is happening.  

Yesterday it was really beautiful to see the group of older adults learn to find a beat with their bodies, learn to look up at one another, to coordinate their hands and feet, to hold a beat in the minds and pick it up again mid-phrase, to express themselves in front of others with different body gestures and poses, to make social connections with one another right in front of us on the stage.  They came out of their boxes and really blossomed over the course of 45 minutes.  There is a study that has shown that Dalcroze can reduce falling in elderly people 50% (more so than dance lessons and other similar activities) and it most certainly raises self-esteem and a sense of social belonging. 

The class today with children was very different, but it gave a sense of pacing and calm that I would not have anticipated seeing in children.  The teacher really expected them to hold attention on what she was offering, and stayed with their focus throughout the lesson (all while doing it in her non-native language of French).  For me it was a lesson in breath while teaching.  

We have one more day here to take in more of what is available from these great teachers.  Very fortunate to have this opportunity.

Old Quebec

We took a break from the conference and went to the old part of Quebec City.  Beautiful walking through old buildings and looking at the water from the hills above.  It was a nice break from all the things that conferences are.