7 AM Breakfast consisted of delicious omelets, coffee and fruit. Then we got on the bus and picked up our other passengers. Then Pastor stopped the bus and told us we were going to get "sea cookies." We all looked around confused until he said ,"oh... sea shells..haha!"
He took us along the road and then had us walk through some tiny restaurants to get to the sea. The ocean was gorgeous. The entire beach was made of shells. No sand. Just shells. It was beautiful. I can't wait for you to see the camera photos.
Once up at the church Pastor and Ernst set up a white screen and the LCD projector to present his plans for a new church. It is amazing and he said it is a 50 year plan. It will have to be excavated and built by hand. Seriously.
After that a man came to show us a new enterprise the Pastor would like to start. Manufacturing solar panels. Details later. .. but it sounds like a really great opportunity for jobs and sustainability.
Music and Art Lessons resumed after our meeting. More kids showed up today and it was chaotic. They were grabbing the burger king crowns and fighting over stickers in a small area. I enlisted Even's help to get them all outside so we could set up a class room in the church. The structure allowed us to resume in a nice calm manner.
Today they drew pictures, colored, made tissue paper flowers and folded paper projects. Some kids made bracelets. They loved the bubbles and light up bouncy balls.
Music lessons resumed with large group music theory and small group lessons.
After the participants ate their rice and beans meal we packed up to go. It was a little earlier than normal because it is a Friday.
Guest blogger: Sharon.
Wow! We have had some amazing music filled days! Sarah, Adam, Darlene, Lori, and myself have been busy! The first couple days we taught lessons on rhythm, notes, and dynamics. We mainly used drumsticks and the music books that were brought down, but the recorders have been making random appearances all week. Yesterday when we taught about dynamics we used the songs "Lord I Lift Your Name on High," and "Jesus Loves Me." Yesterday we also split into sectionals. Adam had drum off during sectionals. He got stumped once in the drum off, but he also taught them a Latin beat which was new concept to them. Sarah worked with woodwinds. She played along and hung out during the sectional. Darlene worked with the trumpets. She was impressed by some of the players. I worked with two piano students. During our small group times we have found some differences in the whole concept of playing and teaching music.
Many Haitians play two different ways. They say they play for themselves from their HEARTS but they also play by the SPIRIT. Many of them are AMAZINGLY talented musicians. They read music, but it is sometimes slow going for them. Give them an instrument and NO music and they can play beautiful, beautiful music. Yesterday I was serenaded by a tenor saxophone player who played me this beautiful Creole song. It was so soulful and rich. He played everything from memory and ear. The Haitians come to us and say "play for me" or "play me a song" and Sarah and I respond, give us music and we will play. They tell us to play from our heart. For us it is so hard. When we are in a band (unless it is a jazz band) we are trained to play as a team. You want to blend in, you want to play in tune, read the music, and make it sound as one. The band we are seeing is loud and boisterous. They have some intonation difficulties, but they play with a lot of spirit and excitement. In the U.S. we pick an instrument and are given music to help with our training. In Haiti, many are given an instrument and have to figure it out without music.
Yesterday I worked with two piano players. They told me they wanted to learn gospel music and how to accompany singers. I found some camp songs that had guitar chords. I drew out chords for them and explained the correlation. One of my players speaks English very well so he helped interpret for our little lesson. They struggled with the concept of chords and scales. After I gave a mini lesson and sang the song Sanctuary and Lord I Lift Your Name On High over 30 times each, they finally started to catch on to the concept of chords, improvising, scales, etc... They took my lessons to heart and must have practiced, because they came back to lessons today and showed me multiple different ways to play the two songs we worked on. They definitely were playing with their hearts! Last night one of the students wanted me to bring back the song Go Light Your World. Today we worked on it at length. The piano students like having me as a guinea pig and say to me "again, sing again!" or "start again!" I think one was trying to suck up when he told me my "voice was like an angel from heaven". I wouldn't go that far.
Some other differences we have noticed in our lessons include the scale... They use the Solfege scale. Today Ernst lead a lesson for the band on intervals. Being a teacher, I wanted to sit in on his lesson and just observe. Evans, one of our amazing helpers and translators sat next to me and helped translate what was going on. The band was very confused by the lesson they were having difficulty understanding the concept. There were no visuals except for a long vertical line of the scale.... Do Do# Re Re#..... While I was sitting off to the side, I drew a staff and a piano keyboard. I was able to find my answers quickly and participate in the lesson. The other students and teacher were very interested in how I discovered my answers and when I explained through my amazing helper/translator the light bulbs started setting off. The interpreter wanted to know how I know to teach this way and that I have many good teaching ideas. I'm glad all my education finally paid off :) Tomorrow my goal is to start spreading the word about tuning your instrument. It is taking everything I have not to walk around adjusting mouth pieces and slides. It is making Sarah and I crazy, but we are working on "leaning into the discomfort".
Otherwise, today I had a blast playing with the band. Although I am now partly deaf from the trumpet players behind me, the band played with great enthusiasm and were so excited to have Sarah and I participate. I'm glad I could find a saxophone, even if it was an alto one, instead of the French Horn to play on. I was definitely more in my element and had a blast playing a very slow version of In The Mood and Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It was pretty sad my mouth was killing me after an hour of playing, but I'm building up my tolerance again. I was informed by Evans that tomorrow I WILL be playing a solo during In The Mood, so he told me to go home and think about it so I can channel my inner spirit to play tomorrow. Apparently Sarah, Adam, and I will be playing in the concert Sunday. We are going to go start working on our act. When I told them I would play piano and sing a song, I was informed that was not okay and I would be playing my saxophone. They will have to settle for a piano, flute, and guitar ensemble instead.
The progress we have seen and the eagerness is so amazing. Our students are seeking us out, practicing, and soaking up the many things we are working on them with. It has been so fun to teach music this week and I look forward to the concert on Sunday!! It's going to be amazing!
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