Sway

The Kids Are Coming

My fingers grabbed the dry erase marker from the holder on the whiteboard. I used it to write the following:

Music needs a message to matter.

Originally I had planned to teach the teens beat matching. However, after yesterday's conversation with Charlotte, I wanted to talk to them about to power of words and how we as producers need to create sounds that elicit the desire to listen.

One by one, they filed into the room. Each of them sitting in the same seat they had on Wednesday. I got a warm greeting from everyone except of course, Adam. He was wearing a black hoodie and ripped black jeans that were far too tight. I noticed his nails were also painted black and it looked like he had been picking the polish off for awhile now.

Julia had her red hair tied up in a bun, she was wearing denim overalls and black Dr. Martens. Mya was the complete opposite, she wore a plaid mini skirt and a Ralph Lauren polo. Her brown hair was braided in two French braids and her lips were glossy.

Reuben was dressed as if he had just left a soccer match - Joggers and a school sweatshirt, tied on his feet were some dingy Nike's. Then there was Monty, he had on simple blue jeans and a long sleeved crew neck. His silky hair was combed back, probably with moose or gel.

I smiled creepily, admiring each of their individuality. Then I used the end of the dry erase marker to point to what I had written on the white board. "I want to start today by getting your thoughts on this statement."

They each took a moment to think about what was written. Probably recalling one of the songs they admired, reciting the lyrics in their mind.

"I think it's true... for sure!" Mya chirped with her hands clasping her iPhone.

I just nodded and waited for the others to chime in, it took a moment, but eventually Monty spoke up. "When I listen to music, it's usually according to my mood. So, lyrics definitely matter."

"That's interesting," I shifted my weight as I leaned on my left leg, "So, would you say that in order to give a message a song has to have lyrics?"

"No," Reuben said, "You can do it with feelings... beats, 'n stuff."

Julia agreed, "Yeah, like with the instruments you choose to use or the tempo you go with."

These kids were getting it. So I moved away from the whiteboard and navigated behind my desk where all of the equipment was. After turning on the projector and the iMac, I opened YouTube and began looking up different instrumentals. I wanted to play a quick game, where they'd try to come up with what the artist was feeling when they made the song. A part of me wondered if they were enjoying my class so far, or if they just wanted to jump right into learning the DAW and the other different peripherals. It didn't matter either way, I knew first hand how important it was to understand music as a whole and not just the hundreds of tools that help make it.

So we played the game and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Even Adam began to get excited when a psychedelic rock, or even a smooth jazz song would play on the overhead speakers. They all debated on the different emotions that could be felt from within the song, in the end they decided that it was up to the listener to determine what vibe was given.

We ended the game after some time and I started talking about beat matching finally. We watched a couple YouTube videos to help them get the understanding and then I made each of them attempt to find the periodic beat in a popular song. They all did well, and I think for the first time I felt like a teacher.

Class ended soon after, and I told them that we'd continue a little more with beat matching and then finally move into learning the DAW on Monday.