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Episode 2: Judy Pine’s Advice for Navigating New Music Classrooms
40 Plays4 months ago
In this episode, Judy Pine, West Music’s Director of Outside Events and a former music teacher, shares invaluable tips for navigating new music classrooms. From assessing inventory and setting up your space to advocating for resources and maintaining instruments, Judy offers practical advice and insights drawn from her 45 years of experience. Whether you’re a new teacher or starting fresh in a different classroom, this episode is packed with tools to help you create a thriving music program.
To contact Judy for assistance, email jpine@westmusic.com
Find funding resources at https://edufund.westmusic.com/
American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) website: https://aosa.org/
Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) website: https://www.oake.org/
World Music Drumming website: https://www.worldmusicdrumming.com/
Learn more about this podcast at https://www.westmusic.com/playnowplayforlife
Visit our website for all of your musical needs! https://www.westmusic.com/
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Play Now, Play for Life'
00:00:07
Speaker
Hi, everyone. You are listening to Play Now, Play for Life, a podcast for music educators. I'm your host, Aaron Hansen. I'm a former music teacher of 29 years and now a part of the West Music Team. Every episode, we sit down and chat with experts in music education to learn about their tricks of the trade. And today we are talking, this is our second podcast, which is so exciting, but we are talking with Judy Pine,
00:00:37
Speaker
who is with our wonderful West Music team. And we have a lot to talk about.
Judy Pine's Musical Journey
00:00:43
Speaker
So we're going to talk about how to set up your classroom, how to maintain your classroom, instruments, all of those kinds of things. We have so much here. So we just want to welcome Judy to this podcast, which is so exciting. So welcome, Judy. Hi.
00:01:02
Speaker
And I guess the first question I have, just to share with with people listening to this podcast or watching the podcast, is could you maybe um just start by talking about your own music background, teaching background, and and your role here at the West Music Company? Because I think that's all very interesting for people to know. Oh, sure. Well, I was always involved in music education, music all my life.
00:01:32
Speaker
My dad was a minister and so churches always needed piano players and organists. So my sisters and I all learned how to play piano and organ some too a little bit, as well as saying in the choir. And then when it was time for me to graduate from high school and look what I wanted to do, I wanted to be a high school choral director. So I went here at the University of Northern Iowa in Iowa in choral music education.
00:02:04
Speaker
And discovered piano was probably better for me. I was not going to be an opera singer by any means of the foray. um Coming from a small school, you quickly learn in college. That's not quite what I thought it was going to be. But I had a wonderful piano teacher and became a piano major. And while I never would play at Carnegie Hall, my teacher always encouraged me to become an educator.
00:02:29
Speaker
She thought I could be a good educator in whatever foray I chose. So I first wanted to be a choral director. And then by luck, one summer, I stayed at college and ah between my junior and senior years. And I took an advanced music methods class. And that was really my first longer term exposure to Orf, Kodai, and Laban movement.
00:02:59
Speaker
one but one week of Kodai, one week of Laban, and two weeks of Orf Schulberg. And I was bit. I knew I wanted to be an elementary music teacher.
Transition to West Music
00:03:13
Speaker
And so instead of student teaching in high school, I was able to switch it and I student taught in elementary and um got a job that spring. And then I was like, well, I need more than what I just got in college as many people discover and luck would have it, this same professor that had been at my university kind of subbing one summer as my professor um took a sabbatical to study with Grace Nash. That's how old I am. Yeah. And so, um, but in the summer of 77, when I graduated, I was able to take level one.
00:03:58
Speaker
in Des Moines, Iowa with Jane Frazier and R.V. DeSteen. And I just soaked every minute of those two weeks up, learned a lot of things, and then was excited to teach elementary general music, which I taught for three years in Southwest Iowa and Creston, Iowa. Grades one through five, you know, three programs, uh,
00:04:26
Speaker
Uh, 10 days of Christmas caroling about right now, you know, I could, I could still sing every verse of grandma got run over by a reindeer. I'm just sure. And, uh, you know, so I developed my love of music education early and really enjoyed teaching, but I was looking for a position where I didn't have three buildings. Granted, I was all in one little town.
00:04:54
Speaker
but it was a lot, so.
00:05:00
Speaker
And after my first year of teaching, I took level two in Des Moines, ORF, and Connie Saliba, who recently passed, and um oh, Nancy Ferguson, her cohort, who had passed away a while ago,
00:05:20
Speaker
They taught level one and two in Des Moines. So now I had Connie Saliba, which was so different than the Minnesota people yet it wasn't. And then crazy me, I went home that summer for three weeks and helped my po my folks on the farm. And then I went to Minnesota and took level two up there with Jane. Oh my goodness. Oh, I loved it. And then the next summer I took level three with Yoss.
00:05:49
Speaker
So that's how I found West Music was my first summer. Well, yes, in the summer of 77, because West Music was just getting into providing instruments for ORF courses back in 1977.
Thriving at West Music
00:06:05
Speaker
Okay. So kind of, well, ah now I'm just curious. So where in Des Moines did they have courses at that time? Oh, that was only two years. Grandview. Well, three, excuse me, three years. Grandview College.
00:06:19
Speaker
in Des Moines, small school. Dick Stromberg was the gentleman that ran it. And he didn't last there much longer and went to Vermilion, South Dakota, and then I lost track of them. um But he was really a trendsetter. Back in 76 was the first time they had a levels there. And then I took it in 77. And when you look at the history of Orf Schulrich in the United States and courses,
00:06:49
Speaker
That really was pretty soon. Yeah, that was early. um You know, and I think one of the things you said early on is so important because I was the same way as an undergraduate. Everybody thinks they're just going to teach high school. Well, you know, and then they come into your rooms and they see what what is happening in general music. And and then they say, I don't know, I think I think I'd rather be here. I mean, you know, it's just this whole mind shift.
00:07:19
Speaker
When I was in elementary school, we sat and sang out of books. Because I knew how to read music as a piano student, I could actually read the words and the music and being a church musician too.
00:07:33
Speaker
and so um We didn't have instruments. we don't know I don't even remember. We had things like sand blocks. I don't remember any percussion at all. It was singing, and which was wonderful. Singing is so important. i mean it's It's our true musical instrument within each of us, um compared to what I walked into as my classroom or what teachers may find in their classroom today. so and And even when I was growing up, it was like, if you got a glockenspiel out,
00:08:14
Speaker
That was a big, special day. Like, oh my gosh, we're actually going to have a glockenspiel today. And you might only play one note. And now it's, it's, yeah, it's changed so much. So. I had, um, one Alto xylophone that was at my building before. And then I bought a second one. I personally bought one because I was somebody that I kind of helped West music.
00:08:41
Speaker
all those three summers, I was like, I could call the 800 number and say, could you bring up three more copies of this? I mean, this is even before Music for Children, the volumes were really used. The American edition was out there, recorder roots, the Hugh Orr recorder book, um Grace Nash's
00:09:10
Speaker
they had They had another book they'd co-written. Connie had a few books and Connie Saliba, but there were very few publications um that were really out there.
00:09:27
Speaker
um so yeah you know it it's It's so different from today where when we go to a convention or a summer workshop, we're taken maybe taking a ukulele and puppets and children's books and all kinds of puppets and recorders and of course, percussion and orphan instruments, but I'm way ahead of our story probably, huh? No, if you're great. So, okay. So now going from there, how did your journey with with West music happen? Well, that that part of the story. Well, the woman that had my job,
00:10:08
Speaker
West Music actually got into, really got into elementary education in probably 1975. My predecessor, a teacher here in Iowa, approached Steve West, who then became my boss shortly after that, about why didn't he have somebody calling upon elementary music teachers? And so she would actually get in the West Music Band and go visit a couple elementary teachers around, maybe go to Cedar Rapids and visit Iowa City. And and not that there were budgets to be held back then, but I remember getting a catalog. Oh, it was small. Or a flyer about a Horner recorder for $2.50. And fifty cents and there was it was the Watts line. And so I'd get money from my principal and and I'd call and get my recorders and
00:11:03
Speaker
and all that kind of stuff. But then, as I as i said a lot little earlier, I had three buildings and I was hoping I could find another cloak another district in Iowa where I maybe could have one school or two schools. I really hadn't done my research to understand how rural it was and I should have known since I've lived in Iowa all my life, but many places are that way.
00:11:32
Speaker
So um I and I was helping Linda was the lady all the time in the summer and even at the Iowa Music Educators. um I helped her a little bit one year and then she approached me and she said, so Judy, I want to go back to school and I think you'd be great for this job. And I went. And this was my second year teaching and I went, no, no, I'm a music teacher. I love this job.
00:12:02
Speaker
I want to teach music." And she goes, well, think about it, because I'll keep asking you. And so ah by my third year in, then I was thinking, well, maybe a couple years. I also, my ah boyfriend, now husband of over 40 years, wanted to go back to school. Well, hopefully all my parents are gone, so they won't read this.
00:12:31
Speaker
Let's see this. Um,
West Music's Growth and Adaptability
00:12:32
Speaker
anyway, a little juicy known fact about that. Judy pine. Um, so he wanted to finish his degree. So I went, well, I think I have a job. So I approached her and I said, well, how about I take the job? I said, I won't promise I'll be there forever. And she goes, that's all right. She goes, sure. Come on over. So I came over to Iowa city.
00:12:57
Speaker
Interviewed with Steve West. She basically had told him I was good for the job. And I had the job after that one interview. Not knowing what I was doing. I mean, I thought, oh, I get to travel to all these summer workshops and all I work on the catalog and oh, I go to a convention or two. What do I do the rest of the time? Well, so um in the spring of 1980, I left my job.
00:13:26
Speaker
And I had one week to move over here. And the first week of June, I started here. And, um, the catalog, the first little itty bitty catalog, about this big enough to put inside a man's jacket pocket, inside a woman's purse, but the way it was described to me, it was, and I thought, men are not going to put that in their pocket, but oh well. Um, so,
00:13:55
Speaker
I started that summer and learned about the products we were selling and read up about stuff and got to, you know, um my, she didn't leave until she was there most of the summer. um Grace Nash taught a workshop in Emporia, Kansas, and she went down, ah my predecessor went down there for the workshop.
00:14:24
Speaker
She also went over to Champaign, Illinois. That was when there was a course at Champaign-Urbana, University of Illinois. and But by the end of the summer, in August, she had left and I was prepared to go up to Hamlin University, which was the predecessor to University of St. Thomas. And so I was excited. I was going to get to go to where I had started taking you know people I knew and teachers, and it was going to be a lot of fun. And it was, since I'd studied up there, I knew the faculty. And I could kind of go from this class to that class and then go down and run the bookstore and then go to this class and that class. And it was a great time. I enjoyed it. And then the reality hit of, but I don't have any second graders to use this with. And that was kind of a bit of a shock at first.
00:15:18
Speaker
And then I thought, no, I'm only going to do this job for two years. He has to get his degree done in two years. I'll look for another job. And so we boogied along and, um, fall of 80, we went to the Iowa music educators. And I don't think we went to, and that was in January then. And I don't think there was any other convention. Oh, I got to go to the ORF convention.
00:15:47
Speaker
as a West Music employee in the fall of 80 in Pittsburgh, I got to go for the fun of it. Sonar Orff gave me a badge and I got to go out and look at look at the conference through different eyes, paying attention to the exhibit hall, talking to teachers, meeting a few people maybe I had talked with on the phone because business was almost all on the phone back then. You didn't have email. And so That's how I started. And now we provide, I liked this and I could be wrong. Hopefully nobody checks me on it, but I think we provide instruments and or materials, whether it's in person or online for 80% of the offshore courses that happen in the United States and about 12 to 15 Kodai courses.
00:16:46
Speaker
and all the world music drumming courses. So we've gone a lot, gone a long way, plus about 15 to 18 conferences during the year. It's about all we can handle. It's a lot. So that's kind of how it started and how it ah it's gone. Well, okay. So I kind of want to ask this question and if you don't want to answer it, you don't have to, but when you left,
00:17:15
Speaker
teaching and went to West. Did you ever really look back? I mean, it sounds like initially. Yes. Oh, I did. But I did. I did. Yeah. That first year was hard. Yeah. Because I was calling vendors and trying to guess about how many LPs. Yeah. We spot up. He sold LPs and This was before Phyllis Weichert. Phyllis was selling 45. I would call the Sonar rep. I would call down to Studio 49. Rebo wasn't even a company we that elementary music edit even heard of that, let alone we weren't well called LP. like elp My Latin percussion rep was always shocked.
00:18:11
Speaker
And how many mini kabasses I'd order every month. You go, what are you doing with them? And I go, well, they're really popular in elementary school because they fit young children's hands. Yes. And he was like, Oh, I never thought about that. And I went, well, stick with me. I'll sell them for you. And so by the end of this second year and my husband's going, okay, so are you going to start applying for jobs? Well, we weren't married quite yet. And I went,
00:18:40
Speaker
You know, I kind of like it. Can't you get another, can't you get another degree? And so he went on for his masters. And then at the end of his masters, he goes now and I went, no. And we stayed and we stayed and we stayed. So this June, June 9th will be my 45th anniversary at West music. Wow. Yeah. I've been here a long time.
Setting Up a Music Classroom
00:19:10
Speaker
The gray hair should show it. Well, and you're, I mean, not to dwell on this, but your, but your role has also changed through the years, hasn't it? Oh yeah. When I started, I did everything. I did everything. I bought the product. I put it away. I typewrit. I, we entered all orders on typewriters. We, we had two shelves in the back room where I would keep product.
00:19:39
Speaker
And the ORF instruments were just on one little row. um Recorders were back in the shed. so this is a This is a mom and pop music store that's grown a lot through the years. um We had one location. No, there were two locations in. Maybe yeah two locations in. And and um it was mostly a retail job. And then, oh, by the way, there's this catalog. And gosh.
00:20:08
Speaker
Now we had this 800 numbers really hopping because teachers would get our catalog. We first sent it out to Iowa and the seven States around us. So Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota. ah was That was it. And then after going to the Orff convention and And we went to Texas TMEA one year. People were like, well, why don't you send us your catalog? So we sent catalogs to every elementary in the United States. And bing, bang, bingo, we're hopping. And we were very, very busy. So West is kind of really gone with the time. I mean, they sold organs for years, not so much now. um Now we sell sound systems.
00:21:04
Speaker
I don't, but the regional stores do. um So West is as grown as, as the need has been, you know, trying to fill those niches. The catalog department, the elementary department is really one of those niches that has, you know, put us on the map nationally, along with, we have a group called the Fluid Authority.
00:21:33
Speaker
which sells professional flutes and repairs those quality flutes. And we have another division called percussion sores, which caters to high school, college, the professional percussionists. They sell claves that are a lot more money than I'd ever think about, but wow, the sound, let alone the timpani.
00:21:55
Speaker
Well, and I think that's so important for this company that, that they're able to adapt and they see needs, they see this is, this is an area we should really move into because there's a need there. And well, and it's always with a risk. You have to have good business people who understand about the risk and the code was always you walk before you run. You'll walk before you run. I mean,
00:22:23
Speaker
We had the my first time at ALSA would have been, did I have two booths? I think we had three. We drove to Albuquerque in 1981. Oh my gosh, that was a trip from Iowa. And back, ban drove worked just fine. And then it was expensive. So the next year, I think it was in, it was out Northwest.
00:22:53
Speaker
Um, we could see Mount Hood. Where's Mount Hood? Cause I can remember seeing Mount Hood out the window of the, the room the exhibits were in. And I flew by myself. I was the only one in the booth. Oh, it's in Oregon. That's right. Um, so yeah, you know, and now AOSA, we take 10 booths, TMEA, we take 24.
00:23:22
Speaker
It all depends on the size of the show, the size of the interest, and we can't go everywhere. And everybody's going, why don't you come to our state? Well, they all seem to stack. There's so many in January and February, we just can't. We we have to have people that mind the store too. Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah.
00:23:48
Speaker
Okay. That's a lot of information. I love talking to you. Um, all right. So can we take this down a rabbit hole anytime you want to. So can we now shift into classrooms? Cause one thing we want to try to address is especially like newer teachers or people coming into newer jobs, newer spaces. You know, you can be a teacher who's taught for 15 years, but now you're in a brand new, right?
00:24:19
Speaker
and a whole new setting, what do I do? what you know um So my question is, what um what would you say as you go into either
Advocating for Music Education Resources
00:24:30
Speaker
a new classroom or a new teaching job or you're a brand new teacher about just assessing the inventory that you have in your in your teaching space, maybe just your space or else your instrumentarium, how would you go about that? Stop, stop, stop.
00:24:48
Speaker
I think first you have to look to see, do you have a piano? yeah If you have a piano, when was the last time it was tuned? Is there a budget to have it tuned? If you're not, you can at least plunk a little boom chuck out of it. Then look at the percussion. Do you have a variety of jingle belt, woods, metal, skins, and shakers? Do you have any kind of an egg shaker, any kind of a shaker instrument for little children? Do you have tap taps? Do you have sand blocks? Do you have jingle bells? Do you have, um, uh, then rhythm sticks and are the rhythm sticks in good shape? Are the jingle bells half of them falling off? You know, are they a hazard? You don't want, you don't ever want anybody hurt. And so, uh,
00:25:43
Speaker
Look at that. Find, you know, I have an understanding of how, what's your largest class size going to be. Do you have enough at least so that one of every two can play, one of every three, and then find out talking to your principal. So I have enough instrument, enough small percussion so that when it's time for Christmas, 10 of the 30 kids in my classroom can play something and he'll go, is that good?
00:26:13
Speaker
He or she? Well, it'd be better if at least half of the kids. Well, what would that cost? We'll get there in a second. so But to look at what you have, take an inventory of how many, what shape they're in. Are they broken? Are they bent? Do they need to be replaced? Then look and see at somebody's catalog, somebody's website, and go, all right. so We have woods, we have wood blocks and TikToks and sand blocks and all of those good things. But I heard somebody play a kabasa or a Bible slab, or how about a flexitone? I used to be able to play Happy Birthday on a flexitone, but don't ask me to do it now. But anyway, you know, think about those additional percussion instruments. Do you have any hand drums or frame drums? And what shape are they in?
00:27:12
Speaker
Are they the tacked on head that somebody put their fist through a few years ago? Are they a tunable one that now somebody has never released the tension so they look like a saddle? You know, those sorts of things. Do you have any larger drum drums? Do you have a bongo? Is it on a stand? Do you have a conga? Are they on stands? A djembe on a stand?
00:27:38
Speaker
Because those bigger drums, you want to be able to tip them so the sound comes out. And a young child, third, fourth grader could handle it, but first and second graders, those kind of instruments are a little big for them. Remo Tavano's are the trick there because they're built, there's so cylindrical drum, and they have feet so they rest on the floor so that you don't have to tip it. Even if you're sitting in your chair and have them in front of you or a child is it um is sitting in a wheelchair. A drum could be brought close to them so they could play it. So the littlest things, you know do you have um symbols, triangles? And do all of your triangles have holders and strikers? Because if they don't have a striker, don't use a bobby pin or a nail. I remember I had nails in the box.
00:28:36
Speaker
and a couple of them are rusty and I went, well, those are gone. Gotta applying gotta find those, you know? Well, it's all about what's what the your predecessor's interest and ah and interest was. We're going to leave it at that. Did they, did they have an understanding of how to do, I have a rhythm band. Are there any orphan instruments there? And if so, how many are all the bars there?
00:29:05
Speaker
Do you have the F sharps and B flats? Check the bars on the bottom. Are there splinters on the rosewood bar? Time to get it replaced. Keep in mind, not every ORF instrument made during my lifetime is still available. um Some are, but not everyone is still available, which is probably okay.
00:29:32
Speaker
I remember when I taught, I had two alto xylophones, one that was mine personally, one that belonged to my school. And I traveled them. I moved them between three buildings every day. Those puppies got a workout. And then my percussion, I didn't have enough percussion at every school either. So I went to the liquor store and got a box because it had a handle on it and all the dividers in there. And with that, I could then
00:30:12
Speaker
put my rhythm sticks in and my jingle bells and I had a cabasa, put my cabasa in there. And then I had a little musical tote that I took from place to place. You know, and I, I think it's so important, especially for new teachers, because I think when you interview for jobs, you're so focused on, I just want to get the job, which is important.
00:30:38
Speaker
but you forget to go look, look in the cupboards, look at the instruments, look what kind of inventory you're walking into, because you don't want to take the job and then find out, I don't have half the stuff I thought, you know, well, you just want to get a temperature of the room and it sees. I said, your piano, you also need to find out what technologies in your room. Right. um i I never used technology on my room.
00:31:08
Speaker
but you need to find out, do you have a laptop? Do kids have, do kids have iPads they could bring in and do they work with what program? And do you have a interactive whiteboard on the wall? Do you have any books or by chance any textbooks that maybe still are usable depending on the timeframe of the songs, um, the background of the songs. We'll say it that way.
00:31:37
Speaker
Well, and just even the, even just the general sound system in the room. I mean, how does this operate? And is this right out of my laptop? Does that work or do I have their sound system? Where do I do do? Am I expected to, or is part of the job that you're expected to give, have your children perform? Do they do informuses in the classroom where parents come in or I hauled my kids up to the high school twice a year and we were on the stage on the risers. You know, where, where do you do those sorts of things? Cause that's part of your job. That's just like anybody would ask about going into a job. Not only is, you know what the job description says, but what, what are my tools? What tools do I have? Is there a budget?
00:32:34
Speaker
Is there any way to fundraise? Some schools say no for elementary. Some say, oh yeah, you can work with the PTO. Great. PTA, you know, are there ways to do those sorts of things? Do some research before you apply for a job or take a new job because I i have teachers I talk to all the time that call and go, well, I changed positions and I forgot to open one cupboard and boy was that a mess, you know, because there were too many surprises in there that were unusable. um Are there any, if you want any, any things on your walls, are there anything, is there anything left that is decent quality to reuse?
00:33:26
Speaker
Because if not, that will be something you make or you buy here or there. I was always making something from the opaque projector back then. you know There probably aren't even opaque projectors in schools, are there? Well, I don't know. I remember them. But yes, i know I know what you're talking about. It's been a long time since I was in a school. So I try to be careful about technology because since I'm i'm ah twice removed. So it's just important to look to see what you have at your, that is the reality of what's in your classroom, let alone what the opportunities might be the first year, the second year, the third year. Don't have them say, well, in five years, that's a long time to have an opportunity. And of course, you know, a good principle will make you, and hopefully you'll be able to have a good principle,
00:34:25
Speaker
And it's hard to find out how that is. um You just kind of have to go with your gut. ah I remember when I applied for my job, the job I got, it was a one year position. The lady was on, she'd taken a sabbatical. It was my eighth interview.
00:34:50
Speaker
And she'd taken a sabbatical. And so I knew it was only one year. And well, why would you only want to take a one-year job? And I go, because I need a job. And he goes, well, do you have any experience? And I said, well, I plan to get some here. A beginning teacher, somebody needs to take a chance on me and give me a chance.
Importance of Professional Development
00:35:10
Speaker
You can see in my reviews, in my paperwork, that I had good reviews for my student teaching supervisor and this and that.
00:35:19
Speaker
so to try to find ways to find out about all that kind of stuff. ah what would you um I know you've been out of teaching for a long time, but you deal with this stuff, I mean, with your job. What what would you suggest to music teachers who need equipment or need things in their room a good way to advocate to because i mean as we both know there are good print their good administrators and some that are not as supported budget see aren't budgets either and there are budgets and so i mean all of these things come into play. Yeah um well one thing is just to. As you have your whole list you know what you have also work up a list of.
00:36:07
Speaker
This is what I like. These are my top three wants. These are what I think the prices are. Oh, maybe I'll contact What's Music. Maybe they can give me a quote on them. Now, quotes are only valid for 30 days, but at least you have an idea of what prices might be. Have an idea of what you want because the minute that administrator comes up with $500 or $1,000 or $5,000,
00:36:37
Speaker
you want to be able to spend every penny and to look prepared that, Oh, well, you know, yeah, we could use, we could use three more xylophones. We don't have a base portable keyboards in my classroom. I didn't ever had portable keyboards, but a teacher might say, you know, another teacher in the district has portable keyboards and some of my kids go over there. They've come, they've, they've moved across town.
00:37:07
Speaker
And they they go, why don't I have keyboards, Ms. Pine? Well, you know a district could look at equality across the the district too, but that takes time. That takes foresight and a bigger chunk of money. Then also look into grants. I know at westmusic dot.com, we have funding resources listed. I don't remember, Erin, you'd have to look at the bottom of the website, but there's a link on the bottom of our website that talks about different funding sources such as, oh, I'm not going to think of them right now. Adopt a classroom is one. um There's also Dona's Shoes. There's a whole bunch of various funding ideas and go to the American Offshore Work website page. They have ideas for funding. ah Mr. Holland's Opus, is that one still there?
00:38:05
Speaker
um Save the music. That's the one I wanted. Save the music. That works with, that organization works with a number of states, especially with schools in areas that have a greater need. Hint, hint. Save the music. And that could be then for your whole district or your county. Take some work. None of it's easy. But There are ways you can research, you know, ask your fellow teachers, go find, um, whether you have any ORF or Kodai or world music drumming training, whether you have any of that training, if you want some, figure out where to find it. One thing to do is to go to the American ORF Silver homepage, the organization of American Kodai homepage, world music drumming homepage,
00:39:02
Speaker
And they will talk about where their trainings are. But also, Orif and Kodai both will show you the chapters around the country. Every state in the United States has a chapter. Fellow teachers in the same state who may be taught at your building, who have a sense of, well, you know, this is a grant I went after. How did you do that? Well, you do this, this, and this. Follow the steps. It's laid out there. Just be sure you meet the deadline.
00:39:32
Speaker
It's a hard deadline to make it. Okay, okay. You know, network. Network's important in any position in life. It's it's important whether you're a church musician, a music teacher, or you work in a business. Networking is very important. You have to find people that support you, that you can support and collaborate with. So anyway, back to these chapter workshops. There's a fee.
00:40:02
Speaker
You maybe go from nine to one, maybe nine to two, and you go home with some great ideas that you could try Monday. that Everybody knows the Saturday workshop. There's things for people to try on Monday. There's going to be basic things. There might be things that are a little challenging for you as a musician, which is just fine. You need that challenge too, but things you could lessons and ideas and where things of where to go and who to meet so you can grow yourself as a music musician as an educator and help your students grow so that they want to be involved in music and they appreciate music.
00:40:48
Speaker
That's what we all need. Well, and I think another part of that, you know, attending workshops and things, I think something we forget as educators, because we don't like to toot our own horns, is letting your administration know you attended a workshop on Saturday and what you gave of your own time to do this to bring things back to your kids. Because when they know that, I always get a response that says, I didn't even know I didn't even know you did that this is so great for our kids you're bringing some but if you don't tell them. Right they are not or when you got a piece you got something put together you got your rhythm band piece ready. How about we invite the principal in yeah you have your classroom teacher. Come five minutes early and we'll play for them what do you think it's already ready to do that yeah.
00:41:43
Speaker
They'll sit up straight and tall and help you with it, you know? yeah and the It's ways kids want to shine. They really do. And it's ways then to show what you've learned and how you've grown as a teacher to help all the students. And the adults love it. The classroom teachers, the they want to see these things. And so many times they don't get invited to see things.
00:42:13
Speaker
Another good idea is that maybe work with that classroom teacher to say, is there a, what kind of a, um, in your curriculum, do you, could you tell me some way that you think maybe music could be a part of that? Um, some part of the country or the world you're just, you're learning about, um,
00:42:36
Speaker
I can maybe find some resources and we could learn a song, whether we sing a song or we play a song or we accompany a song or we dance a certain way, you know, to and in enhance what they learn in their classroom. All that cross-curricular, is that still the right word? Cross-curricular? Yes. There's also so much children's literature out there about different parts of the world and country, um history,
00:43:06
Speaker
inclusion, diversity, just a wealth. I know there's, oh, there's one, I don't know if it's Instagram or Facebook thing. I follow where the woman stands there and she talks about songs about, um, songs about this. And then she'll show this book and then this book and this children's book. I can't write them down fast enough. And then they don't all pertain to music.
00:43:35
Speaker
Of course, sometimes most children's literature, it's a rhyme. It's a repetitive spot. It's not necessarily an illustrated song anymore. And teachers are creative in how to use all those books. Weave a story around it. That's that's always fun, too. Well, and ask your ask your classroom teachers, why what what do you have any insights for me? you know What website have you found helpful for you?
00:44:04
Speaker
Do you have any materials, you know, this sort of a thing, because then it helps everyone in the building too, let alone the community, um, as well as then these orphan code, I chapters and world music drumming in the summer. You can get more resources too, as well as convention conventions. You'll get other great ideas too. It's not two full weeks, nine to four.
00:44:35
Speaker
You'll get three, four sessions a day. Great things out of the two, two and a half days of your conference. But you also then get to have that network of fellow teachers. And those are also important too. But it's good to do just to get out there. um I remember when I taught, um I was the newbie and there was one other teacher in my town.
00:45:05
Speaker
And she was like, show me again what you did with that, what you did with that piece. And I shared my idea with her and what we'd done in the classroom. Cause I had two xylophones and she didn't have any. Guess what? She got her principal to buy her two xylophones the next year. And then she went and took a level one or silver. I was so, I shouldn't say I.
00:45:33
Speaker
I was thankful she took the leap. It's all about taking a leap. I don't mean to be say that I was the reason. It's just they were interested and were willing to step out of the norm because that's important to take that leap. ah Well, and sometimes no, it's not just about one person, but sometimes it takes that person in your life.
00:46:01
Speaker
I mean, when I started my ORF levels, I just had a good friend who was at St. Thomas and had just finished hers. And she said, this is what you're going to do. You're going to come up here. You're going to stay with me. And you need to take your level one. You need this. is This is going to change your teaching. Sorry. And it did. It changed yours. It changed mine. um You know, some people are more interested in drumming. Some people are more comfortable.
00:46:28
Speaker
have more of their, they're really intrigued in the Kodak context and all of those wonderful materials. Some people using Orp Schulberg with singing, saying, dancing, playing all works together. You know, you got to find what works for you, but first you have to try this, try that. I remember when I taught school,
00:46:56
Speaker
My first year at Drake University in Des Moines, I was about an hour and a half away from there. The professor became ill in the spring and wasn't going to be there. And there were some seniors that needed more hours. So the university was clever and they came up with five Saturday workshops that they then had their students, a college students take, but they invited elementary music teachers to come at no charge. I saw Jane Prezi. I saw Bob Abramson, Dalcros. Oh, I really enjoyed that. I saw a Sister Lorna Zemke with Kodai.
00:47:46
Speaker
um There was somebody there with computers, but it was pretty early on, um and I had no access to that in my building, and nobody was interested in that at all. There was no funding at all for that at that time. They were ahead of their time. I don't remember what the fifth one was, but it was a major leap, and I couldn't get that other teacher in my district to go with me once, but I i went and on every Saturday, had a great time, and came home and tried out new ideas on my kids. They were always like,
00:48:21
Speaker
would Would you learn Saturday, Ms. Triggs? Well, I learned this. Do you want to try? know We had a good time. We learned a lot together. That's what education is. You learn together.
00:48:34
Speaker
Okay, so I have one more question. You kind of talked about this a little bit earlier, but, and we're going to do, ah spoiler alert, anybody on this podcast, but we're going to talk about this in a full podcast later this year. But ah what are some um PD opportunities for music teachers over their summers? Or it could be during the year too. I mean, you kind of mentioned a few, but oh In the summer, um there are some, sometimes there's a two-day teacher workshop or a three-day elementary music teacher workshop that perhaps focuses on Orf or focuses on Kodai. It might be called an intro where you're being introduced to things. World music drumming is a week-long workshop. There are various places ah across the country you can't always get.
00:49:29
Speaker
Um, professional development for these, of course, it costs a little more, a little more money for credit, but professional development and university credit is important as you move up the ladder. Um, or Schulberg and Kodai certification. I think they're almost all two week workshops in the United States. There was a time there were a couple of three week ones and that just became too much money where There might be something within your state or a nearby state, or maybe you fly all the way across the country because you go, where do I go? Well, what state do you live in? Look at the ORF association. Look at the Kodai association. Look at world music drumming. Look to see which state things are in. What time of the summer are they in? Oh, I can't go over the 4th of July. Guess what?
00:50:24
Speaker
There are many other weeks in the 4th of July. So there are some courses I know that are going to start that first week of June. Oh, I'm not out of school yet. Well, there are courses the last two weeks of July. I'm on vacation. Well, there are some that are the last two weeks of June or this middle two weeks of July. They most courses in the country. Oh, I know of one that's in August in New Jersey.
00:50:53
Speaker
and or for sure, or of course. Um, and I'm probably missing somebody. So I apologize
Maintaining Musical Instruments and Fun Favorites
00:51:00
Speaker
to anybody. No hate mail. Okay. This is Judy. You forgot us. Um, but there are many opportunities. You just have to kind of noodle around. And if you go, what did she say? Where did she say to go? Guess what? You can email me and I'll help you out. Okay. The same thing with orphan with chapter workshops.
00:51:22
Speaker
I have a new teacher calls me not as much as I used to. I'm not on the phones directly as much as I once was. I'm now in the events team. So I, uh, help manage all the orphan code. I workshops. Tracy Evans does world music drumming and then conventions. Tracy and I, we manage different conventions. We collaborate on things about what's going to happen where and, and, uh,
00:51:51
Speaker
our staff and sometimes teacher friends that go with us too. Um, but, um, I can help perhaps connect you somewhere because I'll say, well, where do you live? And then I'll pull up a Mac map, lickety split and go guess what? There's a chapter workshop two weeks. Well, I'm busy that week. Well, how about I give you this website and you go look and see if there's a workshop in April. How's April sound?
00:52:21
Speaker
Oh, I could do April. All right, so go. Here's the chapter president. Here's the email, the person I'm going to connect you right now. Is that all right? I'm not bold. Yeah, I'm not bold. I'm going to connect you right this very minute because I want you. I want people to take to step out and leap conventions. Sometimes conventions can um can cost a bit for registration. Sometimes you can just go a day.
00:52:50
Speaker
Summer workshops, you can also audit them. I know you can take them and audit. um If you're really, really, really hesitant about what to do in the summer and you're close to something, maybe you could just go sit a day or watch a part of a day. Remember, people are learning and they're teaching each other and so they really aren't.
00:53:21
Speaker
wanting a guest so much but or maybe you could go to the sharing on the last day to see what everybody learned and go really they learned how to oh I wish I knew how to do that you know so there are things all year long let alone maybe you could um depending on the size of your district maybe you as a district get together this other teacher and I we would get together um Uh, she showed me how to tune my auto horse. You know, I have no idea how to tune my auto horse. It didn't use them all that much, but she gave me ideas on how she used them and I tried them with my kids. My fourth graders loved them because they'd never played them before. Anything new you give a kid, they're going to be like, this is darn cool. Typically.
00:54:19
Speaker
you know, there's always some hard knocks. Well, and ah and I like what you're saying because even if you can't make a two week course work, but you can get part of it, it's creating a spark. It's a spark. That's an exactly. It's going to get them more enthused to say, you know what? I think maybe I could do this next summer. i'm I'm going to start to save my money and I'm going to look for a course where I always say teachers take level one because of any course because it's the right time of the summer. They have a relative they could stay with and or the cost is right. You know, I mean,
00:55:10
Speaker
There are courses, I don't know if in every state, I don't, yeah, there are, there's a, I think there's a, I know there's an ORF chapter in Alaska, probably a Kodai chapter too, um because people aren't gonna fly that far away. um Not all the time, it gets expensive. But, you know, there there are people to connect with, whether in your community or the district next to you. Maybe you're in a rural community,
00:55:39
Speaker
you could find out who the music teacher is in that next community and say, hey, could I, maybe I could get a half day off with my principal and I, would you mind if I come watch you teach and maybe you could come watch me teach and we could kind of help each other out.
00:55:56
Speaker
Well, and I'm glad, I'm glad you brought that up because I think school districts, especially smaller districts are getting a lot smarter about that and saying as a specialist teacher, art, music, PE, e I don't need you sitting in here to look at math scores for three hours. Well, it would be more valuable for you to go watch another person that does what you do.
00:56:22
Speaker
yeah And they're doing more of that. And I i think that's really valuable. that their Let's hope that's happening all around the country. Well, true. Might be a pocket here, might be a pocket where you were. um It all depends on how, where you're situated and what the situation is. But, yeah you know, doesn't hurt to try to find something somewhere. And those,
00:56:52
Speaker
Those three organizations, Orf, Kodai, and Drumming, are three where there's many, many opportunities in the summer. And then some of those same faculty are people that presented conventions. So then you have a buddy when you get there, and they are going to remember you. They're going to remember you as their student, just as you remember your students. So yeah.
00:57:20
Speaker
You know, give it a try. Give it a whirl. Well, you, okay. So you have to come back to this podcast because the one thing we never talked about, cause we've talked so much today is we didn't talk about any instrument repair. Oh, and that was in questions, but that could be a whole, could I talk for five minutes about instrument repair? yeah Please. All right. So you have an orphan instrument, you look at it, you look at all the bars, make sure there aren't any,
00:57:48
Speaker
Make sure the bars aren't missing, number one. Are there any splinters on the bars? um Are the bars in tune when you play them? You don't need to really get a tuner out to tune them because when ORF instruments are tuned, they use a specific tuner that is not exactly your phone, an app on your phone. hey Keep that in mind.
00:58:14
Speaker
Um, but if you're a buzz somewhere, get your glue out, go to the hardware store and get your wood glue, put a bead of glue in all those places and all, every scene, put it on its side, glue it, put it on the other side, glue it, turn it upside down so you don't bend any pins, glue it. Hey, the buzz is gone. You know, is the tubing dead? Does it look like dead worms? Like somebody ran over it.
00:58:43
Speaker
Well, there's new kinds of tubing. It's kind of an elastic cording inside, much better stuff. There are pins. There are flexible rubber pins, ah some company shoes. There are also nails with a rubber sleeve. It all depends on what your instrument uses. I've, West sells Sonar and Studio 49. I've used those pins and parts on many brands through the years, um back when I did some local repair.
00:59:14
Speaker
ukuleles, you probably have to take your ukulele or your guitar to your local store if you have one, because you might have to have a bridge work or maybe a new set of strings would be good, or the tuner, those kinds of things. Okay, hand drums, you can get new heads for hand drums. You can do that. You can get heads for tubano drums, bass bars, you can get the ah the bumper underneath the bar.
00:59:42
Speaker
That does, it's amazing how much bounce that'll give to a base bar to help it. Feet on the bottom of the base bar, a Studio 49 Glockenspiel, an Alto Glockenspiel has a cover on the lower end of the resonator box. You can actually buy that plate and put it on. So there are options and there might just be a repair budget at your school. Not new, there might be a repair.
01:00:11
Speaker
Because think about everything else in your school has to be repaired, and it's probably less expensive to repair than to replace. Now, it really doesn't work. We don't have people that go out and repair instruments across the country. We wish we did, but we don't. It's not practical. There are music stores in different parts of the country that do that kind of work. um And if you find one a music store that does that, good for you. ah We have some,
01:00:41
Speaker
how to videos on our website, the MMB, MMB.com. they have They carry, they are the distributor for Studio 49. They have videos, Lisa Ray did them with this little ambulance that went around, you know? And then she's wearing the white coat and you know? I've looked at her stuff all the time and shared it with people. It's, you know, these instruments,
01:01:11
Speaker
They need a little love and care. Get your vacuum out. Sweep all those dust bunnies out. if it's If it's wood on the outside, if it's not a veneer, clean it off. take you know Clean your bars. Glockenspiel bars, if you glockenspiel bars have rust, a little drop of woodwind key oil, and a very fine steel wool.
01:01:39
Speaker
careful So there are things that can be done. We have, we have some videos on our website. Randy Hargis has done some. I've done some. Um, there's always need for more. Um, but that's what I would do. I think you were the one that taught me too. Cause you were at my school district showing us how to fix things. But when, when you have a ah rubber pin that's broken off,
01:02:08
Speaker
oh yeah yeah And we used just didn't we use the screwdriver. And and so then if here's your resonator box and your pins here and it breaks off, you just cut it sharp against the top and then you're going to drill down with the screwdriver. A guy when I first started at West and I was asked to do some repair, I wasn't very confident with the electric drill.
01:02:37
Speaker
I was afraid I'd go right through somebody's resonator box. So he got me a screwdriver and he said, well, what size of a drill bit do you need? I don't remember, but he took a drill bit and he welded it to the screwdriver. So I had a little handheld business. I know my friend, Jennifer Donovan in Kansas city, when I went down there years ago, because I had a nephew I can stay with. Um,
01:03:05
Speaker
She had her drill along and she's like, zip, zip, zip, zip, three quarters of an inch down. And then you pull it out and there you go. You put a little wood glue on it, pop it in, let it dry. You got a new pen. It's amazing. It was amazing. I just remember when you did it, I think we were all scared to pieces like, oh no. You knew how much money that instrument was and how much money it would be to replace it.
01:03:35
Speaker
but it means maintenance needs to happen. Tubing, when it gets dried and dead, you cut it off at one end. There's a way you can, you could either get up, I've done this with a flathead nail, and you kind of attach it on the end, not on the end piece so much, but just right there about as close to that end piece as you can get. And then you weave it in between. Sometimes newer instruments have two strands that are braided.
01:04:05
Speaker
Old ones had one. And I first just kind of play with one strand, not attach it on both sides. Play your instrument and go, that sounds good. Because if you put two down, you might deaden it more than you think. You know, two strands are different than one. Now, the end pieces, they are not available but to buy. You need to find somebody who's handy, a woodworker.
01:04:34
Speaker
Who's handy and show them what you got. Show them the picture of what it should be. I bet you they can make one and then they can just screw it in. Make it go. Make it fit. Why not? um Well, this is it's a piece of furniture that we all love dearly because it creates such wonderful music.
01:04:59
Speaker
Well, and I think we just tend to be more scared than we need to be. You just feel like, um I don't know if I dare do this because i wonder my dad taught me how to, how to use tools, but I was afraid to do it on an instrument because I thought it's an instrument. Right. um'm I'm not just pounded nails into the barn because I need to get this board back. You know, yes, I grew up on a farm.
01:05:27
Speaker
Okay. Now, before I let you go, we're going to have just a little bit of fun. I can't wait to hear what you say. Cause Ryan West surprised me with his answers. So we're going to do a quick lightning round and they're just whatever answer you, there are no rights or wrongs cause they're your favorites. So I wanted to do favorite holiday song, but this podcast will not go out till January. So it's a little late for that. So favorite song.
01:05:59
Speaker
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. My mother used to sing that to me. That's, that's a good one. That does my heart good. Okay. How about, um, favorite composer or artist could be either one. Gershwin. Gershwin. Oh, you've got good answers. Okay. Um, favorite musical. Wicked.
01:06:27
Speaker
yeah Okay, but then I have to ask you this question because it's the burning question right now. Should you be singing when you go see the movie? No. yeah I sang internally. I'm glad you said that because I agree with you. Okay. And then one more favorite underrated instrument.
01:06:51
Speaker
Boy, underrated instrument.
01:06:58
Speaker
Oh, you're gonna laugh at me. Nose flute. Oh my gosh. yeah one's That's even better than Ryan's answer. That doesn't really count. I remember when I first worked at Wells, this time of year, for some reason, it was my job. I bought the slide whistles and jaw harps. We don't even sell those anymore, probably because people are afraid they're gonna wreck their teeth. And nose flute.
01:07:26
Speaker
And they were these cards out in the retail store. And I had to make sure there was always one and I had to watch it and buy another one and get it out there, you know? And I always thought nose flutes were just the most disgusting thing. I was so thankful when somebody didn't ask me to do it the next year. And we know I don't even think they're still out there. I wonder if they are. Nose flutes. I hope they aren't. I hope they aren't. Don't show a picture. It's just disgusting.
01:07:54
Speaker
All right. Well, I want to say a big thank you to Judy Pine, our guests for today, for joining us and thank everybody else for listening. This has been play now play for life podcasts with Aaron. And if you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leave a rating and review.
01:08:13
Speaker
And you can find Judy and all of us at WestMusic dot.com. Also, you can find us at WestMusic dot.com slash Play Now Play For Life. We're also on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X. And you can find those links in the description. Play Now Play For Life is a podcast by West Music.