Mary Claxton

Everything about Chris, Phil and Peter screams antiquated (anti-modern).  The jokes, the tech struggles, the slow motion wheezing when attempting to sit or stand.  However, our guest is the living definition of the modern music educator and performer.  Mary Claxton is the director of Teaching and Learning at Music Will - the largest non-profit music program in the United States.  Hundreds educators are using their forward thinking curriculum that champions Modern Band.  Mary shares with us about gigging on Motown music at night and truly creative classroom experiences by day.  And more information than you ever thought possible about the ukulele.

Learn More Here:

https://musicwill.org/the-team/mary-claxton/

https://www.theburroughssoul.com/

https://www.instagram.com/claxtogram/?hl=en

https://nafme.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Mary-Claxton-Headshot-Bio-1.pdf

https://hub.yamaha.com/music-educators/40-under-40/2026/claxton-mary/

https://www.instagram.com/trashcattunes/?hl=en

REGISTER NOW:

2027 BEYOND THE NOTE FESTIVALS

https://www.btnmusicfestival.com/festivals/ensembles/kalahari-1

BUILDING BETTER BANDS DAY (MAY 23):

https://www.btnmusicfestival.com/education

RISING MUSIC EDUCATOR PROGRAM (MAY 22):

https://www.btnmusicfestival.com/education

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:08

Hey commuter, welcome back. Henry Ford once said, quote, anyone who stops learning is old, whether you're at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young, unquote. We have two upcoming learning opportunities designed to keep you young. On May 22nd, we'll host the Band Rising Music Educator program for those just beginning their journey in the profession. And then on May 23rd, we'll present the first annual Building Better Bands Day, featuring expert band educators showing how they establish strong fundamentals on virtually every instrument, along with two full band experiences led by Rachel Maxwell and Craig Kirchhoff. You can learn more at our website at btnmusicfestival.com, but act quickly as registration closes in April. Now, on to the show. That's right. You're in my room. How does it feel? It's nice. It's nice. Nice and cozy. I like the bed. The bed's great. Bed's great. And I noticed the uh got the buzzers here. Do you need it? Uh-huh. We're all in new locations. Ill, are you in the closet?

SPEAKER_04 1:38

No, I'm actually he's in his bedroom. Sure. Sure. I'm in the closet. If it makes you feel better, that's where I am.

SPEAKER_03 1:46

I mean, you have feel better from a closet for a long time. We haven't been there for a long time, though, have you? No, it's been a bit. Or the furnace room. No, that you're not hiding this podcast from your wife. We're a little bit more comfortable.

SPEAKER_04 1:56

Hey, listen, it it wasn't that I was hiding, it was that I was waiting for the right time. Yeah, you were hiding in this awesome. Uh-huh. And I'm at my sister's house. Aaron Powell That's because you're hiding from your family. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Yep. I like the the uh you know Phil's like, hey, you want to get together? And you're like, no, I'm gonna stay right here.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

Listener, Peter, I invited Peter to come over to the house so the three of us could do a podcast in person together. That's true. And I was turned down immediately.

SPEAKER_03 2:22

There's uh I'm too. I'm on the right, I'm on the correct side of the Twin Cities for this afternoon. And I did take a shower, but I got back in my pajamas on purpose again. Welcome to the sabbatical life. And uh then I'm gonna get in my concert attire and leave before the dogs attack me because my sister's dogs are here and they sure love pentins, and I don't want all that all over me. Whatever. It's good. It's good information.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Yep, we're gonna be there. Can't wait.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

It's gonna be great. Exciting. I sure hope so.

SPEAKER_04 2:50

I've I've brought um, you know, my my my big signs that I'm gonna hold up after each tune. Yeah, with numbers. 6.4.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

It's like like the Olympics?

SPEAKER_04 3:00

Yeah. Yeah, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Yep. I've got signs all made already. Here's mine. That's exciting. You're you're getting ready to show your fun tango part.

SPEAKER_04 3:11

I felt that in the in the most recent release podcast, the Fun Tango got a lot of press. This did that get released already? Did that go up yesterday?

SPEAKER_03 3:20

I haven't been on. But yeah. Beautiful. It was a good one. That's uh uh uh Yeah. I mean, they're all good. Of course, of course they are, but that was So this um this will be you know, the stammering of Phil at the end of that one was Okay, all right. Shut up.

SPEAKER_04 3:35

Um, that was w what um some six weeks later, uh we will be uh have known that your concert that you just did with Encore six weeks prior was great. It'll be great. Um but uh what what what can Chris and I look forward to since we're in the now time? Sure.

SPEAKER_03 3:54

Uh well it's we're gonna have a fun day today. Uh it's a little bit traditional. Uh actually starting uh the theme is um what is the theme? Fun. Shut up. Um it's about water, but I can't remember it right now to save my soul, which is awesome because Water Wings? Water slides. Water Yeah, water's a color. But it's all about water. So Manhattan Beach, the Sousa March, we're gonna do Shenandoah. We're gonna feature Jerry Lucart, uh from uh Emeritus Conductor, and it's his wife's church we're playing at. So his wife is a pastor. Hi, Donk. Thanks for coming downstairs, buddy. So you want to let everybody know that you're gonna try to get hair all over my my clothes today? Yeah, okay. You just get up right there. Good boy.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

Anyway, um what else? We're doing nice pajamas. Thanks for the beauty of the pajamas, by the way. Thanks for removing the camera, Bancy that up.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

Don't never do that again. I don't know what we were talking about. Well, the concert. Um, water music. It's called water music. Um, we're doing WC's um Engulf Cathedral, just transcription of that. We're doing Sparkle by Mahoney, Deep River, Ben Horn. And of course, we're featuring Steve Campbell on Two from the Minnesota Orchestra on Michael Doherty's Reflections on the Mississippi. Four movements of greatness. He goes so fast. So fast. It's marked at 108 and it's 16th notes. And there are some people that can't double-tongue in the band, and he's going, he wanted to go 132 instead of 108. And I said 120 is where we're gonna be. And he was like, okay, that's great. But then at the end, he starts it again and he goes as fast as he wants. And I'm just like, we're gonna go as fast as we can, but it won't be as fast as he goes. So that's what you can look forward to at the end. You can watch him running and then slowing down for the rest of your crazy though.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

Okay, let's go into uh uh future tense, which then will be past tense. So how did it go, Peter?

SPEAKER_03 5:52

It was amazing. We had a great time, uh wonderful space. Good to see all my friends there, all two of them. Yeah. What do you wish you would have done better? Um, did you and did did you bring your podium with you? I did not bring a silent stage podium with you. That's that that's not really gonna work. I didn't even bring a uh music stand either, because I forgot about that. We need to that's fine.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

I uh I'm proud of you for keeping your torso open, though. So well done.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Learning a lot about that in my mime lessons right now. Uh see? Oh, that's good. What does your mime say to you? Not much. You get it? What is what is quiet? It's pretty quiet. Okay. Chris, anything exciting this week coming up? Uh this week. Uh um Yes. Yes. I'm gonna fill out some Excel spreadsheets. Um, I'm gonna complete the 1140 form, if you know what that is. Uh commuter, you probably are well aware of the 1140. Uh and um besides that, gonna go to Chicago Symphony and hear my dear old friend Mickey Robleski play alongside Gene Picorney playing the right of spring, which will be pretty darn fun. That will be very cool. Yeah, it will be great. Yeah. Then book it back up to Eau Claire and then see Phil. So it's Bantor Week.

SPEAKER_04 7:15

Get ready. This week? Yeah, look at you. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of great performing that will happen. Where are you headed?

SPEAKER_03 7:22

And are you headed around the Twin Cities or are you headed towards Milwaukee?

SPEAKER_04 7:26

Well, no, day one is uh Schwammigan and Rib Lake, so way up north. Yeah. And then day two and day three are Twin Cities Related. Okay. Um, and we will hit uh on the way back, we'll hit Glenwood City uh to really help uh Matt Lamb uh enjoy his final year teaching at Glenwood City. Shout out to Matt Lamb, fan of podcast. Yeah, indeed.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

He doesn't have a computer. That's a big day. Yeah, we don't have a lot of recording going on in March after today. I think we only record once or twice.

SPEAKER_04 7:57

So Yeah, but uh I mean I mean you didn't have a reason to get out of your pajamas before, and you now you still don't. I mean I clean my body. If you do when you do put on pants over the next you know month or so, can you take a picture of it so we know that you know how to do it? I was just told to keep the camera up, so I'll just keep the camera up. Yes. I think that's wise. Thank you. This is great. Yes, please. Can we pivot? Pivot. All right, our guest is a fabulous, uh uh excellent um uh You've got another word for greatness, I can tell.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Yep. I mean he wrote this down.

SPEAKER_04 8:32

He did. Excellent at navigating a canoe. If you if you have not been in the back of a canoe, you have to master the J Stroke. So this this person has mastered the J Stroke and is really good at steering a canoe. Um I thought we were going into every other bit. I can tell you did not see the coming. I did not see the coming stroke.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

No.

SPEAKER_04 8:52

J Stroke. Master the J Stroke.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

Uh I can't wait to put a sound effect on that one.

SPEAKER_04 8:56

Oh yeah. Successfully uh convinced her uh her school principal to unban Pokemon cards when they were in the fourth grade. Oh, our guest has a uh is a platform singer and artist with their own band and has opened for prestigious acts like Sir Mixelot, Zap, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and the Steve Miller band. Whoa. Our guest uh is a wonderful percussionist, but also sings. And here we're gonna spend time on this today. Our guest today is a ukulele expert. Oh, get rid of that. Oh, yeah. Do I know this person? Hey, relax. Um, you get so excited. I do get excited. Just yeah, relax, pajama boy. Um, our guest is a fantastic wife to another great percussionist and now uh also a fabulous mother. Our guest is um the director of teaching and learning at Music Will, which is one of the largest, if not the largest, nonprofit music programs in the United States public school system. Uh all these folks have access to music education that are music well programs uh for over a million students that might not have otherwise have it, uh might not as have otherwise have music education in their lives. Um our guest is a huge investor and proponent of the modern band movement and is going to talk to us about it in detail. Um our guest has spent um, let's see, I'm gonna keep going because there's just too much really good stuff. Our guest received her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and went on to teach um band uh and modern band uh and has emphasized songring and student-centered aspects uh of music education throughout her teaching career. She joined the Music Will full-time team as a Colorado Director of Programs in 2017. And in this role, she worked directly with teachers and administrators across the state and is thrilled to be a major partner in the Take Note initiative. Um Let's see, what else? Good name. Good name. Uh she now serves as director, uh, the associate director of teaching and learning for Music Will and is creating culturally responsive curricular materials for students and teachers. You did write this stuff. Among her projects, and this is super awesome, I want to hear about this the Little Kids Rock Courses Platform. And let's see. Turn in the page. Uh our guest is super active in the Association of Popular Music Education, the NAFME, National Honors Ensemble for Modern Band, Modern Band Summit. Um, she's uh been part of the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Festival uh and many other things. Uh and that's enough. Our guest is Mary Claxon. Reveal yourself. Yay, Mary Claxon. There we go.

SPEAKER_05 11:38

Hello, Mary.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

It's early out there.

SPEAKER_08 11:41

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's 9 a.m. I uh I have two young kids. I've been up for a long time. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

You've been up for a while. Yeah. Good to see you, Mary.

SPEAKER_08 11:51

It's great to see you and nice to meet you, Chris. Uh nice to meet you as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

We have a we have a uh a person in common too, Cody Telarico.

SPEAKER_08 12:01

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

Yeah, Cody does did my position before moving over, you know, um in his home state and so on. So I know Cody really well. So when I heard he was going to music, I got to know more about your organization and the unbelievably cool stuff that you do. So thanks for all you do. Oh yeah. Awesome.

SPEAKER_08 12:19

I am incredibly, incredibly fortunate to have my job. It's it's really cool. I'm I'm excited to talk about it and and just to catch up. Um, and I'll say I have to, you know, from the get-go, I don't know that I'm gonna be able to call you Peter and Phil. I think that is that I just doesn't.

SPEAKER_02 12:38

You can totally call us Peter and Phil. I know you can call them dumb and dumber. There you go. They go by lots of names. Actually, Phil is super spreader. Yep. And by that name. Peter is pajama boy.

SPEAKER_08 12:49

So Pajama boy. Yeah. It was really some A plus banter, you guys. I'm really proud of you.

SPEAKER_04 12:54

Isn't it good?

SPEAKER_03 12:55

We didn't we didn't do very well, but it's okay.

SPEAKER_04 12:57

It's really okay to give us an A minus, even a B, maybe a low B.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

Music will want to be a sponsor. Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

Well, you just worked that right in there, didn't you?

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Yep, you like that?

SPEAKER_08 13:10

I'll get right on that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:12

Um I mean, as elegant as my introduction was, Mary, can can you describe a little bit better? There it is. Remember when she was a year and a half old and you used a babysitter?

SPEAKER_08 13:23

It's I mean, it's like okay, so this is an audio medium.

SPEAKER_03 13:27

Sorry, everybody, I just showed her a picture of Claire. But Mary used to babysit Claire and was the first real babysitter we had that was not only like a babysitter, but like I can't imagine what you're like as a mother. Like, she brought all these great toys and age-appropriate things for her to explore. And oh my god, Claire would be so sad when Mary would leave. She was just like so devastated that she was left with her parents and Mary had to go, is the best. Sorry.

SPEAKER_08 13:53

She was just like the absolute sweetest. And now, I mean, it's it's like, um, yeah, the passage of time. I can I can see that train like already leaving the station. That because uh, you know, we have a three-year-old and a 10-month old, and already we're like, how is uh our older Felix? And we're like, how is he three? Um, and so I can just I can tell that it's gonna, we're gonna blink and then he'll be driving away. It's true. But I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

I just had to share. Okay. Sorry, music will.

SPEAKER_08 14:26

Yeah. Um oh gosh, how did how do we get into this?

SPEAKER_03 14:30

Should we talk like pathway or so how did you find out about music will as a teacher?

SPEAKER_08 14:37

Yeah, I was so I man, I had been really honestly kind of struggling to after student teaching to find the right fit. And I had a background, you know, I had done winter drumline, I had done like all I had experience playing in all these ensembles. That's one of the great things about being a percussionist, right? Is like I had done everything. I had played in orchestra and choir and and all of these things, but uh I it took me a couple of years, and I was like really trying to find the right spot, and I just hadn't. And um, my cooperating teacher when I was student teaching was Kenyon Sherman, another former student of Dr. O. And he was so fabulous. Um and when I was student teaching with him, he really let me like stretch out on a lot of things. I ran a percussion ensemble, he let me start a Latin jazz ensemble and do a bunch of arranging and all of this really cool stuff. And he called me one day and said, There's this job that opened up here, and I think it's for you. And it was um uh it had started out as like a long-term sub-position for this teacher who was doing this thing called modern band. I had never heard of it. And so, but he was like, But you play drums and you, you know, you're like you're a rhythm section person, you would be able to kind of do this thing. Um, and I was playing in bands already, you know, just like pop bands and rock bands and things. And so he said, You should just go check it out and meet this person. And she said, Yeah, I'd love to meet you. We're doing actually having this training on Saturday. And I remember I like had other plans and I was I canceled them and I was like, I think I gotta go to this thing. Um, and I spent all day playing guitar and doing all this stuff, which I was not a guitar player, I didn't have background doing that. And I was like, wow, I'm like playing chords. Then at the end of the day, we wrote a song in groups. Yeah, exactly. The F chord hurts my fingers. And yeah, we did songwriting at the end of the day and we were doing all this like improvisation. I was just like, wow, this is really cool and I like it a lot. Um and so I ended up staying in that school and not just for the long-term sub job, but for like about three years. And during that time, then I started to get to know the the music will folks. At that time, we were called Little Kids Rock, uh, and then we rebranded uh the joke amongst our team is like it's a perfect name except for little kids and rock. Um because we do K-12 and really like we work with a lot of higher ed partners, um, and we do tons of genres, not just rock music. So um, so yeah, that's kind of how I got into it at first. And it I don't know, I it it spoke to me right away because I I wanted so badly to be doing like writing and arranging and stuff like that with kids and and to like have the skills to be doing that. Um it's like my uh you know, I I taught at a K-12 school, so I had the privilege of being able to kind of really build vertically. And so my elementary schoolers were writing and doing parodies. And then by the time, you know, my high school uh my kids were in high school, they were like releasing albums. You know, it was like, oh, instead of doing like a big concert this spring, we're going to really like we're gonna like go into our home studio, we're gonna do recordings, and um we did all kinds of things. Like we went and played uh like service concerts at um assisted living homes and the children's hospital, and it just was like this very flexible um way of teaching that I just loved. And um then when I got the opportunity to kind of move into a role where I was just doing curricular design, it was it's been great and um also lends itself pretty well to me gigging more than you know, like pulling a a show until one in the morning and then um trying to teach high schoolers at 8 a.m. That was starting to feel a little unsustainable. So it was like I gotta find uh the right balance, and so that's kind of where I'm at right now.

SPEAKER_03 18:55

I'm loving that. I love also with modern band and other things like that, other non-traditional ensemble opportunities, a little bit with choir, but like people can just hop in and they're motivated. You don't have to, you know, spend six, seven years playing the trombone, valve trombone, whatever. Um Thank God.

SPEAKER_08 19:11

Yeah, thank God you really don't.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

But but I mean not like they're gonna come in and you know be John Mayer right away, but like the idea that they can come in and explore music and and I I just love that. It really does make it for all.

SPEAKER_08 19:26

Yeah, definitely. And I saw a lot of that, you know, where I'd have students come in, they're like 10th grade, but they've never had music class, you know, which is first of all, I mean, it's just like upsetting that that's a scenario, but it happens so often. Um and yeah, it's like, oh well, you can do this. Like, let's talk about instruments. And um yeah, it's it's a it's a very cool thing.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

So, Mary, I don't want to take for granted uh so there's a nonprofit that I run, and we actually are starting modern band. I knew you were gonna do this. I almost made a joke right away. Well, we're we're gonna have a modern band day as part of our middle school festival. But I've had a lot of people ask questions. What are you talking about, modern band? You know what I mean? Is this like just concert band that plays better music? And I'm like, no, no, not really. Can you help define a little bit uh for folks that may not know, like what it what is a modern band?

SPEAKER_08 20:20

Absolutely. Um well, you know, it is um in a kind of an umbrella term. It's become an umbrella term, and it's certainly not owned by our organization. We do a lot of like creation for curriculum around it, but it wasn't invented. People have been doing popular music education and rock education and a lot of the things that kind of fall under the umbrella for a long time. But um it's really it's like both an approach and a repertoire. So like to you know, to your point, it's um it's like it's not exactly just like concert band with different rap. It's you know, it's it's more about um music creation uh and getting kids comfortable doing music creation, and I would say like just general decision making. Um so I actually I was listening back to a few episodes and I had to listen to Scott Jones because uh I don't he was my band director for my first two years of high school. Um, and so I was like, it's just a such a balm to hear his voice and hear him talking uh with you all. Um, but I digress. Um like hearing him talk about the way that he had his all-state students run rehearsal and that kind of decision making uh was really I was like, yeah, that's it's not so different from what we're doing. Um so we are really emphasizing student directed music and student directed rehearsals in classroom spaces. So that kind of means that like repertoire is really unfixed because the students should be deciding what they're playing. Um, so even like, you know, for me teaching a K twelve space, a lot of times it looked like me sort of curating for the younger kids and then them ultimately choosing. Uh, and then by the time the kids were older, it was us saying, like, let's design a concert together. What are moments that we wanna have? Um, and how do we accomplish that? Um, and then like what songs do we like that kind of fits that fit that bill? Um, so we would always joke about like, all right, we gotta have like a mom cries moment. Uh so what are we gonna do to make mom cry during the concert? How do we want to make the concert? Exactly, right? Um and so we would talk about like, okay, so what is a typical start the concert off thing? And then every once in a while they'd be like, oh, can we like change up expectations? You know, it was like really incredible to have uh, you know, 14 through 18 year olds having those deep conversations about what an audience experience is like during a concert, and then trying to make the decisions that are going to deliver that to their audience, but also in a way that is meaningful to them. So yeah, we're we're doing all different kinds of music across the country. I think, you know, you you uh talked about it a little bit earlier, Dr. O, but it's like 6,000 teachers across the country that um we know are using these materials. And so they're doing everything from like pop and rock. Um just prepare your hearts for this. But the kids will say, Yeah, I love classic rock, like Green Day.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

I prepare that's good. That's right, that's right. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 23:47

So then you just you die inside a little bit, um and then you move on. You're like, great, I love that for you. Um, but then you know, they're like of course, uh a lot of students are like wanting to play songs in their own language, and that language might not be English. So we're having like a ton of students who are playing music in Spanish. Sometimes they're doing like Mexican regional music. Um, sometimes they're doing like more like reggaetone or like mariachi, like proper, you know. There's like so much um to all of those possibilities. And it's uh it's really fantastic when when teachers are um embracing kind of like this student-led pathway.

unknown 24:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 24:30

They're I think a lot of times they're honestly surprised what their kids really want to listen to because they assume that it's just gonna be like purely top 40. Right. And that's honestly not even really the case. Like I had students who would come to me and be like, there's this Frank Sinatra song I want to play. And I was like, why? I mean, like respectfully, why, you know, like why and how? And they were like, oh, it was in the Grand Theft Auto soundtrack. Um, so it's like great, you know, like uh, you know, or they would come to me with like, I don't remember the name of this artist, but it is a performing hologram from Japan. So it was like just like the widest gamut you can possibly imagine. Um, and then yeah, so they're coming with rep, they're doing a lot of like their own rehearsals, um, building those skills, building skills to be able to arrange to go like find chords online and stuff like that, but then also make it playable, change keys.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

And music will have all this. I mean, that's your job, right? You're helping with curriculum about giving them this creative license, but then helping set them up for success about chords and progressions and yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_08 25:39

We kind of um I always say like we try to make sort of this like curated intro set of materials that are really high quality, um, so that teachers don't have to do everything uh all at once. I mean, like, how much are we already asked to do in the classroom as as educators all the time? So uh everyone needs kind of they're like, okay, well, here's how you start. Here's we got, you know, like a few thousand song charts that are pre-made with, you know, like iconic notations. We'll do like three finger versions of guitar chords for beginner guitar players, stuff like that. Um and then videos, like demonstration videos that are like, okay, let me like take you through the the first, you know, a few chords on Ukulele, and then like some strumming patterns and you know, get into all of that. Um and and then from there, it's really about like my job. I don't know, in a lot of ways, is like building teacher identity for feeling like they can't. I think that's the biggest hurdle.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

I think that's the biggest hurdle. 100%.

SPEAKER_08 26:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

Absolutely. Because who who is teaching that at Eau Claire? You know, who's teaching modern band? Right, no one's teaching that. So then it's kind of like this concept of how do we how are we gonna teach guitar? You know what I mean? Like if I were already teaching, I could barely teach oboe. You know, okay, now I'm gonna teach. I don't, I just don't look at that one screen. Anyway, Phil, are you taking that on? Are you gonna add Modern Obo?

SPEAKER_08 27:06

Modernobo, yeah. The children yearn for Modern Nobo.

SPEAKER_04 27:10

Yes, an only day Modernobo, very similar.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

I mean, I wanna I just wanna jump in. I like um when I was out in Seattle, our choir director uh was a great guitarist, played in groups and stuff, and so we had a lot of guitar ensemble classes, right? But then that was it, right? So like it wasn't also then this opportunity to take that forward and create and write and all that stuff to put your group together. Um and I I had the I didn't think I was gonna like it, but I spent three years um directing a steel drum band, which isn't really a modern band, but it's not traditional. And we had two groups, and kids could come in one year and learn a pan, which is a lot more by ear and kinesthetic than necessarily reading notation. So they also kind of we did learn some basics reading of notation, but yeah, we were putting on concerts and making money for tuning, and like we were much more of a modern band concept in that way, and you know, you didn't have to do orchestra for eight years before you could play Beethoven, and they we really had a great time, and uh I really fell in love with the idea. And many of them were also in band orchestra acquire, but a lot of them were not, you know, and it they did both, it didn't wasn't one or the other, and I really just fell in love with that concept and wished I would have had more skills to you know incorporate that into my teaching in other places.

SPEAKER_04 28:27

And now a message from our sponsors. Concert night. You've studied your scores, you've thoughtfully chosen your baton and outfit. The value of the instruments on stage is nearly priceless. You represent the composer, the musicians, and your institution. Behind you in the audience are your peers, proud family members, community, and even potential donors.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

My question is this are you standing on a squeaky, mass-produced podium that was bought long before you arrived? I know I've stood on that podium. A conductor's foundation should match their artistry.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Well, I can tell you I'm not on that podium because I have two of these silent stage podiums, which are gracefully designed to complement the instruments, but not distract from the music. They're built with American oak, elegant brass railings, sound dampening rubber-backed carpet and velvet red, and steps on both sides, which fold in easily for a smaller footprint when needed. Each podium is delivered in a straight rolling case with a podium to survive backstage pumps, dust, or even like we take these long ensemble tours.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

Commuter, elevate your presence with silent stage podium. Say it with me, Silent Stage Podiums. Find out more at Silent Stagepodiums.com. Now back to our show.

SPEAKER_04 29:39

So let me interrupt Peter because I like to do that. Um somebody's got to. Indeed. Uh Mary, what did you do when you were in, you know, when you were starting making music? Um, as, you know, whenever that was, you should describe it if you want, uh, that sort of set the table for this career that has no real good definition.

SPEAKER_08 30:01

I know. Yeah. I'll try to get I'll give the cliff notes. So I, you know, like a standard intro pathway, which was like piano lessons. And I started them when I was pretty young, but even then, I had like a very traditional beginning piano teacher, like don't touch the piano until we do these staff note flashcards kind of, you know, kind of deal. But I was already kind of like plunking around on my own and trying to figure out like how to play songs that I was hearing or, you know, things like that. Um and then yeah, I started percussion in elementary school, started drum set in middle school. And I had this amazing teacher, David Miller, um in middle school. Yeah, and he was such a lifelong learner and just really special in that way. And so he was like taking West African drumming uh from uh Soamensa uh at St. Thomas, and and then he would, so he would like go to class and then he would take this back, and he was teaching these incredibly complicated polyrhythms to middle school students, and I was lucky to be one of them. And then I was doing jazz band, you know, things like that. And then in high school, um uh, you know, I was like again, I was like everything I could get my hands on, I just loved to play music. So I was in concert band and then we did um at uh Apple Valley High School, uh Go Eagles. Uh we um we did uh like kind of a show choir thing in the spring. So, you know, we were doing like more rock and pop music. Um and then like I would get together and play uh with you know friends sometimes, like more like we tried to do like a white stripes cover band, but like I had like no skills. You know what I mean? Like I just like had no idea how to just hear something and play it. Like especially as a drummer, you know, like my my guitar playing friends could go look up tablature, but there was no equivalent of that for a drummer. And so I was just like, well, I can kind of hear it, but then I didn't really understand like how to learn form. Uh you know, like uh so there was there were so many things that I was just like really into it, but I just didn't know what I was doing at all. So we were just would kind of like mess around and then we like never played shows ever. So then when I got into college, I was like just still doing music ed. Um, and I was really excited about being a teacher. So I was like, well, I think I'm just like more of a teacher. I love to play, but you know, and um, but I just started, you know, to like doing little pop things on the side. And and as you mentioned, my husband, Brian, is like a multi-instrumentalist, he's also a drummer, but he does other things. And I think his approach to music making is so um, like he's very self-taught. And now he's he like he has his doctorate um and has done, you know, all kinds of amazing things. But um, you know, at the time he was just sort of like, yeah, just learn it. Like, let's just have fun. We can just do this. And it was so um different for me, like coming from a very academic um background. So, but what I did have was like a good sense of time and like not good, not not good because I taught you back then.

SPEAKER_04 33:33

I'd um Mary was one of my very first combo players at Shell Lake ever.

SPEAKER_08 33:38

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 33:39

Uh and you had a great time and some of the best independence I've ever seen to date. Like that is great. Your husband has great independence, but man, I put yours right up against his. You got great independence.

SPEAKER_08 33:50

I remember still like one of the kindest, most specific compliments, like from that era of my life, is you were like, you kind of play like Jack DeJanette. Uh you told me that when I was at Shell Lake, and I was like, I was like, oh my God. I don't know. It was very, I was like, it was uh a very good She was fangirling at Phil's compliment. Nice. Yeah, pretty much. I mean, he's like one of the greats. So it was like uh yeah, it was it was very cool. And I know, yeah, and just uh so yeah, so I I did have like good musical skills. And then as soon as I started to really understand, I I truly put it down to like as soon as I could really understand and articulate form in a meaningful way, it things just like opened up. Um, and because I came to that a little bit later, I think that it's helped me as a teacher um to understand like that's really like kind of the building block. It's like you gotta like have these, you know, you gotta have basic skills on your instrument. You have to be able to talk about what it is you're doing and use the words for it. Um and then you just kind of go. Uh yeah. So I don't know. I've been learning alongside my students the whole time. Like I was learning ukulele while I was teaching. Um I was when they were songwriting, I was songwriting. I mean, unless like a student like wanted help, but I really was like, I'm if I'm gonna do this, I I have to really experience it. I started going to open mic nights, which I had never done before. I was like so nervous. I was shaking, you know, and like no one's paying attention. I was just like at a bar at like midnight, you know. Like it's like, you know, it's like no one cares. Yeah, no one cares about my cover of Jolene. Um, but you know, I'm really nervous about it. Um and yeah, and I, you know, that's so I just was like, well, I'm not gonna stop like just trying things and learning. And even now, I'm this week I'm starting um a production class and I'm super freaked out about it because I'm like, well, I like have basic logic skills, but uh I'm like, I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm gonna figure it out.

SPEAKER_04 35:56

How many how many ukuleles do you have in? Do you have an ukulele in each room of your house?

SPEAKER_08 36:00

Not every room, but I have a few. Yeah, I I have stashed. I have two over here.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

Yeah, they are. So he's like reading glasses, you just kind of spread them out.

SPEAKER_04 36:09

Yeah, you never know. Uh listener, they're way up high on the wall, so said children cannot yank them down yet. Yeah, unless they had a chair.

SPEAKER_08 36:19

Though my three-year-old is he can play some chords now, so that's pretty fun to see him kind of get napted it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 36:27

Stickers.

SPEAKER_05 36:28

It's all about stickers.

SPEAKER_02 36:29

Do you have any in the time that you've been with Music Will, do you have any success stories or examples of you know, schools that reach back out and say, you know, I did this and now we have a thriving, you know, or this is what happened.

SPEAKER_08 36:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 36:43

I hear, I mean, one of the significant things is I hear from a lot of teachers, like, I was about to retire, like we were about to do an early retirement, and this was some fresh energy and like a fresh approach that um allowed them to kind of start start again. And um, so that's really meaningful to me. Um because ultimately, like the work we do impacts students, but uh my day-to-day is teacher support. And so I'm I really care a lot about how they're doing. Um yeah, I mean, there are a lot of students who I know are just still playing. I hear that from teachers a lot. It's like they're like, oh my students, they just still, they just still play. Um and you know, like some of them it's they're going on to school for it, but a lot of them it's it's something that they're their ukulele is coming with them to their dorm room or um just things where they're like allowed, they they feel like they know how to keep music a part of their life in a significant way. And and I love to hear that. Um and yeah, just in I I love hearing teachers that are trying new things. And and one of the cool things is we get a lot of teachers who then start bands. So they're like they went to school for, you know, uh like we do really do like have a uh friend who was an oboe player, and then at the training we do some like bass stuff, and then she afterwards just went out and bought a bass, and now she gigs like a couple dozen times a year on bass.

SPEAKER_02 38:21

Probably more than oboe.

SPEAKER_08 38:23

Yeah, well, yeah, a lot of bass gigs in the world.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

There are a lot of bass gigs.

SPEAKER_08 38:28

Yeah, it's kind of like I say to people, I'm like, I loved playing Marimba, but I get a lot more calls as a drummer. Uh so uh it's like one of those, one of the things just about the world. But yeah, those are the like the there's like specific stories, but uh just like in general, I love to hear something new and creative and fresh in their teaching world and expression world. Yeah, and then seeing like the students light up about it and being like, oh my gosh, you're playing like my music. You're like, we're playing the stuff that like, and then your parents, you know, coming to concerts and being like, oh my gosh, like this is what we listen to on Saturday mornings. And it's it happening in a school. And uh like the you know, with the hope that that makes them feel like they belong in that environment a little bit more as well. So yeah, there's a lot of good.

SPEAKER_02 39:14

There's that secondary general music kind of void where it's you know, and again, I taught middle school gender music and we would listen to Gregorian chant. And I'm not saying like this should replace all music history, music theory, and all that kind of stuff, but this is a wonderful opportunity to engage students that you may not get in your typical ensemble. This is a way, like I love the cultural relevance, I love the accessibility, I love the flexibility kids to be decision makers. You're not just teaching them gimmicky kind of like this is them and this is part of their world. I mean, I absolutely love that. But do this for me, Mary. Look directly into the camera and speak to those teachers that you work with, right? And maybe those that are doubting themselves to say, I or you don't work with I don't have the skills, I don't have the time, I don't have like I'm interested in this. I think it sounds great, but I'm just too afraid because I have never done anything like this before. What would you say to them?

SPEAKER_08 40:09

I think what I'd say to them is embrace that that's how your students feel all the time and how hard it is to be a young person at any time in history, but like really right now, it is very hard to be a young person. And if you are willing to be bad at what you do for a second, um, you are going to give them the greatest gift of knowing that they can be bad when they start something new and that you're gonna learn together. Um I yeah, that that's the main thing, and just knowing like the songwriting, we we study folks, especially in academic spaces, and we look back at them, and it's so easy to see what looks like genius in hindsight and to say, like, uh, there's a certain kind of person that can write songs, there's a certain kind of person that can improvise, there's a certain kind of person who can perform on stage, and it's really easy to finish that sentence with, and I am not that person. Um, and so, like again, like if you're not really willing to do that, you're not giving your students a model to say, like, oh, I can do that too. Like I can, I can push beyond what I currently um see in myself.

SPEAKER_03 41:26

Funniest story with modern band kids that you've or you galele or anything, funniest story with teaching these sweet baby cherubs before you went into curriculum.

SPEAKER_08 41:35

Um, I had a group of middle school boys who were very inspired by Tenacious D. Of course they were. Of course they were. So for listeners who aren't aware, like, yeah, like Jack Black, comedy rock, like the Tenacious D stuff was not school appropriate, and they got that, but they were like trying to do their own thing. So they wrote this song called The Cupcake Muffin, and the song was about how you can make a muffin into a cupcake by adding frosting, and vice versa. So basically they're like going on this quest. It was like the most middle school like brain where you're just like, my my adult brain could never, but but they were just like so into this. And so one day I had I had a substitute teacher, and um that was like, yeah, they're gonna be this, you know, particular class is working on their songs, so split them up into groups. They're gonna be, you know, here's their kind of like guy that they're following for the day, whatever, all the things that you give to a substitute teacher and you hope and pray that something happens that day. Um and when I came back the next day, they had been they'd been sent to the principal's office for because their song was, they were like, There's no way that your teacher is allowing you to write this song. Like basically, like we'd be like, it's so it's so foolish and so silly that there's no way that this is sanctioned. And so these poor kids were like, but I think they went to the principal's office. We laughed about it pretty immediately because they were like, Yeah, we went down to the principal's office, and he was like, Don't worry about it, just like sit here for a minute. Uh act chastised when you go back to class.

SPEAKER_03 43:21

So I'm gonna summate that you were teaching students in a way that when somebody else came in as an adult, they recognized this could not be sanctioned.

SPEAKER_08 43:29

Awesome, awesome, could not have be happening. Um I have to sorry, I just speaking of the um you mentioned the sunken cathedral. Yeah, and I have another good story about that, which is that I had um my elementary schoolers pretty often would like we would listen to music, all different kinds of music, and they would draw on whiteboards, like draw a picture of what you hear when you, you know, and it was just like Basically, a way for us to just listen to music and them to have something to do with their hands. Um But I played the Sunken Cathedral and I'm going around, like, you know, as the kids are drawing, and then afterwards I was like, Yeah, show me your pictures. And one of them had drawn a church in the rain. And I was like, tell me about this. Like what, you know, what what did like what made you think of this? And and the the little kid, you know, I think he was like a third grader, was like, I don't know. It just seemed like like there was like a lot of like kind of different notes that sounded like raindrops. And then it just like seemed like a like a big, like a big building, and it was like really like powerful. It's like, well, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:42

Well done, Claude.

SPEAKER_08 44:43

I was like, yeah, I nailed it, Claude. Nice word. Um yeah, but also like what a perceptive kid too, you know, to just like really be listening and taking that all in. And I just it's so what we do is so amazing to like and hard and frustrating and all of those things too. But like there are those moments where you're just like, man, worth it. I am in the right career path. Awesome.

SPEAKER_04 45:08

Um, Mary, how do you get your performing fix? Talk about that.

SPEAKER_08 45:13

Yeah, so I'm I play in a like a nine-piece funk and soul band with my husband Brian plays bass, I play drums, and then we have like a horn section and you know, keys and guitar. And we play like quite a bit. So we do a mix of public and and like private events. You know, you gotta play those weddings. You you get a little extra cheddar and um then use that to go make the music that you want to make.

SPEAKER_03 45:41

That's right. Um I'm not a not familiar with the cheddar. You play tuba. There's not a lot of cheddar in the tuba. There's no cheddar.

SPEAKER_08 45:52

The the wedding industry in the mountain towns is booming. So you know, you go go up there, you do that. It's always like a huge pain. But it's fun. And we I do like a lot of that music. I love playing, like, especially like when we get to do like the old Motown stuff. Um I love that. And then like some of the like Pink Pony Club was so hot this year, as you know, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 46:17

And um what what's a tune or what's who's in how about one specific piece that you really are caught your fancy that you just love playing?

SPEAKER_08 46:27

Uh like for that or like for like that kind of band.

SPEAKER_02 46:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 46:32

Um, this is gonna sound so ridiculous, but uh uh Flowrida, low. It's just got the apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur. It's got like this great, like wide, like there's a guitar riff, and then there's like the big like diamonds on the drums, and like people just go nuts when you play it. You know, it's like you gotta hit that at the right time of the night when everyone's like a little loose. Um, like grandma and grandpa have left the reception. Yeah, exactly. And um, and so you start with that, and then um people just it's like they're back in their high school dance, and it's it's like it's just fun to see people letting loose like that. Um, but then yeah, we we like write our own original music. I'm actually super excited about um the stuff we're we're recording now. The band's called the Burrows. I don't think I said that, but um Yeah. Um and so yeah, I'm doing that and they're also like my closest friends, so it's really fantastic to just be making music with them and and we've been playing together for oh boy, um 13 years that like this summer, like this band has been together, so like we've been we've really grown up together, and that's such a gift. Um, and then I write a little bit of my own music that I play with. I play an electric ukulele, which is basically just like a guitar, you know. I got my pedal board and everything, and then um Brian, my husband plays drums, and our friend Hayden plays Barry Sacks in the role of bass player. So it's just like a trio. Um and that band is called Trash Cat. Um I love it. And so we mostly write songs about cartoons.

SPEAKER_02 48:10

So appropriate.

SPEAKER_08 48:12

Yeah. That's what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_02 48:14

Throw in a Valve trombone, and I'm I mean, then it's a party.

SPEAKER_08 48:19

Yeah. Might be too powerful.

SPEAKER_02 48:21

Yeah, I've trombone can do that.

SPEAKER_03 48:24

Cuts like a knife.

SPEAKER_08 48:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:26

Not to dwell on all that for too much, but man, Mary, I uh all the greatest teachers that I ever had were ones that um found a way to fulfill their artistic fix, whether that be pro performing or some uh writing music or whatever, like they've got a side hustle that is keeping them engaged. Yeah. Um cheddar or no cheddar.

SPEAKER_08 48:48

Usually no cheddar. You usually know cheddar. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:52

And you are living the life that is the teachers that I respected the most. Totally.

SPEAKER_08 48:58

So it's it's such a symbiosis. I think being a teacher makes you a better musician, too. You know, I think like it helps you like see the world in a broader way and not like care so much about the music industry and all of that. You know, it's like, you know, like because ultimately it's not worth chasing that, you know, like it, you know, like if big things happen, like, you know, like I mean, I I don't, you know, we opened for Sir Mix a lot. So there's no, yeah, like there's uh no higher honor than that.

SPEAKER_04 49:29

I did see that tops on your resume. First, first line of the resume, sort of bull print.

SPEAKER_08 49:34

I was like, who's the funniest person that we've opened for? And it's definitely Sir Mix a lot. Um, but uh yeah, I think you you gotta do that. Uh, you know, and like musicians really need to do something that's not just playing music, because if all you do is play music, you kind of get insufferable. Sorry. But and then with teaching, it's like if you're not, yeah, if you're not like exercising your creativity, then you start to think you're just not capable of it, and and then you can't really do your full full deal.

SPEAKER_04 50:04

It has the time has come for a speed round. Are you ready, Mary? Yeah, I'm ready. Uh unencumbered by the the thought process, just respond. Um very typically all of these questions are about the ukulele. Uh so when and when and where uh approximately uh were ukulele invented. Was the ukulele in the right?

SPEAKER_08 50:24

The Portuguese brought it to Hawaii.

SPEAKER_04 50:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 50:29

Um in like I want to say like the 1800s, but I can't be more specific than that.

SPEAKER_04 50:34

Yeah, 1880s. We'll give a ding for that. Of course, we'll give you a ding later on in post-production. Yeah, that was really uninspiring ding. Thanks. Good job. Sorry. Uh uh, there is one type of ukulele that's in the shape of a fruit. What is that fruit?

SPEAKER_08 50:49

Pineapple.

SPEAKER_04 50:50

Yes. Uh famous pop tunes that use a blitz.

SPEAKER_08 50:54

I mean, everything Jason Moraz, 21 Pilots has House of Golds, is like all of is is somewhere over the rainbow and all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_04 51:05

Yes, that's right. Tiny Tim's tiptoe through the tulips.

SPEAKER_08 51:10

Yeah, that's that's fair too.

SPEAKER_04 51:12

Uh it is. Um famous people who love to play the ukulele.

SPEAKER_08 51:16

Eddie Vedder?

SPEAKER_04 51:17

In history.

SPEAKER_08 51:18

Um Eddie Vetter, really?

SPEAKER_04 51:20

Not necessarily m did you say George Harrison?

SPEAKER_08 51:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 51:23

Yes. Famous astronaut.

SPEAKER_08 51:25

Oh, famous astronaut. Neil Armstrong.

SPEAKER_04 51:31

Neil Armstrong.

SPEAKER_08 51:32

It was like my my mind wants to say Buzz Aldrin, and I know that's not right. Sounds more like uh because clearly I know my like music, you know, history better than I know my actual history.

SPEAKER_04 51:45

What does ukulele mean when translated?

SPEAKER_08 51:47

I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 51:48

Yes, this I it's not I'm not quite sure the what where this heads are what it's from, but jumping flea. Oh, okay. Jumping flea. And then I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_08 51:57

Is that why they say that? That you know that? Like my my dog has fleas. It's like supposed to help you remember the tuning. Maybe I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 52:04

Okay. It's deep. Sure.

SPEAKER_08 52:07

He has no idea what you just said because it it's really funny because it like has nothing to do with anything. Like it's not like an acronym or anything, but people say it.

SPEAKER_04 52:18

Uh last one, uh, how many ukuleles must one own to truly be a pro?

SPEAKER_08 52:22

You have to have one that's like your beach, your beach axe, if you will, right? So like something that can you can take wherever it can like get sandy. Then you have to have your acoustic electric. And then I really think you gotta have like a solid body. It's 2026. Get a solid body ukulele.

SPEAKER_02 52:41

Yeah, get one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 52:43

That'll be this that's this that's the pull quote, by the way, for this episode and all your marketing for it.

SPEAKER_03 52:49

All of our marketing. Our ad fees are way up there now. It's just it's huge.

SPEAKER_08 52:56

Square, oh, it's a big part of our production. Sorry, is that Squarespace calling? They want to sponsor your podcast? Nice. Oh, Rocky.

SPEAKER_02 53:03

No, they want more money from me. Square dude, it's actually Square Dudes.

SPEAKER_05 53:08

Square dudes.

SPEAKER_02 53:09

Square dudes. Yeah. That's uh I paid them a lot. Yeah. When I think solid body, I think of Peter. Me too. But Mary, it's great.

SPEAKER_08 53:16

I I I don't think I can agree with that. But but I like don't dis you know what I mean? I'll just let it be between you all. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:23

Um Mary, it was great. Uh, it's been a couple years since I saw you. You were at MMEA last time. Yeah. And um it's just wonderful to see your career and life flourish and uh for you to find your path and be able to change the world in your way. I love it. Um, you're one of the best humans and musicians and leaders and people I get to call an alum that I taught, and I appreciate everything you do. Please say hi to Brian.

SPEAKER_08 53:50

I will say hi to Eric and Claire, too.

SPEAKER_03 53:52

Well, oh, I've got a picture of both of them for you all.

SPEAKER_08 53:54

Get out of here. Eric is the best. I mean, I know you know this. I do know this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:01

Well, I'll tell her you said that. She'll agree.

SPEAKER_08 54:05

I know, but it's nice to hear it.

SPEAKER_02 54:06

It is nice to hear it. Mary, very nice to meet you. Thanks for what you do. Uh I'm sorry, you know, these these two, but uh it's fine. There's a lot of people. You should fly her out to be part of the judging team for the middle school day. Oh, hey, look, no, we're gonna be in touch because I need we need to talk and and get this going in in Wisconsin even more than that.

SPEAKER_08 54:29

Well, and any teacher, I mean, legitimately, anyone listening, I love to be a resource for folks and can always get a hold of us. Our resources are free, so you know.

SPEAKER_04 54:40

Look at that.

SPEAKER_08 54:41

Take advantage. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:43

Thanks, Mary.

SPEAKER_08 54:44

Thank you guys. It was so good to see you.

SPEAKER_03 54:47

Oh, time we had Mary on. It's the real one.

SPEAKER_04 54:50

Nice work, Fully Bay. Yeah, well done. Me bet. I I have a lot to do with her success. Oh, wait, no, I don't. Not really anything at all.

SPEAKER_02 54:58

Or just remembered what you said to her, though. Think about that. She did forget, you know, I forget everything that Peter's ever said to me. But she remembered what you said in 1998. I mean, I guess. A little later. 1999.

SPEAKER_04 55:13

We into the 2000s. You we are old, she is less old. Okay. Good dang it. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, but probably 2007. Oh, crap. Um But she she does play Motown music, which uh she's an old soul. Always has can learn those tunes, those, those, those tunes. That's a that's a good old soul there. Excellent. Hard to beat him indeed. Hard to beat him.

SPEAKER_02 55:33

Um, hey, we've got things. Uh what do you want? Boozler or rapping first? Your choice. Rapping, rapping with songer.

SPEAKER_01 55:43

Raping with songers. Hey everybody, it's time again for rapping with songer. It's Eric Songer here. Hey guys, how are you doing? I'm here with two of my favorite sixth grade students, and I'm gonna let them introduce themselves, uh, Colin and Bodhi. Uh, we'll start with Bodie. Bodie, tell us uh your first name, which I already gave them, and then tell us what you play.

SPEAKER_06 56:04

Hi, I'm Bodhi. Well, I play a number of things. Uh one of my favorites is the guitar, and I also play a trumpet, and I play a little of the fiddle.

SPEAKER_01 56:13

Oh, that's cool. The country fiddle. I love it, Bodhi. Very cool. And then we have Colin.

SPEAKER_06 56:19

I play the clarinet and the guitar.

SPEAKER_01 56:21

That's awesome. We're actually recording this right before our after school guitar class where these guys are learning how to play guitar, which is so cool. So, Bodhi has a question for you today uh regarding the uh an event that just recently uh happened uh over uh across the the uh Atlantic Ocean.

SPEAKER_07 56:39

I want to know what is your favorite Olympic sport.

SPEAKER_01 56:43

All right, and we're gonna go Winter Olympics since we just saw that. So your favorite winter Olympic sport to watch. Let's go to which one's your favorite one to watch, not necessarily play. Because I know uh Dr. Ostrander uh can take us all down on the hockey rank. So I don't but I don't know if that's your favorite one to watch on TV. So looking forward to hearing your answers. Say bye, guys.

SPEAKER_06 57:04

Bye. Bye.

SPEAKER_02 57:05

Eric Sunger. Talk about modern manual. He's the main thing all playing guitar in the country fiddle. I want to play a country fiddle. Okay. Here we go, back on task. Where uh where are we going?

SPEAKER_04 57:17

Uh Peter Peter uh wasn't Peter considered for the Olympic curling team? He's got that kind of look.

SPEAKER_03 57:23

I've got the physique for the for the curling. Actually, I thought they were gonna use his head as that rock. Actually, I think a little more of a that's true. Smooth enough, smooth enough, heavy enough. Um I would say all of the like freestyle skiing, like half pike skiing and all the stuff where they get to do creative fun things in the air in all the different ways. Those are really fun because I can't do any of that, so all of it's just like crazy amazing. Chris? Or hockey.

SPEAKER_02 57:51

Uh the speed skating, two things. The speed skating, I think, is just unbelievable how fast they go and just the endurance. And then the other thing is the skeleton. Skeleton. Boy, they are crazy. They're headfirst going down those things at 70 miles per hour. I'm like, I just think back when I was like in middle school going down like a sledding hill, and I'm like, oh, and like hurt myself because I'm jumping off of jumps and stuff, but like they're going headfirst.

SPEAKER_04 58:17

And yeah, how about you? Love them all. I love all those winter sports. Uh, every single one of them. Uh, I watched a little bobsled. I I there there's something about it that I kind of like little bobsled, but I like them. I just I like them all equally. And I'm also a fan of not an Olympic sport, but have you ever seen the guys that are on ice skates going down uh uh a track? No. It's a Red Bull sort of X games kind of not an Olympic sport, but they're on they're like it's like four people at once going down this uh twisty turny, like what looks like a uh um uh uh skipping iced like a water slide. And but they're on skates and they have to get down without killing themselves. I really think that's a that I that should be adapted into an Olympic sport, I'm pretty sure.

SPEAKER_02 59:03

I think that's called middle school band. Um and speaking of middle school band, uh, we have this written in by a consumer of this podcast that says, Hello, boys. Uh, I'm in a situation where every day with my ensemble, we're doing long tones. And while we're doing long tones, I don't know if it's appropriate for kids to use tuners to check their intonation or to you listen to a drone. What's your recommendation so that we can help with our intonation? Both? Something different every day?

SPEAKER_03 59:29

Yes, and yes. I mean, I think I think drones are fun. That's what I love about the McAllister warm-ups, right? It's it's doing long tones, but it's uh makes it more interesting. Something that makes them have to listen to something besides themselves. I think a tuner too early for an instrument, you know, they're gonna be sharp anyway, and then you tune it and it's cold. So maybe drones first or nothing, and just sometimes I let my instrument be a little flat till it warms up as long as I'm in tune with myself. But with a whole band, that's probably not a good idea.

SPEAKER_04 59:58

What I don't like about the tuner at times, and I do love drones, I actually prefer them, uh, is that it reinforces the idea that we're going to get one note in tune and all the other notes don't matter. So they're not going to be able to do that. I guess they're all suddenly in tune just because that one was in tune, which is Yeah, all but all the rest of them are who knows what's happening. Um so I think steady variety, because some kids really love that tuner. They love to see it. Because seeing is believing for some kids. And I'm into that at times. But I think regular, steady diet of different ways of treating intonation. Singing might be the most important of them.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:33

And then even not only drones, but drones that are a fifth away, stuff like that, just helping them feel that sympathetic vibration. That's fun. Especially in middle school. I'm sure that happens all the time in their band.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:44

Yeah, uh, we would do tritones. So instead of a fifth, I just let them lean into that because I um I wanted them to get comfortable with the dissonance. And yeah, you love that flatted fifth, don't you? Just love it. I do.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:56

Happens anyway without ignoring my key. That's right. What key change? Just the other day I was with the group, they missed the key change. So went back, did some of the scales, you know, re-run thinking about this, talked about the differences, made them name stuff, great. Two measures before the transition, two measures after, write it in, did all that for all both of the changes, all three keys. Went black and went back, played it straight through at the end of a class, just drove right through and did exactly what we did at the beginning. I was worthless to them. I was worthless to them. They were so kinesthetically just like that. That's first off. No, that's that's that's an e-natural. That's an e-natural.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:40

Okay. Um, okay, we're gonna end today's show with this. What is this? Five dollar bill. That's right. Five dollar bill. This is gonna go to you, Peter, if you do the following during your concert today. Oh, yeah. While you're like this. While you're talking, I want to hear you say the words, and it doesn't have to be together, but I want fun and tango mentioned at some point during your little chit chat.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:03

This is so my five dollars. It's so my five dollars. I'm gonna make that happen. All right. Fun and tango, we'll see.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:09

Expect a crowd murmur when those roads, when those words appear. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:14

Just say fun and tango. They gotta be in there.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:18

Okay. I can make that work. Uh it's it is appropriate at concerts to lead a standing ovation after every every piece and maybe even after the introductions, yes? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:28

I think that is absolutely appropriate. I think it's that's the right answer. I mean, the band will love it. They will love it. Mary remembered your kind compliment, your sincere, honest, kind compliment. They will love your sincere standing and laughing.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:44

They will love it. The smiles huge.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:52

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