The December Kazoo Recital took place today. 30 of my students showed up in their dressiest outfits, with proud parents, friends, or partners wielding cameras and carrying goodies to share at the reception.

We started with solos. My more advanced students took turns playing for about 55 minutes. Then the floodgates opened as the younger kids and their siblings showed up. (I always bring crayons to recitals. It keeps 'em quiet!)

Some highlights:
* Six Year Old Girl can now play four notes. She played a four-note song with the entire studio and was very, very happy. Then she wanted to play "Jingle Bells" with the big kids. So I had her honk away on a single note for the entire piece. It sounded crazy but she loved it. Pretty darned cute.

* Middle School Quartet (two boys, two girls) did a great job. Most of them, who play in band, had not played independantly in a small group before. This was a big step for them.

* Middle School Girl, who has been playing for less than four months, was strong enough to join the Quartet. She got so inspired that by concert time, she was the strongest player in the group, even though some of the kids had been playing for 3 years. Her grandparents just gave her $1K to buy a kazoo of her own.

* I'm So Smart and Talented So Why Practice Girl got a big shock when she realized that she was one of the weakest players, not one of the strongest, as she'd assumed. A high school freshman, she told me that it was a big wakeup call that brains alone weren't enough. She was a pretty good sport about it, and we had a short, honest conversation about Hard Work at the reception. She left smiling.

* The weakest student in Kazoo Chamber Music Group at the university is an alum who keeps coming back to play with the students. I asked her to play in the Rusty Returning to Kazoo Adult Quartet this time, and I gave her the first kazoo parts. She rose to the occasion and played the best I've ever heard her play. She said it was a thrill to be the best in the group for a change. I told her that she's a stronger player than she thinks.

* I teach three members of the same family. They formed a trio -- two adults and a 7th grader. The 7th grader was so excited to get to play with adults. Especially when she realized she was stronger than them. :)

* My 4th grader who "won't talk" announced her name very clearly, and with a big smile on her face. She's starting to open up and get more confident!

Conclusions: My young students got a chance to present themselves in a very positive way in front of a group. They learned to address a group, to get through a piece, and to accept compliments after. (Yes, we actually work on The Art Of Reception Small Talk and Graciously Accepting a Compliment in my studio!)

And they got to see some adult amateurs play well. They got to see that kazoo isn't about competiitons or chair placement in band. It's about life-long music-making.

My college students got to be role models. They stood alongside the little ones during the "mass mob" performance and helped to make sure the kids didn't lose their place. They got to show off for their friends. And they got to enjoy a lavish reception of yummy food. (This is always a good thing, but especially at finals time, when the cafeteria gods seem to mock the plight of hungry students by using up a semester's worth of leftovers...)

My older students? They got to enjoy making music in a low-stress, non-threatening environment. And now they want to have a wine, potluck, and kazoo party. (Like a Schubertiad, for those of you who know what I mean.) Now that's my idea of a party! (Although I'd prefer to make the kazoo optional and just skip to the food...)

In all, a good day.

I am very, very tired.

Labels: teaching