Mrs. Sherwin's Music Room Musings

Thoughts and Information from the Music Room

Why…Music?

December3

Finding your why…

I have been thinking about this lately.  This is especially true when ‘finding your why’ has been placed on our radar as part of our professional development.

I love music.  Is that enough reason?  Probably not.

We were allowed to start learning an instrument for school band in grade 5.  I remember we had this thing in the gym. There was a concert and then a ‘look and learn’ about the different instruments.  I was deciding between the flute and the oboe.  It was quite a discussion at home.  My mom thought that the Oboe was beautiful and do something unique.  I thought the flute was the cat’s pajamas.  Plus all my friends were picking flute too.  So there was that.  It was quite the standoff, but eventually the flute was rented.  So there was six of us on the flute.  The poor music teacher.

Our band teacher was called a ‘district teacher’.  He drove all over to the different schools and taught band.  We had to miss regular class to go to our sectional sessions.  This was a large commitment, as it was expected that we stay on top of our work plus the additional commitment of practicing our instrument for 20 minutes, five times a week.  He would come to our school once or twice a week. Sectionals and then we’d convene as a beginner band.  Once we were really going, on Monday evenings, we would take the bus to a neighboring town and have ‘division band’.  All students from across the would gather and we’d rehearse.  Talk about a massive undertaking.  We even had band uniform! It was a rather smelly, totally polyester red sweater with black stripes on the sleeves.  It didn’t matter though.  It meant that we were a part of something.  We made music together.  We made something that was more than just ourselves.

In  1991, my family moved to Lacombe, Alberta from the deep southeastern corner of Saskatchewan.  I was in junior high and this move was a culture shock to me.  I went from a class of 18, all of whom I can still name, to a class of 150.  The music room though, that was the only place I didn’t feel weird and awkward, an outlier.  It was a place of acceptance. Mr. K was my cheerleader.  It was there, where I learned of the Broadway Musical.  The first organ chords of the ‘Phantom’ blasting through the room.  The chorus of the people in ‘Les Mis’.  In that room we still had a common goal.  We made music together.  We made something that was more than just ourselves.  I continued on through to high school.  I was so envious of Ms. A.  That woman has more talent in her little finger than I will ever have in my lifetime.  I continued on into University.  It was a constant. A place of acceptance.  A place where we all worked together to make something larger than ourselves.

Why Music? Music has been a constant for me.  I want music to be that for our kidlets at PES.  A place of acceptance. A place to try.  A place to be brave.  A place to share our creativity.  And most of all a place of joy and fun.  A place where we just simply love, share and enjoy music and art.  To shine and see the best in each other.  That’s why I chose music. I love it.  I want to be that place for the kiddoes at our school that it was for me.

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