This school year I finally carried through with my intention to learn a band instrument. When I was in high school I thought it better to focus on piano only, so I passed up the opportunity to learn one and regretted it ever since I became a music teacher. My adult band teacher, Nina Falcos is wonderful! She is very fun and excited about passing on her musical knowledge. She even let me do a stint as the conductor and coached me. One night in rehearsal when she was trying to get us to play more musically, and not just note-by-note she said, "Music is what happens in-between the notes."
Well, the next day I tried it with my beginner recorder class. What a difference! Their playing became much more legato. We worked on dynamics and phrasing. Afterwards, I wished I had recorded them playing at the beginning and the end so they could hear their own transformation!
My conclusion: Don't forget that we are teaching musicallity first, the instrument is simply the vechile through which we blow! :)
