Violin Ensemble

I swore I’d never teach public school music classes in the states—and what do I do? I go and teach public school music in a developing country. I started an ensemble of 8 kids in either their 1st or 2nd year of playing. I’m lucky to have Katia, the other teacher, who was excited about the idea and immediately taught all the kids the song I wrote and passed out. They don’t really know much about low 2s yet or how to conquer the slur, so our repertoire is rather limited. That and the fact that every time we play a scale, Maksat forgets to switch strings, so we end up in 5ths for half of it. They pretty much play horribly, but none of them have ever heard a violin ensemble, or a violin being played at all for that matter, so I guess you can’t blame them.

It took me a few rehearsals to get Katia to stop yelling at them (if you yell, it means its obviously their fault they played it wrong, not yours. . . ) but I think they are enjoying themselves. Compared to the usual barrages of yelling, being called stupid, and occasional whaps on the head, my class must be just a treat—I’m usually smiling! Imagine!

Recently Nina, my friend who plays piano and irritates me, alternately, told me about her students’ exam. They played and she thought they deserved As. The teachers (right or not) gave them Cs probably out of jealousy and superiority issues since Nina went to University and they didn’t. She complains to me how the teachers wouldn’t give her a voice, takes lots of pity—how she cried. . . However, the next time she told the story, it was a tale of how her students played so badly and she yelled at them—“I told you how many times how to play that right! What’s wrong with you!” Long story short, it’s all about blame. Nothing good here ever came from taking rightful fault. Directly as a result there is lack of improvement or even the drive to improve since whether or not you get your diploma depends more on chance, money and connections than on your ability.