by Audrey Williams

Over the years, I’ve had the interesting challenge of teaching a handful of students who were on the autism spectrum. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the special needs community since my youngest sister was born with a serious disability, and I’ve lived through some of her struggles with her first hand.  I feel that I have to at least try to work with any student who has the desire to learn an instrument until we reach a point where I’m more of a hindrance than a help.  

Every student is different, and this is even more so the case with autistic students because there is no one way to categorize or pigeon hole autism. Even high functioning autistic students can have social interaction and motor control issues that you’ll have to find a way to overcome.  I had one student who consistently had a hard time focusing on complex assignments while another could complete assignments very well, but would start humming and zoning out if my lectures went beyond a minute or so. I had yet another student who had the spectacular gift of being able to identify the pitch of any note he heard on any instrument in the exact order that each note was played even though he had severe limitations in his daily life due to his Asperger’s symptoms. There was definitely no one-size-fits-all teaching strategy to handle the array of behavior patterns, but below are a few techniques that helped me reach my students where they were so that they could also reap the benefits of music lessons just like their mainstream counterparts.

Be prepared to provide a simplified version of assignments or break complex assignments into smaller pieces. I’ve found that having smaller bite-sized deliverables helps keep the momentum during lesson time. For example, we may decide to check off a song line by line instead of making it a requirement to play the whole song perfectly from beginning to end.

As a music teacher, you just have to accept that most assignments will never be polished, so you may have to pick one or two teaching points to focus on and then move on once you feel that your student has reached an acceptable level of proficiency.

For some students you may have to get all of their senses involved in order to draw them into the lesson. I have red rhythm sticks that I let students use to beat out their rhythms while counting out loud. In the past, I’ve also had students glide and then hop across the room to demonstrate the difference between playing legato and staccato. Sometimes I would unexpectedly throw in a flashcard exercise if I would see that I was reaching the end of my students’ attention span for a particular assignment.

If your student has perfect pitch, then you might want to build your lessons around that strength since that is something that comes naturally to the student.

If a student is consistently having trouble reading notes on the staff, then you might want to try associating a note name with the pitch or even a color and then make the connection to the symbol on the staff to see if that helps. You can have your student color the note on the staff with the same color that you used in your association game. Your student can use this same color chart on his/her assignments for the next few weeks or months to see if this finally helps things click as they learn to read notes on the staff.

Colorful and quirky visual aids may also be helpful in getting your student to focus on what you’re trying to teach.

Give your rehearsals a distinct routine, and warn students if you'll be breaking from it. Many students find this comforting.

I believe that all students should have the equal opportunity to play in my student recitals if they so desire and have the adequate time to prepare. For my autistic students, I make sure to physically practice recital etiquette starting weeks before a recital. This is sometimes very effective for students who have trouble emotionally connecting to others. This way they know what they’re supposed to do even if they can’t fully understand why they should acknowledge the audience that has so kindly sat through their performance.

I’m in no way an expert when it comes to handling autistic or other special needs music students since the bulk of my training has come on the job. This list of ideas came about after a long time of trial and error, and I’m happy to have met my autistic students because they’ve helped to make me a better teacher for all students. I hope that this article will be helpful to you should you ever find yourself in my shoes one day.

by Grace Youn

The start of a new year often means one thing for me: audition season.

At this point, I'm starting to lose count of the number of auditions I have taken, whether for admission into schools, music festivals, or professional opportunities, and no matter how many times I have been through this process, I still experience all the feels - stress, anxiety, adrenaline, excitement. Being in the process of applying to school myself, there are things that I do to make this process a little less stressful.

Pack extra supplies.

Strings, rosin, spare bow, you name it. Bring it. I've had a string break and all the hairs fall out of my bow before major performances. Unfortunately, stuff like this happens and you need to be prepared. You'll be happy that you were.

Arrive 24 hours before your audition.

I have found that it is best to get to your destination 24 hours in advance. I do this to allow time to get settled, adjust to a new time zone if I'm traveling far, and familiarize myself with a new place. Arriving early allows you to scope out the area and figure out your practice situation. Besides that, traveling is stressful and to perform your best, you need to be well rested.

Scope out the audition site.

Since you arrived early, you now get to check out the audition site, find your favorite practice room, map your way to the audition room, and get a feel for what the school is like! That way, you will not have to worry about getting lost, especially if the school is big!

Eat well.

I'm definitely that person who does not like to eat before a performance, but I do it anyway. Your body needs energy. You don't have to eat a lot. Just pick something healthy and moderately filling. For me, it's often a snack consisting of bananas and peanut butter an hour or two before audition time.

Know what piece you're going to start with.

With school auditions, I've found that 9 times out of 10 your panel will let you choose what you want to start with! Choose the piece you feel is strongest and will best showcase your strengths.

Breathe and have fun!

At this point, it's all out of your hands. You've prepared to the best of your ability. As hard as this is to believe, the panel WANTS you to play well, so take a deep breath and play your heart out!

by Megan Fedor

Hufflepuff

Loyalty, hard work, dedication, patience, fair play

Brass Family: The incredible amount of hard work that must be put forth to master one of these instruments defines the house. Brass players always play fair – just think of the French Horns tirelessly playing the “pah-pah” of a waltz for entire concerts of Johann Strauss simply to spare everyone else (sorry violas). The bass trombone player exemplifies patience counting pages and pages of rests waiting for his next entrance. Loyalty and dedication come to mind when thinking of tuba players, never missing a rehearsal or being a second late to return from a break. Hufflepuff House often gets misinterpreted as representing simplicity or simple-mindedness, which could not be further from the truth.

Hogwarts Orchestra: Cedric Diggory, Trumpet; Pomona Sprout, French Horn; Ernie Macmillan, Trombone; Nymphadora Tonks, Tuba

Gryffindor

Bravery, daring, nerve, chivalry

String Family: Typified by the fearless leadership demonstrated by the Concertmaster as she stands before a full concert hall to tune the orchestra and the gall it takes as the string section plays the soaring chromatic lines of Richard Strauss, we have Gryffindor House. The second violin and viola chivalrously bow down to take a supporting role, only occasionally rising to the forefront. The nervy harp sits alone in the back of the orchestra, always a soloist when performing an impressive glissando. Cellists are the reason we say “Gryffindor” over and over as we have the sorting hat on our head, and bass players bravely live each day contorting their bodies to play an instrument of such impressive size and difficulty.

Hogwarts Orchestra: Harry Potter, Violin I; Ginny Weasley, Violin II; Ron Weasley, Viola; Hermione Granger, Cello; Nearly Headless Nick, Double Bass; Minerva McGonagall, Harp

Ravenclaw

Intelligence, wit, individuality

Woodwind Family: No one can argue that the woodwinds are the brains of the orchestra. Simply imagining the intellect needed to coordinate breath, articulation, and fingering while avoiding a reed squeak leaves me in need of a nap. Who else in the orchestra is able to multi-task to the extent that they are actually making parts of their instruments in rehearsals and concerts! Flute and piccolo players often know the score as well as the conductor, and clarinetists have the wittiest comments to keep you entertained when the last 5 minutes of rehearsal seem to last a lifetime – am I right?

Hogwarts Orchestra: Rowena Ravenclaw, Flute; Filius Flitwick, Piccolo; Cho Chang, Clarinet; Luna Lovegood, Oboe; Gilderoy Lockhart, Bassoon

Slytherin

Ambition, cunning, resourcefulness

Percussion Family: Fundamentally resourceful in their ability to cover a symphony’s worth of instruments with only a few musicians, percussionists dominate Slytherin House. The cunning triangle player must place his strike just ahead of the beat so it reaches the back of the hall perfectly in time with the rest of the ensemble, as the resourceful timpani player must find an opportunity to inconspicuously tune the instruments. The artistry of the marimbist relates directly to the dexterity of a skilled wizard mid-duel. Ambitious to a fault, percussionists are often the busiest members of the orchestra, rushing from rehearsal to other gigs and are endlessly wrapped up in their creative pursuits.

Hogwarts Orchestra: Draco Malfoy, Triangle; Vincent Crabbe, Snare Drum; Gregory Goyle, Bass Drum; Bellatrix Lestrange, Timpani; Tom Riddle, Marimba; Severus Snape, Piano

Specific house adjectives courtesy of: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hogwarts_Houses

Hey guys! I’m sorry I haven’t posted music in a bit, I’ve had a really hectic few weeks. Also, I’m approaching exam season, so my posts might be a bit spotty for a while. Anyway, this week I arranged Unsteady by X Ambassadors for a string orchestra. This is definitely on the more beginner level, but sometimes you just need to play something simple, right? You can find the original song here and the audio for my arrangement here. Enjoy!