Open Mic Sessions & A Home-School Musical Connection

I always enjoy having students share their musical talents in the classroom whenever possible. When I first arrived at TCS, I began holding "Open Mic" sessions throughout the year in my general music classes to encourage students to bring in something musical that they are working on outside of school (an instrumental piece, a vocal selection, etc) and perform for the class. These opportunities help students take musical risks and receive positive reinforcement from their peers. It also reinforces active listening skills for the audience.

Today I invited one of our new students, Collin, to perform at the end of his 3rd grade music class. He was thrilled to share his latest piece, "A Hunting We Will Go," from memory on piano. As the students applauded his performance, one student remarked that the song sounded a lot like "The Pumpkin On the Vine" song that we were working on in a previous class as an introduction to singing in a round. Turns out, it was the SAME melody! So we all sang the song together as Collin accompanied us on piano. What a fun connection to have between one student's private music lessons and our musical learning here at TCS!