Sharing the sounds of music

Mike Swanson

Beginning band students at Huntington Seacliff Elementary School

volunteered to show their solo chops as vigorously as their advanced

counterparts did in a joint after-school class Monday.

After practicing songs as a group for about 20 minutes, teacher

Michelle McKenzie gave members of the percussion, brass and woodwind

sections equal time to display their knowledge of the songbook

without accompaniment. McKenzie even offered students the opportunity

to improvise, encouraging them to add their own touches to each

piece.

Drummer David Harris, 9, was hesitant at first to show what he’d

come up with, but his fellow snare beater, 10-year-old Paarth

Trivedi, convinced David he had something worth sharing.

“You have to make him play his,” Paarth told McKenzie as the class

ran low on time for solos. “It’s so good.”

David went through the motions of “Mallets” in the restrained

manner prescribed, playing on each beat with an occasional rest, then

exploded into a busy, bombastic finish that pleased his teacher as

much as Paarth expected.

Ten-year-old Vincent Oye had his alto saxophone solo so covered

that he only struggled to play it within its bars, ripping through

his piece showing a mastery of tone.

“You need to slow down Vincent, but you got exactly the sound I

want,” McKenzie said.

Hayley Mayol, a 9-year-old playing an instrument nearly her size,

the baritone, was one of few in the class who didn’t fire her hand in

the air when asked for soloists.

“It can’t be me,” Hayley said. “I’m way too loud on my own.”

During a collaborative piece near the beginning of the class,

McKenzie singled Hayley out in praising her volume.

“Yeah, Hayley, that’s it,” McKenzie said as Hayley’s baritone rose

above the snare drums to her left. “Blow them away.”

As the class rotated between solo, duet and collective songs, a

few students spent the day outside getting individual lessons from

17-year-old high school students volunteering their time after

school.

Flutist Elizabeth Holst from Edison High School helped 9-year-old

Mariah Witt with hand and mouth positioning while Edison classmate

Max Stossier explained the intricacies of the bassoon’s whisper key

to 10-year-old Megan Gilbert.

“Don’t take a breath between every note,” Max told Megan. “Just

take a big enough breath at the beginning and try to keep it all the

way through.”

Her post-lesson progress pleased Max, who noted simply, “That was

a lot better.”

Mariah, meanwhile, had to get past her disgust toward the high

volume of spit in her mouthpiece before she could take in Elizabeth’s

advice to keep the flute’s blowhole lower on her lip. She did, which

resulted in less spit and a fuller sound.