Challenges and how they overcome them
By Natalie Craiker
Many classes in school are very interactive. Among some of the most interactive classes are music classes. Many students from a young age are in music classes. They sing, dance, play instruments, and learn how to love and appreciate music. Students move on from this class and can choose to participate in choir, band, or orchestra. Students love these classes because they are a sanctuary from their normal crazy lives. They are a place where they can let go of their stress and appreciate music. Music classes are currently very difficult because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some students are online and some students are in person. It is not as difficult to learn as a face-to-face student is but for some of the online kids, it is hard. Music classes are so different than they used to be. However, the music teachers are still making these classes a sanctuary for all high school students.
Timber Creek is lucky to have two amazing choir teachers, Mr. Roy and Ms. Leaman. They work so hard to include all students and make them feel loved. Ms. Leaman stated, “I love how our choirs have connected through the chat box in Big Blue Button.” One way the classes discuss with each other through the chat is the question of the day. Everyone types in the chat and shares their answers to the question. These questions can range from being silly, to meaningful. One of the sillier questions that chorus has done is the duck scale. Everyone has so much fun looking at the funny pictures and deciding how they are feeling today. Even though it is funny, it is still a good way for the teachers to check in on us. They can see how we are doing and try to help us if possible. We have also done questions where we “throw a rose” to someone. This means we compliment someone in the class or the class as a whole. It helps make everyone feel cared about and loved. While these questions only take about five minutes and may not always related to music, it gets the entire class participating and talking through the chat. Even though half the class is online, you can still feel the love everyone has for each other in this class.
To oblige to the COVID guidelines, chorus classes do all singing outside. After announcements and the question of the day, in person students head outside. We start by doing warm ups and then move on into the songs we are learning. The teachers put together a slide presentation that they are able to share with the online students through Big Blue Button. They take the time to put the music, and solfege we are learning on the screen. Having this presentation helps the online kids be able to understand what is going on in class better because sometimes, it can be difficult. They also do polls to check in on how everyone is doing on the things we are working on. This is a way to gage how the students are doing and to know what they need to work on without hearing them. Ms. Leaman stated, “Sometimes it gives us an extra challenge when it’s raining, or we’re trying to hear each other, or we’re trying to see vowel shape, but ultimately those are challenges we can overcome relatively easily!”
One of the biggest struggles is not being able to be together. Freshman Isabella Bedon said, “I would say the hardest thing about doing chorus online is not being able to hear the voices around you and I think that’s one of the main things I look forward to. The harmonies aren’t the same and you’re kind of just in your room singing to yourself rather than collaborating with the rest of the chorus.” This is one of the things the teachers are unable to change. However, they work so hard to include all of the online kids as much as they can. Ms. Leaman stated, “This semester we are holding in-person recordings and small chorus showcases, to get as close to a “normal” concert experience as we can while still prioritizing safety!” At the beginning of the year, we also worked on a virtual choir recording. In class, everyone learned their parts to the song. Then, they hired someone to put all of the videos together. This was the first time this year that everyone could feel like they were singing together this year. It was a really exciting moment to hear how we sounded together. It was a lot of fun to record and prepare for a virtual concert because concerts are one of the biggest things everyone missed last year.
Overall, at Timber Creek, we are very lucky to have two amazing and dedicated choir teachers. They work hard to include all students no matter where they are learning from. They focus on more than just teaching us, the focus on the well-being of everyone in the class. They understand that so many students are having a difficult time and that they are able to help us. They make choir a safe place for all students to learn, feel loved, and have fun.
