Community Engagement

In my Career Planning Class at Cal State LA, we were recently assigned a Community Engagement Project, wherein we engage with a nonprofit music organization and share our artistic talents with the object of "giving back". In fulfillment of this project I engaged with the nonprofit organization Saturday Music Conservatory (SMC), which first got its start at Cal State LA and is now celebrating fifty two years of providing musical instruction to middle-to-high school music students in the San Gabriel Valley, many that are from low-income families.

On Saturday, November 16, 2019, I provided a low brass coaching session at SMC. My lone student was nine-year-old Kyle, a fledgling trombonist who, soaking wet, and with his horn, I don't think weighs 80 lbs. The first thing I found upon inspection of his horn was that the slide was in dreadful need of cleaning and an application of fresh slide cream. I cleaned Kyle's slide, took a look inside it and recommended he have his mom pick up a trombone care kit and that he clean his horn thoroughly when he gets home, and gave him a spare tube I had of Trombotine slide cream. 

Kyle was having difficulty playing above F in the staff (Bass Clef), and his tone was not so great. So, we started with the basics-- buzzing on the mouthpiece. By working to produce different pitches together, we got Kyle's embouchure a little more strengthened. 

Next, we discussed the importance of tone quality and how we improve that with long tones. 

Kyle gradually could sustain a pitch up to eight seconds. When he started he was at four. 

I played a four-octave pentatonic scale to demonstrate the range of the trombone, which I think Kyle found quite impressive. 

And I showed Kyle the trick to attain a b-natural in seventh position, and was impressed at how well he was learning and absorbing all that I had to offer him. 

What will remain in my memory of young Kyle was his positive and cheerful attitude, his willingness to learn, his heroic efforts at playing and his squinted-shut, screwed up face as he struggled with all his might to play. Next time I should share with Kyle the importance of relaxing while playing. 

I hope that Kyle enjoyed his session with me half as much as I did working with him, and I wish Kyle all the joy that becoming a fine trombone player can bring him, a feeling I trust he will experience soon.