When I was only a few months into teaching IB, a friend who was a peacock proudly informed me that *her* extended essay students always gets 7s. I didn't fully understand what that meant. I'd been in the IB for a few months, so I knew 7 was the top mark, but the weight of it didn't really cause a stir. And then I started supervising extended essays and suddenly I knew the feeling. You know that feeling? Like, even though it's the kids' work, you really, really, REALLY want them to do well? 

This month, I became the preening peacock when my student got an A on her essay. I literally jumped out of bed, ran to wake up my parents (home on holidays!), and exclaimed about how proud I was. They muttered something nice... not really knowing anything about the IB... rolled over and went back to bed. Where was the falling ticker-tape? Where was the band? 

After I calmed down, then questions came. While all my extended essay students have done very well, I couldn't really understand - see - how one was deserving of a higher grade than the other. I racked my brains, trying to analyse (from my scant memories) the differences between them all. For example, a student that I thought did excellent had a lit review of good depth and good analysis, she did well. One student that I thought did okay had a very tiny lit review lacking depth but heavily in-depth analysis. And she's the one who got an A!!! So I sat and had a think.

Sometimes it takes a hammer over the head to make an idea sink in. I've always read in the guides that papers based on research will not be successful. I've always talked to the kids about ensuring their work is based on real-time analysis of physical scores or performances. However, being the APA-nut that I am, I also wanted them to provide a really, really solid base through their lit review. I've come to realise just how much emphasis is placed on the score analysis / discussion part of the paper. This student wrote a few, smallish paragraphs on why she was researching her topic and then jumped right in with analysis. 

--> I'm going into my 8th year of teaching IB and I'm still constantly learning something new. I once told my principal that my first year of teaching IB was like being back in teacher's college. I think I should amend that to, "Teaching in an IB school is like being a practicum student in a teacher's college; always thinking, learning, and improving while in a classroom setting."

And now I'm looking forward to DP Music's Musical Investigations, because now I definitely know that analysis is super important!

Uzume Taiko teaches drums using oral traditions. There's no sheet music -- there's only the oral call of the leaders that is repeated by the students until learnt.  Sure, I did rhythmic dictations in university, but that was 15 years ago and still had me notating on sheet music the rhythms I heard. This was completely different!

1. Kodaly Be Gone!
You know those lovely Kodaly rhythms? When you sing them, you can automatically play them because each rhythm sung relates to a rhythm duration. Not so with Taiko drumming. Here, the sung syllables refer to how hard you are supposed to hit the drums. Very hard strikes are called 'Don.'  Two very soft strikes are called 'Tsuku.' So when you hear the caller singing the syllables, get it out of your heads that you are being told the rhythms!

2. Feel the rhythms and stop thinking about them!
We know that 'Don' is a loud strike and two very soft strikes are called 'Tsuku." Now, two loud strikes are called 'Doro.'  So a caller could yell, "Don tsuku Don Doro!" and this would result in:

See? It's the exact same rhythm, but played differently according to how the caller speaks. So you can't try to cheat and think, "Right... all eighth notes are Tsuku," because they aren't. (sigh...)

3. Think about the exact opposites. 
There are times in life when you just have to unlearn what you know. Hands are cupped in piano, but closed on the harp. Hands are high, V-shaped, and fluid on the snare drum, but held like straight clubs on the Taiko drums. I literally spent the first three days trying to train myself not to hold the drum sticks like a concert drummer. It was only on the fourth day when the instructor started to feel calmer about my sound quality and sticking techniques.

4. All dance moves are prepared.
Yes. Dance moves. I asked my instructor what the difference was between Chinese and Japanese drumming and she told me it essentially came down to the dance moves. Each movement setups up the next.  For example, if you have 'Don Don,' with alternating sticks, then your right hand has to be straight at 45 degrees while your left hand has to be 90 degrees beside your ear. The best advice I can give you is to watch the tapes at 15% speed and to really analyse how they are setting up each individual dance step.

How to Succeed: 
- let go of your inhibitions
- unlearn what you know
- FEEL the beats wash over you
- let your kinetic / muscle memory take over

Kids love Taiko Drumming.  Uzume told me they regularly do workshops in schools, and even bring all their own drums. So if you are interested in this really cool activity, please visit Uzume Taiko for more information. 

The countdown has begun! On August 7th, I will officially begin teaching the new MYP and DP Music, both for the very first time. I've read both guides, with highlighting and note-taking. Then I took a break from both guides, and then read them again. It's amazing how fresh and interesting they are when you go back through the second time around, or even the third or fourth.


1st Time: "Hey, this doesn't look too different. They've cut out the behaviour mark and have added creative thinking."

2nd Time: "How the heck are we supposed to decide a skills-based curriculum that has incremental skills, raising in difficulty, and yet allows success for students entering each year, even when they have absolutely no skills in music?"

---> In the meantime, I headed off to the OCC to watch their handy videos on how assessment works in MYP Arts. Highly recommended watching! Short, concise, and filled with good examples.

3rd Time: "Wait a minute... I think I like this... it's heavily skills-based, which I love, and yet there's an entire criterion dedicated to creative thinking!"

I haven't done any training yet, but at the moment, "Yes sir, I think I like it!" (10 points for anyone who knows that pop culture!)