Teaching artist visits, a central component of our Silk Road Connect program, got off to a great start last month when Sandeep Das, a long-time member of the Silk Road Ensemble and tabla player extraordinaire, traveled from India to visit each of our four pilot schools in New York City.
Sandeep began his visits by asking what the class expected, then
making a startling pronouncement. "I'm not here to teach you about the
tabla," he said. "I'm here to make new friends." Sandeep was as interested in what
music the students love as they were in what he played, and everyone asked asked a lot of questions. But first, some music: the rela
pattern, which mimics the sound of a train. The students' eyes grew
wide at the speed of the drumming, small fingers tapping against knees
in an attempt to keep up. "Did you feel happy when I played?" he asked.
"That's because I enjoyed it."
Sandeep showed them how to
tune the tabla (with straps and blocks on the sides of the drums) and
how talcum powder keeps the skin on his palms from abrading when he
sweats. He also talked about some of his loves: the smell of new drums,
visiting friends, Manhattan. ("Delhi is crowded, like Times Square.") When
he was a student, he told them, he was often in trouble for tapping on
books, on desks, on his friends' heads, until his father took him to
meet his tabla teacher.
Some kids asked about India, others
about the choices Sandeep had made in his musical career. ("What other
instrument would you play if you didn't play tabla?" "What if you didn't
want to practice?") Most classes had at least one young musician ready
to stand up and sing along, with a little coaching, while Sandeep
played.
One of the most important roles of the teaching artist
program is introducing students to professional musicians and artists.
As part of the pilot program, lessons are developed for use before
and after teaching artist visits to connect these encounters with the
existing curriculum. Students responded well to this first visit.
"When Sandeep came he didn't bring himself and some tablas, he brought
music
and Indian culture," one reported. Another thanked him for
teaching him not to be afraid to go onstage and to take pride in being
good at something. A third wrote to him, "Sandeep, you taught me that
with practice and motivation you could do anything. You also taught me
never to give up.... You have the quickest hands in the world!" |