Old Town School – On The Road
Dispatches from the road from our wayfaring travelers.
Clase de Guitarra a Casa de Música
This is a guitar class at Casa de Música in México D.F. (México City). How beautiful! El Casa de Música focuses on teaching popular and traditional music of México. The focused learning that happens at this school is incredible. All the students have a basic understanding of music theory, they can all read music and they can all play by ear. But, beyond those specifics, the musical energy in the air this night was absolutely incredible.
It’s kind of hard to tell from the video, but there’s three rows of students in this class. The front row are the most advanced students. The second row is a mix and they’re playing a counterpoint to the first row. The third row is the beginners! The beginners are in the room! They’re focusing on laying down the chords and they’re contribution is an excepted part of the ensemble. What a feeling that must be! And how about the bass player in the guitar class!
It became very clear from the first class we looked in on, a class of early mariachi music, that Casa de Música attracts students and teachers who love music with a deep passion. It was great to witness this culture of support where students were very curious about what was going on in the room next door. Teacher and students were popping in and out of rooms and hallways all over the place. And so much about that was created because the way the space was set up. In addition, it was also incredible to see students and teachers interact not only as teachers and pupils, but interact as musicians. I just can’t say it enough – the air in Casa de Músic was electric with music.
You can’t quite see them in this video, but my amigos nuevo, David and Daniel are in the second row. I met them in about the first two seconds we walked in the door of la esquela. I must admit, I stereotyped them immediately. They’re about 14-years-old and there they were with their funky black baseball caps and “heavy metal” t-shirsts. I thought, “Oh. I bet these guys are studying some pretty heavy rock music. Well, that’s cool. I’m sure there’s some folk music going down, too.” David, Daniel and I hit it off right away, but the “Old Town School tour” was beginning and they had to get to class. I had a million questions so we left it saying we’d meet up again later.
How surprised was I when I entered this guitar class and there were David and Daniel playing a very beautiful piece of composed folk music and without a power chord in sight. As we travel, I continue to be impressed with the intensity, openness and studiousness they, and the rest of class, had.
David and Daniel and I talked for a long time after the class. It turns out they have two bands (one folk the other rock) and a theater group. I sure wish I would have been that together when I was 14. I wish I could see one of their productions. I bet they’re great.
Thinking about it, this story illustrates one of my favorite things about the visit to La Casa de Música. Because of the open culture of the school, it was very easy to find a way to “leave the tour” and go talk to the students. We haven’t been able to do much of that at the other schools, and I think that’s to our detriment. I understand, of coarse, that it’s important to talk to the people who put it all together and Maestro Jorge, the director of Casa de Músic, is a wealth of experience, passion and information. But I feel very luck to have met at least 15 students from age one-year to 75-years, and I feel that’s where the culture of the school truly lies. As always, the students have so much to teach the teachers.
I can’t wait until I find a way to get back to Casa de Música.
Filed under: Mexico,Notes from Jason by Jason | January 28, 2009 | Comments (4)
4 Comments so far
Classes
- Adult Classes
- Wiggleworms
- Kids' Classes
- Private Lessons
- Teen Classes
- Workshops
- Summer Camp
- New! Teen Camp
Wow! There was really a student that was one-year old! Was he/she playing an instrument, already?
That class is a really good idea…
The teacher in this video is Ramon Reyes. It turns out that he a friend of Juan Rivera who is in the Toe Trippers with me. Juan is also in Sones de México.
quisiera aprender musica de marichi