John McCutcheon at Beaufort Elementary School
Wikipedia defines a master class as “a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline.” By that definition, a master class is exactly what John McCutcheon gave to Amanda Trimpey’s Music students at Beaufort Middle School on the Monday morning following his wonderful performance here on Fripp.
Describing their history and evolution and demonstrating how they are played, John introduced the 8th graders to instruments that they had never before heard of, much less heard (the hammer dulcimer and Jew’s harp, for example) and showed them some basic methods of learning to play chords on instruments more familiar to them (the guitar and banjo, for example). Interspersed throughout, he delighted the youngsters with stories about his first encounters with various instruments. At his suggestion, we video recorded the session and provided Amanda with the recording to use with all of her students.
Since other teachers were preparing their students for upcoming statewide testing, John interacted with just this one class. More pedagogy than performance, this was the ideal experience for Amanda’s dozen or so General Music students. As with all of our Music-in-the-Schools events, it is your support that made this one possible. As always, thank you!
Describing their history and evolution and demonstrating how they are played, John introduced the 8th graders to instruments that they had never before heard of, much less heard (the hammer dulcimer and Jew’s harp, for example) and showed them some basic methods of learning to play chords on instruments more familiar to them (the guitar and banjo, for example). Interspersed throughout, he delighted the youngsters with stories about his first encounters with various instruments. At his suggestion, we video recorded the session and provided Amanda with the recording to use with all of her students.
Since other teachers were preparing their students for upcoming statewide testing, John interacted with just this one class. More pedagogy than performance, this was the ideal experience for Amanda’s dozen or so General Music students. As with all of our Music-in-the-Schools events, it is your support that made this one possible. As always, thank you!