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The Rhythm of Successful Teaching is about a music teacher, Larry D. Allen, and his journey of spiritual growth in the classroom which began in 1969 and continues into the 21st century. As a professional musician and music educator, Mr. Allen's career spanned all grade levels from pre-school through graduate school. Over one million students annually are influenced by music teachers participating in this annual educational extravaganza held at the following colleges and universities: The Hartt School, Central Connecticut State University, VanderCook College of Music, Duquesne University, and Villanova University.

The focus of this book is that successful teaching requires three main components: passion, patience, and peace. Teachers need to find their internal motivation to be in touch with this part of their being to bring success into their classrooms on a daily basis. Life provides many excellent teachers too many distractions which often result in a change of career or the wrong mental attitude prior to entering the classroom each day.

One of the highest professional callings in life is the profession of teaching. All of our great performers had great teachers that guided them to reach their maximum potential. It is the great teachers, not the great performers, that continue to nurture and provide the foundation for the next generation of performers. Great teachers have learned to bury their ego to find success. The definition of success for great teachers begins with giving away all you know to others and knowing that this giving will be returned to you many times over. Some call this good karma while others call it the highest example of love.

The most powerful language on the planet is music. It is the only universal language. Music is designed to unite and bring together individuals regardless of their diversities in life. Music in its most natural form can reach out and bond diverse souls on the planet as one. Shakespeare knew the power of music and added incidental music to many of his plays. Martin Luther also knew the power of music and began one of the largest religious revivals known to mankind based on the power of many people joining in song as one voice.

Excerpted:

PASSION

Knowing and Reading

     Have you ever entered a school music room and observed a rehearsal of a band or orchestra? The first thing you notice in the room is a sea of black music stands that are carefully sprinkled throughout the room like a checker board. When students enter the room for the rehearsal, they all know that all stands are not equal. They rush to retrieve their favorite stand to share with their partner for the day's rehearsal. Once retrieved, the stand becomes the single most important thing in the rehearsal. Each student is aware that only with the music stand in clear site will they be successful.

     The conductor steps up to the podium. The students quickly change their demeanor from confusion to focus. The conductor lifts his arms for the downbeat, and every student stares down the music on the stand as if their very life depended on it. From a musical viewpoint their life does depend on their ability to read the language of music that is printed on each sheet of music being held triumphantly by the music stand. The conductors arms come down and the students begin their rehearsal.

     In an academic classroom the music stand is the desk and the sheets of music are the textbooks and workbooks. As with the music rehearsal, the classroom work is dependent on the printed word, the daily assignments, the projects, and the weekly tests. For the most part the students are trying to please the teacher, achieve the highest grade possible, and graduate to the next class. For most teachers and students the reading, the writing, and the computing is the beginning, middle and end of the learning process with the main theme being that wonderful grade at the end of the rainbow that brings showering gifts of applause, pats-on-the-back, hugs,and gifts of all kinds from all family members back home.

     How often have we experienced this scenario in our school memories? Generation after generation go through the same sequence of events from pre-school through their highest college degree earned. However, is just reading the material on the music stand for a 30-minute concert the source or the goal of learning? Is the desired achievement grade the major focus of each class during each grading period?

     When a student begins a musical instrument, there has been prior discussion at home regarding the importance of practicing every day, being self-disciplined, and choosing the correct instrument for success. All this is important and all is true, but the major source of success for each beginning students is the joy of playing their instrument of choice, Their instrument must be like their best friend. Each student must first want to spend time with their instrument beyond any requirement or consequence if you do not practice daily.

     When each student enters the music room for their first lesson with their new instrument, they are presented with a music stand. They place their music book on the stand and proceed to read the music. This is a good thing, but it is not the main thing for music learning. A student is reading, the student is reading. If the student is interested in knowing, the student has to go beyond just reading note after note in the prescribed music book that is sitting on the music stand.

     If you observe a beginning group of student musicians learning to perform their book one material, you hear interesting versions of your all time favorite tunes including: "Hot Cross Buns," Twinkle, Twinkle," and "Lightly Row" just to name a few chart stompers. However, when the conductor asks the class to turn their music stands around where students cannot see the written print, the students first show a sign of panic. Things feel very uncomfortable. What is the conductor going to do now? "I hope we do not have to play by memory," whispers one flutist to an oboist.

     "Now, let's see how well we know the music," the conductor states with a twinkle in his eye. Who remembers the first note? There is an immediate uncomfortable shuffle in the room. Finally, one courageous clarinetist in the class raises her hand with the correct answer as does a flutist, an oboist, and a saxophonist. "How many notes are there in the tune, "Hot Cross Buns." There are lots of hands going up with the answer of 'just three notes." "Excellent," says the conductor. "Is this an easy tune to play or a difficult tune to play," the conductors bellows. All students unanimously agree that this is an easy to play.

     At this point the tension is out of the room. The conductor invites the students to pick up their instrument with good sitting posture and to fingering the notes while singing the tune. He calls this "air flute" or "air clarinet, or "air saxophone." The conductor gives the downbeat and every student is singing "Hot Cross Buns" while finger their respective instruments. The angelic voices are a terrific sound.

     "How long have you each been listening to music and sounding your voices?" the conductor states. There is silence. Then one students says, "all of our lives." "That's correct," the conductor replies. "How long have you been playing your beginning instruments?" One students quickly says, "this is our first day."

     The conductor makes the point that each student in the class has been listening and sounding music with their voices their entire lifetime, but that as beginning instrumentalists they have played only one day. The conductor asks the class, "Is the key to success in music reading the notes or listening to the sound of the notes?" After some discussion the class begins to understand. Reading is reading, but knowing requires listening.