Music is a big part of our lives. It is universal and something everyone enjoys from every culture. People can be brought together in a powerful collective experience through music–an experience that can induce spontaneous movement and dance.

The Lincoln-Way West music department continues to motivate and encourage students to learn more about music in various learning ways during our adaptive pause.

In a day of band class, the students spend time by themselves practicing their concert music. The band directors, Mr. Ruklic and Mr. Barnish, share videos with the students about different kinds of music. From watching professional bands performing to TED talks about give and take, it is important during quarantine to motivate and remind students about what we’re working towards for ourselves and others.

In Mrs. Jackson’s orchestra class, the students are currently working on chamber music. Their latest project was to record a duet of themselves performing two parts and put them together. This prepares the students for when they must practice their chamber music with their classmates. There is a similar approach with guitar, choir, and piano class. Students will warm up together and either go into “sectionals” (via WebEx breakout rooms) to work on group music or have their own individual room to work on solo pieces.

All the music classes are expanding knowledge of music theory. Understanding theory can aid in one’s ability to perform more complex music, especially on instruments that seem to demand a background in theory.

Although this may have been quite the anticlimactic semester for the music department, teachers are inspiring and keeping up hope for students. Music contains within itself infinite possibilities, so it is like an always expanding universe with mystical like qualities. Music inspires us.