Field Notes from Meet the Instruments

by Danielle Strader

Hi! I’m Danielle, the intern at Bloomingdale this late summer and fall!

You may have seen me scurrying around with a camera or typing away in the office, and you may have read snippets of my handiwork on the BSM social media, but apart from helping out with various administrative tasks, I’m here for one main purpose: to learn everything I can about running an amazing, impactful arts organization.

As far as I’m concerned, that starts with experiencing the programming, and this summer, I got to do just that during Meet the Instruments, a week-long morning program introducing children ages 4 to 6 to an astounding variety of musical instruments.

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When I walked into the concert hall the first day, I couldn’t help but appreciate how prepared Patti Onorato (the program’s creator and leader) was to welcome every child. The walls and whiteboard were covered with cutouts of musical instruments, named and organized by family. The twelve children’s names marked colorful carpet spaces and the chairs that held their labeled bags and folders. Best of all, Patti already knew each child by name, greeting them and their families at the door with a beaming smile.

Every day began with a welcome song. Accompanied by Bloomingdale early childhood faculty Allie Altieri at the piano or on ukulele, the children found partners and greeted them with a wave, a boogie, and a lyrical proclamation that today would be “a marvelous day” (as it turned out, they all were). Throughout the week, the welcome song evolved into a circular formation, with everyone switching partners after each refrain.

Next, Allie lead a singalong with a picture book illustrating the lyrics of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” Soon, the children were learning how to play xylophones and glockenspiels while they sang—there was an instrument for everybody, with different colors marking the keys and sheet music showing which colors to play and when.

After all the instruments and mallets were collected, we went upstairs to have a snack. During snack time, Patti and Allie played songs on the ukulele (with occasional vocal harmonies). The unanimous favorite was their rendition of “Down by the Bay,” complete with cutouts of pigs wearing wigs and other silly events from the song. The children loved to call out their own rhymes for each verse (such as “Have you ever seen a trumpet eating tea and crumpets?”), raising their hands and squirming in their seats to provide new lyrics.

The next event was always an introduction to an instrument. A different Bloomingdale faculty member came in each day to teach about his or her instrument (piano, violin, clarinet, cello, and trumpet). This began with an introduction to the parts of each instrument and instructions on how to hold it in resting position (often with a song), but the fun really began when the children got to try playing the different instruments.

Throughout the week, I got to watch the faculty at their best and most enthusiastic, grinning ear to ear with the delight of sharing their passion with children who were curious, eager, and full of boundless possibility. Some of the children had obvious interests in certain instruments over others, but some surprised us with unexpected affinities. There is something simply unforgettable about the look on a child’s face when he blows into a trumpet mouthpiece and hears sound burst out of it for the very first time—even though he had been hesitant to even try.

This was the first time I was able to really watch the Bloomingdale faculty teach, and my already substantial admiration for this organization skyrocketed. Not only a few of the faculty members glowed with unsuppressed joy while they taught, but every single one of them—and their students mirrored that excitement with bright smiles and earnest determination.

But their busy days did not end there! The last activity varied daily. Some days, the children previewed the instruments they would try the next day, learning with cardboard “box violins” and “box cellos.” One day, technicolored tissue paper exploded onto the scene when they made their own percussion instruments (tin can shakers filled with beans and covered in paper mache and stickers). They also tried their hands at playing the recorder—each child received an instrument of their own, which they brought home at the end of the week.

The children’s musical exploration this fun-filled week was impressively comprehensive. They took turns testing woodwind mouthpieces and guessing what note was being played. They plucked strings and tried bowing on the violin and cello. They listened to songs played on each instrument and heard silly animal impressions performed on a trumpet. They even learned to sing and play songs themselves, which they would perform in a concert on Friday in small ensembles or as solos, depending on which instruments they favored.

During Meet the Instruments week, every child (with unique ways of learning and expressing) was cared for all the time. If someone forgot to pack a snack, one was provided. There were two counselors (I was one of these) whose role it was to be attentive to the children, their needs, their frustrations, and their successes. For every three children, then, there was someone there to assist, to educate, to comfort, to encourage, and, best of all, to celebrate with them the joys of discovery and accomplishment.

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Friday’s concert brought plenty of reasons to celebrate. Everyone performed beautifully for their families. We sang and danced the welcome song, coordinated circular partner-switching and all. The young pianists sat with their feet dangling from the bench, all alone in front of a crowd of people, and played their song with admirable confidence—impressive for anyone demonstrating a brand-new skill—and some of them even gave big, emphatic bows worthy of the likes of Yuja Wang! The violinists and cellists plucked their strings in unison, to thunderous applause! The glorious hooting of recorders filled the room, and then the jubilant rendition of “This Land is Your Land,” complete with a big finish, closed out the concert.

The children all received certificates signifying their completion of Meet the Instruments, which they tucked into their folders with pride, and rejoined their parents.

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As the families left Bloomingdale for the last time that week, expressing their appreciation for Patti’s hard work, I found myself filled with gratitude, too. What an honor it was to get to know these amazing children, and what a privilege to witness their earliest discoveries of what it is to make music! How amazing it was to learn their interests, their humor, their curiosity, their enormous personalities, and to be a part of their journeys!

Every musician knows how challenging learning to play an instrument can be and how much gumption and perseverance is required throughout that process—especially at the beginning when playing a single note can seem like a herculean feat. Yet this group of children, fostered by the most enthusiastic mentors, tackled the daunting task of trying something new again and again over the course of the week with wide-eyed wonder and unreserved delight.

That week, I learned so much from Patti and Allie about early childhood programming and education and about how to cultivate in young musicians a spirit of playfulness and experimentation as they learn to express themselves in new ways. But I also learned from the children as I watched them learn. While I work as an intern, in a role that entails constant learning and plenty of new challenges, I hope to be more like these incredible young musicians—trying new things boldly and finding as much joy as possible in the pursuit of a challenge.

Written by Danielle Strader, Bloomingdale School of Music