(upbeat music) - [Hosts] This is "In Tune."

(upbeat music) (whoosh sound) - We were both introduced to music at a young age.

- Yeah, I got my first accordion I was only 14 years old.

But music and performing became my life.

- And I grew up singing in church with my mom and I fell in love with singing and performing.

- Oh my goodness.

So that is why as we discuss musical instrument families, brass, woodwinds, strings, percussion, we're going to share personal stories like these.

All right, so Mitch, which one of these awesome instruments did you start playing first?

- Well, my first instrument was saxophone.

- Well, when I was 16, I hurt my leg on the first day of summer and I couldn't walk for the entire summer.

- [Bearded Host] Ouch.

- So I sat and learned to play guitar.

- Bob Young, what is your job as the drummer?

What do you do?

- My job, I create all the rhythms and keep the steady tempo for the band.

- When I look over at you, I see you going, it looks like you're blowing into it.

(bearded host blows) Is that how it works?

- It is, but you also need to create vibration and you do that by using your lips and you go like this.

(creates vibration with lips) - We wanna provide students with relatable narratives and encourage them to pick up instruments for themselves.

- Hello, my name is Jack and I play the trumpet.

I like playing in an ensemble because as a only child homeschool student, you know, you just wanna work with other people.

You wanna make music together with other people.

- I play in my school's marching band and it's just so much fun.

Like, just learning all of the songs and learning all the movements, it's so much fun.

I don't know, I just love it.

- I like playing inside the ensemble because it is fun.

You make a lot of friends while you're there.

(whoosh sound) - We're not the only ones with stories like these though, folks.

Chances are you have 'em, too, and we wanna hear from educators like you.

All right, so we're back with Mrs. P and we're talking about stories today.

So I thought we could get your story as an example of a story that these teachers can share with their kids.

Why do you teach music?

- I teach music because I love music and it's been such a big part of my life.

- All right, so you love music enough that you became a music teacher, the music teacher in our area.

What made this love of music happen?

How old were you when that started happening?

Just gimme the whole experience, Sam.

Gimme a whole experience as an example of an experience that you could share with your classroom.

All right.

- When I was nine, I started playing the piano and then later on I learned to play the clarinet and I followed my sister.

She played the flute, as well, and she played in the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony.

And I had so many musical experiences growing up, listening to musicals, going to shows, and I really loved it and latched onto it.

I had a lot of other activities I could have done, but I chose to pursue music.

- Yeah.

- I had wonderful role models as my music teachers in high school and middle school and chose to pursue it and when I went to college, I knew I wanted to be a teacher and then I realized, wow, I could teach music and share my love of music with my students for the rest of my life.

- Oh my goodness.

So you remember musical experiences from age nine to now.

What's middle school?

- We had grades six through eight.

I did band in middle school and I really learned so much and I took private lessons because it was something that I enjoyed so much, I wanted to continue on outside of the classroom.

So it really was something that was a defining point in my life when I found something I truly, truly loved.

- All right.

What about high school?

You did marching band.

What'd you do?

- So I did the marching band, and outside of school, I did the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, which was just a huge part of my life then, and really helped me develop into a better musician and a better person.

And it gave me some leadership opportunities and I was able to just really develop my love of music and really take some classes to further my understanding because it was just something that I knew I was going to do for the rest of my life.

- So you've given me so many great examples of musical experiences because music has been a big part of your life.

What would you tell a teacher who maybe hasn't been in band their whole life, or isn't a music teacher?

They still have music experiences, right?

I mean, almost all of us do.

What is some advice or examples you could offer in that area?

- The best thing is to share your experience.

Share your story.

Share what you love most about music.

What is your favorite genre to listen to?

What has brought you joy in your life when it comes to music?

Because that's how we make connections with our students, is sharing what we love with them.

I think it's really important to be personal and bring that to them and have some history and share that history with them.

- Just like Mrs. P told us, you guys can totally share your stories.

- What is your story?

What kind of music do you like and how does it make you feel?

- You can tell us all about it and you can be part of "In Tune."

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