Don’t forget to leave a comment here.  If you do forget, the world will end.  Leave a comment at this post in order to be entered to win a free month’s subscription to PianoMorning.com!  Go do it now!  This post will still be here when you get back!

There’s one thing you should know about me.  I do not like to play sports.  I will attend a sporting event only if it’s free or very very very cheap.  You will never ever ever ever catch me watching a sporting event on TV.  (OK, that was technically 3 things.)

Curiously enough, however, I LOVE sports movies.  I don’t know if it’s the triumph over adversity, the teams pulling together, or the feel good music combined with cheering and chanting, but I can always go for a good sports movie.

Recently, I watched Gridiron Gang with my husband.  Have you seen it?

Just when and where is this going to relate to music teaching, you ask?  Soon, I promise.  Stay with me!

Gridiron Gang is a true story about a juvenile detention center warden who decided to use football as a tool to keep his teenage prisoners from returning to the streets upon release from jail.  He miraculously got the approval of his superiors, and even more miraculously, found a high school league that would allow his team of criminals to compete.  Ultimately, he was successful in helping keep kids off the street after jail.  Some did return, but the majority went to school and got jobs and scholarships.

There is a scene in the movie which reminds me of piano teaching.  The coach, played by The Rock, comes out to practice in full football gear.  He looks ridiculous, as the uniform he is wearing is the same size as what the boys wear.  The players and other coaches stare at him and start to laugh, wondering out loud just what the heck (that’s a much more mild way to put it) their coach is doing in a too-small uniform.

He heads straight for one certain player.  This particular player is afraid to get hit.  Consequently, he gets tackled way too easily and way too often, costing the team valuable points.  He has the potential to be a star, but he can’t get over his fear of being hit.

The coach sets himself up in a defensive stance and tells the player to come at him and knock him down.  (Have you seen how big The Rock is?)  The kid, of course, is scared.  The coach tells him he has potential to be great, but he must overcome this obstacle and move forward.   After several attempts, the kid finally knocks The Rock flat on his back.  He is proud, but more importantly, he has overcome his fear and is a better player because of it.

How does this relate to music teaching?  Sometimes we ask our students to do really ridiculous and incredibly challenging things.  But we KNOW what our students need.  We KNOW that this really ridiculous exercise is going to improve some type of technique to make our students stronger players.  Sometimes the parents watch us and wonder what the heck we are asking their kids to do.  But we KNOW how to reach those kids because we are their teachers.  We are musicians.  And we understand that proper fundamentals are the only way to get the desired result- and sometimes we have to get a little ridiculous to teach those fundamentals.

I once donned martian antenna for a “Space Day” to get my students excited about learning and remembering space notes.  I often send my students home with really awful sounding warmups that cause parents to question if their children are truly practicing right.

What have you done to make a point?  When have you started something that seemed so backwards to your student, but ended up being just what that student needed?