Teaching Piano in Guatemala Summer 2013

Synopsis by Debra Hadfield, NCTM

            For Christmas 2012, my husband, Eugene, and I traveled with an archaeologist and his wife to Guatemala to celebrate the New Era of the Mayan Calendar with the indigenous Mayans. On the Sunday prior to Christmas, we attended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church. The congregation had one piano player, and she was in the United States, which she visits often, so my husband volunteered for me to play the piano for the church services. During the first speaker’s talk, a woman in the congregation walked up to the piano where I sat and asked in Spanish if I would accompany the children while they sang three songs for the program. It was the first time the children had sung the songs with piano accompaniment.

            I learned from the 16-year old chorister that she took lessons for a year, and the teacher never taught the names of the keys, never used any book or handouts; instead, she demonstrated simple right-hand melodies and had the student mimic. 

            So spontaneously after the meeting, when I tentatively mentioned the idea to my husband that we return in July to teach piano lessons, he said he thought it was a great idea.  So I asked a church leader if I came to Guatemala to teach lessons, would it be a possibility to use the building, and he said absolutely, and encouraged me to come.

            I mentioned the idea to John Mann, who was friends with our traveling hosts, and had graciously invited us to stay at his home during the week of Christmas. When he learned that we would like to return to teach piano, he enthusiastically offered his home to us and to any student teachers for the duration of the program, and to help make arrangements for our teaching experience. He had two strong recommendations: 1. That we teach in Ciudad Vieja at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and 2. That we commit to teach three consecutive summers.

            It never occurred to me this would become the most challenging experience of my life. After all, teaching piano is what I do. In June, I was honored as the 2013 Texas Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year. I currently serve as president of the Texas Music Teachers Association. I’ve taught private and group piano classes for 40 years. How difficult could it be to teach beginner group classes?

            Besides, several adults assured me that Spanish would not be a challenge since “the children and teenagers all learn English in school.” It’s true that some of them do – for about half-an-hour each week. The reality is I had to teach the students in Spanish; they did not respond to my English, and never spoke English to me.

            One of the most emotional challenges was saying goodbye to my three dogs.

The plan was for Lucky, our Cocker Spaniel, to stay with our son, Evan, in Austin, while Sport and Chip, our Shih Tzus, would go with us to Guatemala. I hoped petting the dogs could be a reward for the students practicing well.

            Though I called the airline and asked for detailed information, no one informed me until just a few days before I left that I needed documents from the Guatemalan Embassy and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and that ten days before my return, I would have to do the same all over again in Guatemala. I learned that just before boarding your plane to return, you may be told that your dogs have new bacteria, and they must be quarantined in Guatemala for 4 to 6 weeks.

            So all three dogs went to stay with Evan. He reported that Neva, his Golden Retriever, and my three dogs all wanted to sleep on his bed, so nighttime was a “bit cuddly.”

            Megan Moncrief, an 11^th grader, was my team teacher for the five weeks. She has been my piano student since kindergarten, so she understands my teaching methods. Megan performed Fur Elise by Beethoven for the students as an example of what they might be able to do if they practice every day for four years.

            My husband went to Guatemala to help us get started, then returned to Texas after the first three weeks.  On Saturday, June 29, Eugene, Megan, and I arrived in Guatemala after 8 p.m.  John Mann, our host, and his house manager, Esperanza, picked us up at the Guatemala City airport and drove us immediately to a Walmart just before closing time for teaching supplies.

            John Mann helped in many ways. He worked with the LDS bishop of Ciudad Vieja and the LDS stake president to register students. He frequently drove us to the church where we taught, and made sure we had a lunch delivered each day.

            John welcomed us to his beautiful home. Esperanza and her three teenage children served meals. Our dinner conversations were never dull as John has traveled the world and had many adventures.

            Before leaving Texas, I was informed that we had 15 to 20 students registered for lessons.  But during the first week of lessons, we had 90 different people take at least a couple of classes. It was a vacation week from school; some came the first week knowing they could not come the remaining four weeks. Others would like to have continued, but could not afford the bus fees. So the last three weeks, we had 50 regularly attending students, and only two of those did not continue to the end.

            We divided the students into six classes, based on ages and when they could attend.  I had expected more children to register, but the adults outnumbered the children. Each class attended daily, Monday through Thursday, for five weeks. The 12 children in the youngest class, ages four to seven years, would have been regular piano students if we had more keyboards and instructors. Instead, they met upstairs during the same time as their parents had class on the main floor, and Megan and my husband taught them using paper keyboards, small dry-erase boards, and rhythm instruments. At their recital, the children sang some songs in English and others in Spanish while their parents performed on the keyboards.

            Metroplex Piano Warehouse in Dallas donated two full-size keyboards. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated smaller Casio keyboards. So the students could practice at home, we gave them short paper keyboards, made by taping together two 8 ½”  by 11” cardstock pages. When we passed these out, we received hugs and tears of gratitude. Many of the students actually practiced on these every day.

            The church had an old piano. It was terribly out of tune, and though there was talk of getting it tuned, no one tuned it while we were there. Tuning it would be a challenge because the hammers of the keys are held together with small plastic zip ties. We made the best of the situation; If I played the piano loudly, the students playing the keyboards could stay together because it was easy to tell the piano from the keyboards since it was so out of tune.

            We had some beginning piano books donated to us by the Novus Via Music Group, with compositions by Christopher Norton and edited by Dr. Scott McBride Smith. These remained at the church for students to share.

            I made posters to teach other songs. We printed pages from the Spanish edition of the Elementary Course of Music published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is also available at no cost online.

            The first week we worked without headphones.  That will never happen again! During the weekend, we drove the hour-long trip to Guatemala City to buy headphones. Students sharing a keyboard could still hear each other practicing, but the teaching environment improved dramatically!

            During the five weeks, we gave the students the first three levels of the Texas Music Teachers Association Theory Tests. One adult class completed the Level Four Test. This was quite an accomplishment considering that in Texas one level is given per grade level, so Texas students take only one test each year.

            I thought my class of elementary-school students were overly sober for children, and wondered if some of them ever laughed. So I was truly surprised when they were taking a written theory test, and I made a request that I always make of my Texas students: “Keep your eyes on your own papers, please!” Instantly, the students all burst into laughter, and they couldn’t stop. They weren’t being disrespectful; they’d just never received such an instruction before.

            This same class of young students enjoyed playing in the small parking lot beside the church prior to their class, which followed an adult group. The adults didn’t want to quit until the children arrived, and the children didn’t come into the church until they saw the adults leaving. One day the children didn’t get started until halfway through the class time.

            I told them it was very important that they arrive on time, that they should come in and stand behind the adults so the adults would be willing to let the children sit down and begin on time. The children looked at me somberly with wide eyes. Then I looked at their wrists. No one had a watch. Of course, unlike my Texas students, no one had a cell phone, either. The next day the children came straight from school, arriving an hour early. After that, Megan went outside to tell the children when it was time for class.

            It was obvious that only a few students could have paid for lessons, books, or supplies. Several students skipped lunch to help defray the cost of riding buses an hour each way to get to and from the classes.

            Several of the older adult students had not been in a classroom since leaving elementary school. Jorge Garcia Colindres left school after first grade when his mother died. He became the cook and housekeeper for his younger brothers and sisters. The piano class was his first classroom experience since first grade. He never had learned the alphabet, though he taught himself to read. At first, these older students had a challenge just lifting individual fingers, but at the end of the five weeks, all of them performed a hymn in a recital.

            Saul, an intelligent 14-year-old, was one of the students who quit coming to class. He came the morning of July 15, eager to choose the hymn for his recital solo. He also wanted to play an easy version of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer for the recital.

            Saul was the most promising teenage student in all the classes, eager to learn and highly motivated. He spoke only a few words of English. One day I thought he was asking for my email, so I gave him a business card. He looked confused, and went to another student who spoke English. Saul didn’t want my email – he was asking to borrow my hymnal. He wanted to play from the regular hymnal, even though he’d only had two weeks of lessons.

            Saul was the student I thought was the most likely to first fulfill my dream of someone to play for church. He also said he could practice at the church because his dad had keys to get in to clean the building. But after July 15, Saul never came again. I learned Saul’s family sent him to a farm far away to work to earn money for the family. This is not uncommon; feeding a family comes before education. I often wonder what Saul is thinking when he gets up at dawn to work until dark. Does he play the few piano pieces he learned in his mind? I cannot accept that this intelligent, young man will not get any more schooling.

            Adaly Marroquin, a mother of two young children, walked out of the church on the first day of classes because her children were getting into teaching supplies and running around the classroom. She was walking home when John Mann passed her with his van, stopped and asked her is she really wanted to pass up an opportunity that could change her life and the lives of her children.  He brought her back to the church, where her children continued to be active children, yet she never missed a day of class. Sometimes when her daughter became extremely restless, Megan picked Nicole up and dangled her by holding just her feet for a few minutes while the child giggled.

            When it was time to choose pieces for the recitals, Adaly wanted to play Divina Luz from the regular hymnal. I encouraged her to choose a hymn from the beginning course. When she insisted she could learn from the hymnal, I let her practice, thinking she’d be discouraged quickly and would choose an easier hymn.

            The next day she showed up with her pocket-size hymnal with each note of Divina Luz labeled by letter. The small hymnal would not stay open, so holding it open with her left hand, her toddler son in her left arm, and her three-year-old standing on the back of her chair, she practiced with her right hand. I still didn’t think she’d continue, but the following day she had practiced on her paper keyboard at home and had memorized most of the melody line of the hymn. I finally gave her my full-sized Spanish hymnal so she could practice with both hands.

            Though she doesn’t speak any English, Adaly helped me plan how the keyboards could be distributed to homes so every student would have access to a keyboard for practicing. She is now visiting the homes of all the students in Ciudad Vieja once each week - walking, because she has no vehicle – to answer questions the students may have in finishing their beginning hymn course books.

            During the third week, each student chose a hymn to play in a recital at the end of the five weeks. Some of them played the melody with one or two hands. Others played a simple accompaniment along with the right-hand melody. Each recital began with the students performing some songs as a group, followed by each student performing a hymn first as a solo, and then accompanying the audience singing the verses of the hymn. Since there were so many students, we divided them into four recitals.

            Every student showed up to perform in the recitals except one girl who had to finish some homework at school. However, none of the recitals started on time. The recital for eight children ages 8 to 12 years was scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m., but no one showed up except several adults who had performed in an earlier recital and stayed to be audience members.

            It started raining. Knowing all the children had walked to their class each day, I wondered if the rain would stop them. Finally, at 5:15, I went outside in the rain to see if they were coming. I looked up the hill, and here came the three Sanchez children, dressed in their Sunday clothes, and clutching their piano books close to keep them dry in the rain. Delwin Sanchez wore a white pair of cotton gloves to keep his hands warm before the performance. He said he wanted to be like Mozart.

            By 5:30 p.m., the performers had arrived, but not their parents. The children said their parents were working, but would try to make it. So we played our program, and by the time we finished we had an audience, so we performed the entire program again.

            While in Ciudad Vieja, I played the piano on Sundays. On the last Sunday, while I played the prelude, two young boys stood on tiptoes to peer into the old piano to watch the hammers hit the strings. I had grown more confident about opening the hymnal to the posted page and starting to play, not at all certain if the hymn was one I’d ever played before. Some hymns in the Spanish hymnal are not in the English hymnal.

            I realized the opening hymn was Divina luz, the same hymn Adaly Marroquin performed in a recital the day before. I motioned to her to look at the posted hymn number, and then waved my hand in an invitation for her to come play the piano for the opening song. She smiled, stood up, and walked across the front of the room towards me with her two children following behind her, just as the bishop was announcing I would be playing the piano. I shook my head and pointed at Adaly. He looked surprised, smiled broadly, and announced that Adaly would play.

            She played the introduction and all four verses boldly and right on the beat. A couple of times she omitted a few notes, but came right back in again. I was thrilled! I never imagined that in just five weeks someone who had never played a piano before could play so well in church for congregational singing! Sitting there, watching and hearing Adaly play was one of the greatest thrills of my life! And to think all she had to practice on at home was a paper keyboard!

            If anyone wants to join us in Guatemala next summer, I have three guarantees: 1.  Teaching piano in Guatemala will be extremely challenging. It’s the most challenging project I’ve done in my life, 2.  You will love the people. It is impossible not to love them, and 3. You will learn about your own strengths and weaknesses. Fourth, it isn’t a guarantee, but I’m guessing once you come you’ll want to return.

            Have I mentioned that Flores, Guatemala, which is close to the national park, Tikal, has a group of teenagers who are praying someone will teach there? Flores is a beautiful island on a lake with restaurants, shops, hotels with swimming pools and lakeside views . . .

            A non-profit corporation, Musica Amigos, Inc., will accept donations to help provide music books, keyboards, teaching supplies, and help sponsor teachers.  Our hope is to be able to send teachers to other areas of Guatemala and neighboring countries, and to establish a teachers association in Central America.

            

Hasta Luego!

This morning while I played the prelude for church, two young boys stood on tiptoes to peer into the piano to watch the hammers. I'm getting more confident about opening the book to the posted page and starting to play, not at all certain if the hymn is one I've played before until I start playing. Today when I opened the hymnal, I realized the opening hymn was Divina luz, the same hymn Adaly performed for the recital yesterday. Adaly is the young mother who memorized the hymn from the regular hymnal, and added the left hand. I motioned to her to look at the hymn number, and then waved my hand in an invitation for her to come play the piano for the opening song. She smiled, and stood up, and walked across the front of the room towards me as the bishop was announcing I would be playing the piano. I shook my head and pointed at Adaly. He looked surprised, smiled broadly, and announced that Adaly would play.

Just as she prepared to play, I realized she didn't have a hymn book. She shook her head that she didn't need it, but then willingly accepted mine. She played the introduction and all four verses boldly and right on the beat. A couple of times she missed notes, but came right back in again. I was so pleased! I never imagined that in five weeks someone who had never played a piano before could play so well in church for congregational singing! Sitting there, watching and hearing her play was one of the greatest thrills of my life! And to think the first day she left and was walking home when John Mann picked her up and brought her back to the church. I'm grateful that many mornings Megan entertained her little girl so that Adaly could participate in the class.

Now I predict that by Thanksgiving, Adaly will be able to play for the full service every week - if not before. Maybe, now that she has a keyboard to practice on at home, it may happen next week. However, knowing her willingness to help the students, she'll probably encourage the bishop to give the other students opportunities to play, too. Hallelujah! I honestly expected it would be at least three years before anyone would be ready to play for church. I'm also quite certain that Adaly will learn to play hymns with the bass, tenor, and alto notes. I never, ever, expected this to happen! And to think all she had to practice on at home was the two-octave cardboard keyboard we passed out the first week of classes!

It was a Sunday meeting today where individuals in the congregation may go to the podium and share their feelings about God and church. Several of our students, including Adaly; Susi, the bishop's wife; and Yanira, the president of the children's organization spoke about the blessing the piano lessons have been for them. I wish I could have understood everything they said; I was so grateful for their appreciation.

At 2 p.m. today, John Mann drove his van to deliver the keyboards. I never did see any of the homes since John carried the keyboards to the doors. However, I'm guessing it may be a challenge for each family to find a place for "their" keyboard. Adaly informed each family that the keyboards are not to be sold, not to be lent to anyone, are not to leave the houses, are not to be "abused," and are to be returned to me for teaching when I return.

So my bags are packed, and I am ready to come home. But now I feel like Ciudad Vieja is home, too, and I'm certain enough that I will return that I am leaving boxes of teaching supplies and a small bag of clothing and two pairs of shoes so that when I come again I can use the suitcase space for more teaching supplies.

If anyone wants to join me the next time, I have three guarantees:

1. Teaching piano in Ciudad Vieja will be challenging - very challenging. It's the most challenging project I've done in my life.

2. You will love the people. It is impossible not to love them.

3. You will learn something about your strengths and weaknesses.

And fourth, it isn't a guarantee, but I'm guessing once you come you'll want to return.

Have I mentioned that Flores, Guatemala, which is close to Tikal, has a group of teenagers who are hopeful someone will teach there? Flores, by the way, is a beautiful island on a lake with restaurants, shops, hotels with swimming pools and lakeside views . . .

Reflecting - Why Did I Do This?

            The purpose of this project was to volunteer, and to get some of my students to volunteer, to teach piano to people in Guatemala who could not otherwise have lessons so that someone could play the piano for church.

            I can’t say that I was inspired. Perhaps that’s what happened. But the way I remember it, when we were in Antigua, Guatemala for Christmas with Garth and Cheryl Norman, no one was at church the Sunday before Christmas that could play the piano, so my husband volunteered me. When I asked the 16-year-old chorister why she didn’t play, she informed me she’d taken lessons, but the teaching was inadequate to learn to play hymns.

            So spontaneously after the meeting, I asked the only member of the bishopric if I came to Guatemala to teach lessons, would it be a possibility to use the building, and he said absolutely, and please do come.  When I mentioned it to John Mann, who had graciously invited us to stay at his home along with the Normans, he offered his home for us and any student teachers for the duration of our program. He also insisted that if we were going to come, we needed to come for a minimum of three times. He then talked to the bishop in Ciudad Viejas, and said that if I taught in the church there I wouldn’t have to ride the bus back and forth to Antigua.

            In reflection, the concept was a ludicrous idea for me to even attempt, but I didn’t know it. After all, teaching piano is what I do. How difficult could it be to teach beginners?  Several adults assured me that Spanish would not be a challenge since the children and teenagers all learn English in school.  It’s true that some of them do – for about one hour each week.  The reality is I had to teach the students in Spanish; they did not respond to my English, and never spoke English to me.

            A week before we left Texas, John Mann told me was that 15 to 20 students had signed up. Then the day before we left it was “30 or so.” When we went to church the morning after we arrived, I was given an updated list of 48. Some of those never showed up, but the first week we had a total of 90 different people take at least a couple of classes. Three weeks ago we had 50 coming regularly, and only two of those have not continued to the end. I want to mention both of them.

            Adela was the 16-year-old young lady I met in December in Antigua. She was the inspiration behind the project, and so on the first Sunday in Guatemala we went to Antigua to hopefully find her, and we met her mother walking into church. Adela came to classes the first two weeks while it was vacation time for her, but then she could not attend the last three weeks because of her school schedule. Her family sent me red roses as a thank-you. (I passed them out to women on my walk home that day.)

             Adela introduced me to Pablo, who lives with her family. He is eighteen, and has the sunniest disposition of any young man I’ve ever met. His story is not uncommon. He parents divorced and moved to the United States when he was fourteen. He was too young for a work visa, so he “stayed” in Guatemala, the Adela’s family invited him to live with them.

            Pablo came to the piano classes as often as he could, often staying for a couple of classes to help other students, and frequently helped us take down keyboards and teaching materials at the end of classes.

            Saul , an intelligent 14-year-old, is the other student who did not continue. Saul came to class the morning of July 15, excited to choose his recital solo. He also planned to play an easy version of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer. He was the most promising teenage student in all the classes, eager to learn and highly motivated.

One day I thought he was asking for my email, so I gave him a business card. He looked confused, and went to another student, showing the card. She went to the one student who spoke English. Saul didn’t want my email – he was asking to borrow my hymnal. He wanted to play from the regular hymn book, even though he’d only had two weeks of lessons.

            Saul was the student I thought was the most promising to be the first to fulfill my dream of someone to play for church. He also said he could practice at the church because his dad had keys to get in to clean the building.

            But after July 15, Saul never came again. I asked the bishop about him when we met this week, and he said Saul’s family sent him to a farm far away to work to earn money for the family. I asked about school, and was told this is not uncommon. Feeding a family comes before education. I cannot accept that this intelligent, young man will not get any more schooling.

            

Mi Espanol Horrible

My attempt to communicate in Spanish with the students resulted in some hilarious moments.

            The last class each day was a group of ten students ages nine to twelve years. These students were cousins and friends, so they loved being together, but they were also eager to learn piano. I thought they were overly sober for children, and had begun to wonder if some of them ever laughed. I tried to  have time each day for  them to practice with earphones, and I would listen to a few individually.  Each reacted with a big smile when I praised their efforts, but then the smiles dissolved and they were serious again. So I was truly surprised when they were taking a written theory examination, and I made a request that I always make of my Texas students: “Keep your eyes on your own papers, please!”  Except I mixed up my verbs and actually said, “”Put your eyes on your own papers, please!”  Instantly, they all burst into laughter, and they couldn’t stop. They weren’t being disrespectful; they'd just never received such an instruction before.

Here’s the class with the addition of a younger student and an older student in their group recital picture.

            Then on the last day of the morning adult class, within half an hour I made three flubs. First, I was trying to give John Mann’s salaried helper, Jorge, who was also in the class, instructions on where to find the new hymn books John had bought for the recitals. I didn’t know the Spanish word for mannequin, so I told him they were on the small table next to the dead woman in John’s house. Of course, that surprised the students. Then Megan suggested we bring the mannequin to the recitals and set her on a chair to hold programs out for guests to take as they entered the room. More laughter. I don’t think I’ll forget that the Spanish word for mannequin is the same word with the accent on the last syllable instead of the first.

            Just after that miscommunication, I glanced at Megan’s legs and was shocked to see how her bites had become infected because she keeps scratching them. The class was surprised as well. Then, boasting, I told them I eat lots of garlic, and bugs don’t bite me. I pulled up my skirt to show my legs had no bites. I said, “My blood stinks, so bugs leave me alone. Megan doesn’t eat garlic – her blood is sweet, so the bugs bite her.”

            Then Adaly said it was the same with her little girl, Nicole – that she gets bites every day. So I said, “You need to feed Nicole lots of garlic!,” but what I actually said was, “You need to feed Nicole lots of eyes!” “Ajos” is “garlic,” and “ojos” is “eyes.”

            When Jorge played his recital hymn during our last rehearsal, I announced that his family, including his grandchildren,  were coming to hear him play. The students asked him how many grandchildren he had, and he told them seven. After the compliments, and comments that he must have married really young because he didn’t look old enough to have seven grandchildren, he said, “Let me tell you my story. My mother died when I was eight, and so I did all the cooking for our family. By the time I was 17, I wanted to get married so I could get out of the kitchen.”

            Now understand that he was speaking rapidly, and the word for kitchen is “cocina.” But all the words ran together, and though I was trying to understand, I got lost. I asked, “Is he saying he got married when he was 17 because he got hooked on cocaine?” Honestly, I wasn’t trying to be funny.

This photo is Jorge with his wife, daughters, and grandchildren. 

It was taken outside the church just after his recital.

          

Recital Success!

            We had two recitals on Thursday, and two on Saturday. We survived! And so did the students.  Everyone who was on the programs to perform showed up except one girl who had to finish up some homework at school.  They came!

            However, none of the recitals started on time. And we certainly didn’t have audience members sitting on all the chairs we set up. On Thursday, after our morning class, we set up as many folding chairs as we comfortably could. John Mann had said that the students would come, and they would bring their families, and we would be surprised at how many would come.

            However, our first recital on Thursday was already one big family.  Most of the eight adults were related, and were parents of the ten young children.  At 3:00 p.m., when the program was supposed to start on time, we had a couple of adults and several children. But then they came, dressed in their Sunday clothes.  The youngest, Valentina Garcia, sat on her assigned small folding chair, and sucked on her baby bottle of milk.  We involved the youngsters in clapping rhythms and wiggling finger numbers while the adults played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The children also sang Twinkle in English, which delighted the audience, and sang three verses of Away in a Manger while the adults performed.

The youngest participants waiting for the recital to begin.

Posing before the recital.

Reading my introductory speech.

Rita is proud of her certificate and card with 35 stickers. 

Megan knew the children would count the stickers, so she made sure each card had 35.

The man in the background to the left is her dad and the bishop.

The students pose after the Thursday 3 p.m. recital.

The very happy lady is Yanira, the Primary President.

Megan posing with the children outside after the program.

            The adults actually played their hymn solos better than they had during rehearsals. In the first recital, Guadalupe, who is a grandfather of most of the children in this group finished his hymn with a big smile and took his bow. Each of his fingers were as wide as the keys, and when we started lessons, it took several days for him to find the muscles to control the fingers individually.

            For each recital, the students had been assigned a different hymn, but on Monday three teenage sisters informed me they needed to perform in the first recital on Thursday. Guadalupe didn’t seem to mind that two of the sisters performed “his” hymn as a duet in the same recital.

Megan points to finger numbers while I play solo to Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

            In each recital, the students performed their chosen hymn alone, then played while the audience sang all the verses. We practiced bows before the recitals, which was something new for all the students.  The group bows were the most difficult to perfect, but at the recitals, the students were obviously proud of their group performances as they stood and bowed together.  I expected the students to do what my Texas students do – to look at their parents before and after their bows. But instead, each student bowed and then with an expectant look turned their heads to look at me. It was easy for me to give each student an encouraging comment and broad smile. Then the students responded with big smiles and looked at their families.

            Megan brought pencils and pencil sharpeners with music symbols as gifts for students. We taped them to colorful motivational cards and Megan presented them to all the students 12 years and younger. I presented every student with a participation certificate. We took group photos after every recital.

            The second recital on Thursday scheduled for 5 p.m. listed eight children ages 8-12, and one 18-year-old young man named Pablo, who really wanted to be in a recital, but couldn’t come any other time. But no one showed up at 5:00 except for several adults who performed in the first recital and stayed to be audience members for the second recital. It started raining. Knowing all the children had walked to their class each day, I wondered if the rain would stop them. Finally, at 5:15 I went outside in the rain to see if they were coming. I looked up the hill, and here came the three Sanchez children, dressed in their Sunday clothes, and clutching their piano books close to keep them dry in the rain.

Someone please email me how to turn these pictures around? They are correct in my files, but go horizontal when I select them for the blog.

     Delwin Sanchez wore a white pair of cotton gloves to keep his hands warm before the performance. I don’t know where he got that idea, but he insisted on practicing with them on, and took them off when I said it was time to begin.

            By 5:30, all of the students except one girl arrived, all smiling and excited. I asked where their parents were, and they told me they were working, but trying to come. So we played our program, and by the time we finished we had an audience. We demonstrated a game to help students learn to hear different intervals using a water spray bottle and an umbrella. We demonstrated how the students could count and clap rhythms, and then we performed the first part of our program again.

Students in our Thursday 5 p.m. recital - except for Gonzales in the front.

He attended classes with the younger children who participated in the Thursday 3 p.m. recital. 

            After this recital, the students asked me to autograph their piano books. This class had decorated the plain covers of their books with colored pencils. The children hugged me repeatedly. No one wanted to leave. I talked to the parents and the students about the importance of practicing every day, and moving forward in their piano books, even if it is challenging. I told them that Adaly has offered to help answer questions, and will be asking them each week if they are practicing.

            Megan played Fur Elise at the end of three of the programs to motivate the students. I told them it was a sample of what they might be able to play in four years if they practice one hour every day.  She did not play Fur Elise at the end of Saturday’s morning program because Jose was performing it as a solo in addition to his hymn.

            I thought if we could get through the two programs on Thursday, Saturday would be easier. It was. But again, no one was on time. Our 11 a.m. recital had several adults riding two buses to get to Ciudad Vieja.  After Jorge dropped us off at the church, he went to pick up his family. However, the late start only bothered me.; I have not adjusted to the Guatemala custom of leaving home for a meeting at the time the meeting is scheduled to begin.

            Our 11 a.m. recital consisted of our morning class, which met for three hours each day instead of 45 minutes like the four afternoon classes. This group even completed the first Four Levels of the Texas Music Teachers Association Theory Tests. They learned all of the major key signatures, and were good sports about playing games to reinforce theory principles.  Because we had more time together, we became better acquainted with each other.

            I was impressed with Jorge who had to leave school after first grade to work. His mother died when he was eight. The piano classes are his first classroom experience of any kind since first grade. When I told the class I had decided that having recitals was not the best plan, that it would have been better to just invite family and friends to the last day of class, Jorge raised his hand and asked to speak. He said he thought it was important that the students have an opportunity to present themselves to their families. He is not familiar with the hymns we learned, but he has worked hard. The end of his second finger is missing after the third joint, , but we joked that it is one less finger to try to curve.  I think of all the students I was most pleased with the progress of Jorge at the recitals on Saturday.

            But then there is Adaly, who memorized a hymn using the “real” hymn book. She asked the first week if she could play Divina luz for her solo hymn, and I told her it was difficult, and recommended she choose a hymn from our lesson book. She said she thought she could learn it – after all, she said, we’d learned the names of all the notes, understood sharps and flats and fingering, and how to count, so why couldn’t she?  The next day she showed up with her pocket-size hymnal with all the notes labeled in all four parts. I thought she’d give up, but at least I had enough compassion to give her my regular-sized hymnal, and to recommend that she learn just the soprano – only the top notes of the right hand. She looked disappointed, and asked if she learned the right hand, could she play the left hand with it.  In the end, on her own, she doubled the soprano line in the left hand, and performed today with the hymn memorized, and no mistakes playing the hymn four times while the audience sang all the verses.

John Mann is reaching in a Guatemalan purse to get Megan's beautiful Jade plaque. 

She is holding the letter he has just read to her.

I also presented her with a bracelet.

       

These are the students in our Saturday, 11:00 a.m. recital.

Our final recital on Saturday was scheduled for 1:00 p.m., but didn’t begin until 1:30 because five of the eight stunts had to ride two buses from Paramos, which takes 50 minutes each way, and the buses were slower because of the rain.  As I listened to Lesly, who is nine years old, and her brother, Jose, who is ten, play their solos perfectly and continue without mistakes while the audience sang the verses, I had big hopes that they will be accompanying their Sunday meetings in a few years.  Paramos has 172 people meeting in a larger building than Ciudad Vieja, and no piano.

These are the students in our Saturday, 1:00 p.m. recital.




Lesley smiles while warming up for the recital.
Yes, I know the tables are two high. John Mann says that can be fixed next time we come.

            John Mann surprised Megan and myself with beautiful engraved jade plaques thanking us for our contribution to the community. Students gave me four beautiful Guatemalan purses and a cake.

            But it was the hugs that meant the most.

Last Rehearsals for Recitals

Posters for rhythm and theory activities.

We tape up these posters every morning and take them down every afternoon.

I know there has to be a better way, but this is what we do. We will use all of these in our recitals.

Morning class rehearsal for recital. The man sitting in the back is Chris, my translator.

I Love the Students!

This is Adaly and Nicole. Adaly will be helping to keep all students practicing when I leave.  

Nicole mimics me, walking around the room and saying, "Estamos listos!" (We are ready!) "Donde esta mi libro?" (Where is my book?) "Escuchen, por favor!" (Listen, please!). Notice Adaly is sharing earphones with Nicole.

These are the Sanchez children. They have a small keyboard at home and practice every day.

They learn quickly and listen to everything I say. I predict all three will become fine pianists. They stopped by the church today a couple of hours before their class because Luis forgot his book yesterday and they wanted to pick it up so he could practice before class. I was thrilled to see them in school uniforms and leather shoes with soles attached; this means the tattered pants the boys have worn to class are their get-dirty play clothes. 

Lesly is practicing for her recital Saturday. She takes lessons with her mother and brother. They travel by bus 50 minutes each way each day to come to class from Paramos. They tell me there is an LDS ward in Paramos with 170 people attending each Sunday, but no piano or keyboard at the church. They say the church is bigger than the one we use in Ciudad Vieja. Yes, I know she needs to be sitting higher or the keyboard needs to be lower or both. John Mann says he has tabletops, and next time "we'll" build sawhorses to make them the right height.

These are two of the three Dieguez sisters in an afternoon class practicing a duet for tomorrow's recital.

I met their father tonight, and he is eager to see all three girls succeed.

The Keyboards Have Homes!

I just returned from meeting with John Mann and the bishop of the LDS Church in Ciudad Vieja, and I am pleased that he accepted the plan below of distributing the keyboards.

I was so discouraged that this program would go nowhere without the students practicing daily and having someone oversee their efforts and answer questions. The plan was to put the keyboards in storage until we come again to teach, but that was definitely not what God wants.

On the first day of classes, Adaly,  a mother with two young children, headed home because the children were, well, children.  John Mann passed her with his van, picked her up and brought her back to the church telling her she didn't want to pass up this opportunity that could change her life and the lives of her children. Well, she has now become the most promising student, has offered to visit the other homes of students once each week - walking, of course, because she has no vehicle - and to answer questions the students may have in finishing their beginning hymn course books. She's going with me and John Mann on Sunday afternoon to deliver the keyboards and explain that they are not to be abused, sold, or lent to anyone, and that when I return they all go back to the church for instruction. She speaks no English, but she and I communicate well. She helped me go through the entire list of students, told me who was related to who, knew where everyone lived, and who already has keyboards, who would take care of them, and which families would see that their children practice. In the list below that I gave the bishop tonight, every single student will now have access to a keyboard.

One Monday this week in the afternoon adult class that has had nearly perfect attendance, only one adult woman showed up. I didn't realize she was the bishop's wife until Megan saw her picture in the bishop's office. So this lady received a private piano lesson - the only private 40-minute lesson I've given the entire five weeks. Halfway through the lesson when I gave her a thumbs up that she was doing well, she started to cry and told me - in Spanish - that from the time she was a little girl she had wanted to take piano lessons but it wasn't a possibility. She said this was her dream come true - that she never imagined that she would have the opportunity, and now she will teach her children. She put her arms around me and just sobbed. Then we went back to the lesson. Well, it's logical to give her the other large keyboard because the bishop will need access to it for any functions at the church, right?

Distribucion de Pianos 

Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala 

August 3, 2013

Italics significa: Eustudiantes viven en otro lugar.

1.  Adaly Marroquin                         Grande

2.  Susi de Zuleta                            Grande (Mayerli Casilia, Emilia Fernarda,

                                                                        Chris Bernarda)

3.  Jose Xoc                                      Pequeno

4.  Vasquez Dieguez family           Pequeno (Sisters: Laura, Janerky, Marissa)

5.  Yanira Gonzalez                         Pequeno

6.  Ana Lilian Gonzalez                   Pequeno

7.  Castaneda Barrios familia         Pequeno (Hermanas: Dulce Maria, Sofia Ana)                                                                                                              

Tienen teclados ahora:

1.  Catherine Mishel Barragan Garcia

            (Genoveva Perez de Cabrera – vive cerca)

2.  John Mann

            (Karla Mariela, Byron Eduardo, Mayra Eloisa, Jorge Garcia Colindras)

3.  Ana Beatriz Jop Hernandez familia: sus hijos - Jose Alejandro Cuc Jop, Lesly           Beatriz Cuc Jop

4.  Yaquelin Roxana Perez (Sidny Aleli Jaurez Vielman – sister-in-law)

5.  Vivian Lizbeth Cacon Garcia (Estela Zuleta)

6.  Adela Sagastume (Pablo de Mata vive en la misma casa)

7.  Sanchez familia: Delwin Elian Sanchez, Luis Carlos Sanchez,

            Sariah Abigail Sanchez

Puede practicar en:

Iglesia: Saul Efrain Galicia Gonzalez

Yanira Gonzalez: Guadalupe Garcia Hernandez

Adaly Marroquin: Guadalupe Garcia Hernandez, Yanira Gonzalez, Dayana Tizol, Rocio Gabriela

Introduction to Recitals in Spanish

So here's my opening for each recital. Yes, only Spanish! I don't know if anyone will understand me, but I will know what I'm trying to say.

Bienvenidos!

Estamos listos para comensar!

Yo soy Debra Hadfield, vivo en Texas en los Estados Unidos. Hoy estoy enamorada con Guatemala y con todos los estudiantes maravillosos.

Por cinco semanas, de lunes a jueves, tenemos estudiantes aprendiendo juntos a tocar los teclados, con emphasis en los himnos.

Cada estudiante tiene una buena actitud, y todos nosotros aprendimos mucho.

Los estudiantes tuvieron examinaciones de theoria con porcentajes muy altas.

Yo estoy extremadamente agradecida con todos.

Quiero gradecer a mi maestra estudiante, Megan Moncrief.

Megan tiene dieciseis anos de edad, y esta es su primer experiencia como maestra.

Ella conoce el nombre de cada estudiante.

Ella conoce a que familia pertenecen y quienes son amigos.

Yo aprecio mucho la ayuda de Megan.

Quisiera agradecer a John Mann por su hospitalidad conmigo, mi esposo, y Megan.

El ha hecho su casa nuestra casa, y hizo muchas casas para que este programa tuviera buen exito.

John ayudo traer los teclados de Texas a Guatemala.

El ayudo encontrar los materiales que necesitabamos.

El ajusto a Christian Novella como nuestra traductor.

Aun mas, el ha sido nuestro amigo.

Yo quiero agradecer a Chris por su traducion durante estos dias.

El es nuestro amigo cercano, tambien, y estamos agradecidos por su ayuda.

Quiero darle las gracias al obispo de Ciudad Vieja por invitarnos a Ciudad Vieja.

Estamos agradecidos por el uso del edificio.

Quisiera dar gracias a Jorge Colinas por su ayuda diaria en la asamblea del equipo musica.

Ahora, los estudiantes trabajaron muy duro, y estan con muchos deseos de ensenar lo que han aprendido.

Nosotoros queremos que ustedes tambien tengan la oportunidad para aprender, entonces, por favor, participen con nosotros.

Una de las primer cosas que debe aprender un pianista is los numeros de dedos.

Aqui estan los numeros para Brilla, brilla, pequena estrella.

Por favor, muevan sus dedos mientras tocamos.