August 10, 2005
Tooting their own horn
Archipelago Project teaches 12 kids trumpet in two weeks
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
"Buzz those lips, buzz those lips!"
It was ten days of twelve trumpets at the Boys and Girls Club, as 12 members went from zero to concert performance in under two weeks.
The students were taught and inspired by members of the Archipelago Project, a non-profit music educational organization founded by two Central High School graduates: Garrett Mendez and Dan Trahey. The 18-member Archipelago Project also gave a handful of concerts around town during their residency at the Boys and Girls Club, including ones at Hull Park and the Traverse Area District Library.
The 12 new musicians showcased their talents Friday afternoon at a concert at the club, playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Hot Cross Buns" for an appreciative audience.
"It was very cool and I think that it went very well," said Christal Wilcox, director of operations at the Boys and Girls Club. "The kids, like with anything new, they got a little anxious about it at first. It's also something that's a commitment and I don't know that they're used to the commitment, it was overwhelming at first."
"Actually today, being the first day without trumpets, they were a little sad," said Wilcox on Monday.
Using instruments donated for the two weeks by Marshall Music, the students learned how to hold their lips right, breath, finger, read music and assemble and break down the instrument. They practiced together as a group and during individual lessons with the instructors. Later in the residency, instructors invited each student to play by themselves the two songs planned for the concert.
Taking up an instrument from scratch proved to be a daunting - but doable - task.
"I think it's fun, in a challenging way because if you don't do it right, you know right away," said Megan, 11, who plans to play either the trumpet or flute next year in school. "The hardest thing is the breathing."
Termed 'trumpet breath' by instructor Ari Brown, the students practiced the deep, lung-creaking breaths needed to make the instrument sing.
"With just a little bit of practice, I can show you how to harness your body's strength," Brown told the students. "Whenever I'm in concert and I feel my strength failing, I take a breath from my toes, from the ground up, and I focus it through my instrument - that's what you have to do."
During their two weeks of classroom time, which included an hour every morning, the students also learned trumpet etiquette: how to hold the instrument when both playing and not playing, posture, how to respect fellow musicians and, most importantly, how to pay attention. Coupled with learning the instrument, it was an intense ten days.
"It is difficult and a lot for them to handle," said Nick Skinner, a 1999 graduate of Central High School and a member of the project. "The private lessons are special for them and us, it allows us to push the limits of the instrument a little."
Members of the Archipelago Project also wove in lessons in music appreciation and audience behavior. Besides teaching music and instruments, playing polkas or jazz, for example, is part of the organization's overall goal of exposing people of all ages to different types of music.
"I think the problem is that people don't get exposed to it," Skinner noted. "None of these kids get exposed to it, never listen to classical music before or jazz music before. I think everybody can love it."
Excitement about instruments and other forms of music is the key to inspire a new generation of listeners.
"All that matters is planting the spark," Brown said. "We need to sow the seeds of this future audience."
For more information on the Archipelago Project, visit their website online at www.archipelagomusic.org.