MusicianCorps Summer Band Camp 2011


Clip of MusicianCorps Summer Band Camp students performing The Beatles’ “Taxman”

The first MusicianCorps Band Camp students recently finished their summer sessions at the Center for Music National Service (MNS). Instructed by MusicianCorps Fellow Hernando Buitrago, known as "Mr. H", students from San Francisco’s Horace Mann Middle School and June Jordan School for Equity gathered twice a week to learn about music theory, history, and playing as a group.


Hernando teaches chord positions

Mr. H commented, “It was beautiful to support and witness the song-writing process. The first day everyone was sort of shy, but then a shift occurred; they began exploring new melodies, improvising and doing things they didn’t think they could do. One person would come up with a melody and others would listen, then imitate.”

In addition to the music theory and history lessons, students learned to play rock classics such as “Taxman” by The Beatles and “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath, as well as an original song they wrote together entitled “Music Takes Control.”

“Everybody has a lot of talent. I learned things like what a half note is, how to write music and more songs on the bass," said Sirena, a summer band member who plays bass, sings, and already looks like a rock star.
Rocking the drums at MCM

For their “final exam”, students performed a three-song set at the Mission Community Market (MCM), ending with an awards ceremony and short performance from MNS staff members. The public audience loved it.

When asked to share thoughts about his experience with music this summer, Daniel, a student and guitarist, summed it up: “You can express yourself using music. You can share your feelings - share your thoughts about something just by playing a simple instrument...and if you were inspired by somebody, a famous rock star or something that plays a certain instrument, you can learn that instrument and hope to someday be like them.”

Check out more photos from the MC Band Camp performance at Mission Community Market!

 


The first MusicianCorps Band Camp student performance