Thunder Soul

I finally got my hands on a Netflix account (thanks to a friend Justin for letting me borrow it) and found some time to watch the documentary "Thunder Soul".

All I can really say about this documentary is "Wow!".

I was completely blown away by the story. An innovative band director (Conrad O. Johnson Sr) taking a group of students and helping to create one of the best band programs/funk bands of the time.
The sheer talent that was displayed in the film was mind blowing and the way the students spoke about Conrad was incredibly uplifting. Many of them viewed Conrad not only as a great band director but also a father figure.

What I really enjoyed the most about this documentary was that Conrad saw what the students liked to play/listen to (funk) and instead of completely ignoring it and working on what he thought they should play, he adapted funk into the bands style.

By doing this, he helped to inspire the students to play at their best and really believe in the music that they were playing. He also helped to become an international phenomenon, taking his band all the way to Europe to perform.

I have always believed that the students should have the option to play music that they want to play. I've always believed that if you allow students the opportunity to do something that they believe in, the opportunities would be endless.  This documentary is the exact example of that.

Conrad saw a musical opportunity for his students and took that opportunity to expand on their love of funk. By doing this he not only made them better musicians but also gave them something to believe in. This opportunity helped students understand that if you work hard and believe in what you do you can achieve anything.

Finally, following the success of his band program, the entire community came closer together and students at the school began to achieve higher grades and great athletic feats. It a true story of what a great band program could do not only for the students in it but the entire community.

So how can I make a love of music in my program. Well in my opinion there's a very simple answer to this. The best way to find a mutual love of music (between your students and your self) you have to find a genre that majority of the students really enjoy listening to. Just like Conrad did. Once you find this genre, you must explore it with your students and write music/ cover music that both of you enjoy. When this happens students will become enthralled with the music and will show how much they enjoy playing it by playing it well.