When I was in the fifth grade, the school I attended introduced a music program for students in the third, fourth and fifth grade. I did not have much of a concept of music at the time, but I can say in all honesty that my elementary music teacher had a profound impact on my life.
We were all excited about the prospect of taking a music class, mainly because it was something out of the ordinary, and in walked Mrs. Stone. She had a piano in her classroom and two stacks of textbooks about the fundamentals of music, along with some very simple songs with which we could sing along.
On the first day, she told us why she had become an elementary music teacher. She said that she enjoyed working with elementary school students, and she loved teaching the elements of music to an eager and enthusiastic audience.
She invited us to bring in any kind of instrument that we could play and allowed us a five-minute window in the beginning of class to perform whatever piece we knew. I still remember bringing in a tiny electronic keyboard and playing Hot Cross Buns.
I could not quit smiling when Mrs. Stone started the applause, and my fellow students looked at me as if I had just performed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. In truth, it took me about a day of constant practice to learn how to play it, and I was so proud of myself that I just had to show off what I had learned.
My elementary music teacher also taught us about such things as melody, pitch, rhythm, harmony and timbre, and encouraged us to go to concerts of any kind when we had the opportunity. She wanted us to see the beauty in music, which is something that I absorbed like a sponge, and I have carried it on throughout my entire life.
I remember when a local chamber orchestra made a visit to our school. I was mesmerized, and I think that Mrs. Stone was even more taken than me, because for the first time ever, she was not explaining to us what the different instruments were and why the conductor was waving his arms through the air like a madman.
She just sat with her hands clasped in front of her on the edge of her seat and listened. I will find myself sitting in that exact posture to this day when I go to a symphony or opera.
My elementary music teacher instilled a love of music in me that will carry on throughout the rest of my life, and for that, I am eternally grateful to her.