Building Bridges

How can I put into words everything that Bridging Cultures with Music did for me and the students I taught? I believe that music goes way beyond words. It speaks to all of us on spiritual and emotional levels. Over 50 years ago, Dr. Shininchi Suzuki believed that anyone could learn to play a stringed instrument. He taught the violin using the “mother tongue” approach.” Listening, repetition, encouragement, and learning along with other children lay the foundation of the Suzuki method, which I used for teaching the students who participated in BCWM.

Beforehand, I traveled with Dr. Ching-Yi Lin to Moshi, Tanzania, where I helped to initiate a beginner strings class at Majengo Primary School under the Daraja Music Initiative Strings Program. Although I did pick up a little Swahili along the way, I felt like a fish out of water when attempting to communicate with the students. I had no choice but to adapt my teaching style instantaneously to my restricted vocabulary, non-verbal cues, singing, and keeping lessons kinesthetically driven. To my amazement, the students and I learned how to communicate with ease through playing the violin. This experience taught me to set lifelong learning as a priority in my teaching, to simplify my use of language, and to let the music speak for itself. 

I am proud to say that I was invited to join Dr. Lin when she received the first grant for BCWM, becoming a faculty member in that program. Music matters. It changes lives and gives students a chance to express themselves, become part of a community, and acquire life skills such as dedication and perseverance. This unique program reaches many levels of violin pedagogy. Dr. Lin and I were the main teachers in the program, with a college student named Anna Darling, and two or three high-school student helpers. As I taught a class, Anna and the helpers observed and walked around to answer questions and give individual help. Towards the end of class, Anna took over; then I had a chance to walk around the room aiding the student helpers. 

I was touched by the development of the BCWM students, who I imagine felt out of place in our community at the start. They learned to play our beautiful instrument, established a strong connection with the student helpers, worked hard, challenged each other to practice, and always gave of their best. I could always sense the figurative bridges in the name of the program: between the students and their families, between the student helpers and the students, between undergraduate teachers and graduate students, and between Tanzania and Bowling Green. Let’s keep building those bridges!