Finding some intermission music

One of my little projects this summer is finding some music to fill the ten minutes or so before the class begins. I have used YouTube “Ambient Music” in the past, but it is often computer-generated and forgettable. This time around I am looking for some genuine quality.

It would be nice to do themes, about a week long. Perhaps one week of Beethoven and another of very young musicians and another of opera in public places. Maybe one of bluegrass and one of stride piano. I have a couple of reasons for doing this. One is that I believe an “educated person” knows more than simply how to punctuate a sentence correctly, and this is a great moment to broaden your horizons. (A while back, I used a movement from Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” for “gap music.” One of my students commented that it is now his favorite piece.) The other is that I think a good teacher transmits more than facts: I want to invite you into my life. For several years, I sang in the chorus of Mid-Ohio Opera in Mansfield, so you will get some opera, perhaps some music you have not heard before. And really, some good music before class begins settles the mind and builds sort of a wall between what you were just doing and what we are about to do now.

In a previous semester, a student complained that I made them listen to “creepy music” during class. I’m not too certain how the old Bluegrass favorite “Orange Blossom Special” qualifies as “creepy,” but to each his (or her) own. I will guarantee, however, that the music will not cut into class time. We have too much to do. If you don’t want to listen to creepy music like bluegrass or traditional Welsh hymns or Beethoven, just make sure to show up at the last possible second.