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Look, Listen, Teach, Grow

Wrapping Up In Argentina (Student performance and time with amigos in Cordoba)

9/28/2014

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Hello!

Long time, no post- yet again. Currently I am in the Buenos Aires airport, with a bunch of time to spare before my flight to Ecuador, so it is time for a little update. 

Two weeks ago, things began wrapping up at Colegio Marin. Students finished their songs, and prepared for our performance in front of their peers during the lunch block. I am very happy and proud of what they were able to create in just four weeks. Here are a few photos for now, and be on the look out for some audio clips to be uploaded in the next couple weeks.
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Grade 11 students rehearsing on the stage
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The audience
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Mid-performance
During my final days with Marin, we also took some made some videos of the original songs. Check out one of my favorite songs below, and hear a bit about their take on the songwriting process at the end of the clip.
My last week in Argentina was spent in Cordoba with my friends Marisol and Anoush. It was great seeing them again (we met last year in Armenia as Birthright volunteers) and having them show me around the area a bit. Cordoba is a beautiful place. 
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Jamming to some Argentinian Folklore rhythms with Marisol's Dad.
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Playing tunes by the river in Cordoba with some new friends
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A group of young strings players in Cordoba that are composing and performing music for video games and films. Pretty sweet!
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Saying farewell to my friends after their performance with the local Armenian club dance group.
All for now. Onward to Ecuador in a couple hours! See you soon.

-T

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Looking Back, Looking Ahead

9/14/2014

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The countdown is on!

If everything goes according to plan, at this point there are about 10 weeks left of this journey. I can hardly believe it. Time keeps on zooming by. 

I did some calculations today, and I have worked with well over 1,000 students so far this year. The students have ranged from just 3 or 4 years old (Thailand) to 19 and 20 years old (Tanzania). I have worked with kids from the upper class, along with some students from very low income backgrounds. The students have come from all over the world, in 7 schools, across 3 continents, with two more schools still to go. 

Together, we have written around 100 songs, some created mostly by me, some totally by the students themselves. Songs about love, loss, growing up, too much homework, graduation, cats, the beach, loosing a friend, world peace, and so much more.

It has been an honor and a great privilege for me to take on this project. And I am incredibly grateful to all of YOU for helping make this happen. To all of my backers on kickstarter, everyone who follows along with the blog, and all of the people I have met along the way that have given me rides, bought me lunch, hosted me in their homes, and shared their stories with me- please know that I appreciate you.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what is next for me and for this project. My dream is to bring songwriting and creative music making to even more students around the world, but I know that what I am doing now is not sustainable. I don’t have the skills and resources to maintain this alone, so as of right now I am working on figuring out if it is possible to grow this into something beyond just me, and how best to do so. This is something I believe in, and I know the potential is there, so I am excited to see what happens next.

Be on the lookout to updates about the final documentary coming out later this year. (There will be a trailer released too that I’m quite happy about). More to come soon! 

Nos vemos,

-Thomas

#MusicIsLife

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With the Palma family.
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Grade 10 students at Marin
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El Rio
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Song Creation At Colegio Marín

9/7/2014

 
Last week I did a brief interview with one of the songwriting groups at my current school- Colegio Marin in Buenos Aires. Here's what Bruno, Lorena, and Gonzalo had to say.

Tom: Tell me about the song that you are working on right now. Where are you at in your process?

Lorena: We need to work on the lyrics. The rhymes.

Bruno: Yeah, it is difficult to find rhymes for us, but for now we have the chords and melody- like a verse, pre-chorus, and chorus, but now we are kind of stuck....

Lorena: We need to finish it. It is too long and we are trying to find a part to end it.

Gonzalo: We can do it!

Tom: What is the mood of your song? What is it about?

Lorena: I think it it joyful. You are enjoying life, because even though you might feel lost sometimes, your friends are there to help you.

Bruno: We started out with a totally different mood, it was sad, but we changed some of the chords from minor to major and now we like it a little better

Why is it important to have music in schools?

Gonzalo: It is a form to express many of your feelings.

Lorena: You can use your hands or your voice to express something that is inside of you, to get it out.

Bruno: It is different. It is not like a class. I mean, you are learning something, but it is from what you are doing.

Lorena: I think the best part is that (with songwriting) you don't get punished for what you are doing, because there is no good or bad, only different. It's great.

The students at Marin will continue finishing up their songs this week to prepare for a performance on Saturday, and to record a rough demo next week. Next week each student will also have a chance to reflect on their strengths as musicians, and plan some goals to take their music to the next level.
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Grade 7 Music Class
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Improvising with grade 7

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