In the beginning of August I had the opportunity to spend a week with about 40 music teachers from around the country who converged in Dublin, NH for the Walden School's Teacher Training Intensive. Everyday was full of activities. We would go from a Musicianship class to an Improv session to a Solfege and Rhythms class. In every class we would  explore numerous ways in which a music teacher can guide their students into understanding musical concepts and give them the necessary tools to build technical skills. Although very active, it was a very nurturing environment. It was inspiring to be where all participants are open to grasping new ideas and where music is the overarching theme that surrounds you as go through your day.
  One of the most revealing moments for me took place during a musicianship class with Bill Stevens, when he handed out balloons for us to come up with ways to "play" them and create an original sound. After we created a list or vocabulary of sounds we could make with the balloons we took turns to perform for the class and later paired off with classmates to have musical conversations while using the balloons. What I found interesting was the amount of musical and physical expression that we were all putting into these performances. Not used to expressing emotions through the music made with a balloon we exaggerated to get our message across. And then I thought about how much emotion is put into the instruments we play every day. Can the audience easily identify my emotions as I'm playing this or that melody? Exaggeration is not necessary but honesty is. If I can be aware of this every time I perform and teach, then my students can observe and understand the importance of creating and mastering a language that is used to communicate our emotions to audiences, a language that goes beyond the technical skills necessary to play an instrument.
  That is just one little nugget that I got from my the Teacher Training Intensive and there are 5 to ten other immediate realizations I had that I want to implement in my teaching right away, and for the rest of the year I will be digesting all the tools and ideas that I got while doing the Teacher Training Intensive at Walden.

For more information on the Walden School and the Teacher Training Intensive click here: http://www.waldenschool.org/teacher/index.shtml