In a room toward the back of Mountain View Middle School’s campus, fiddle music floated through the air as four students put their bows to the strings of their instruments. Their eyes did not waiver from the sheet music in front of them, and all of the students had expressions of intense concentration on their faces.
In the center of the group, Kathy Jensen tapped her foot to help keep the beat of the song. Jensen, a contract employee with the school, is teaching students how to play folk music as part of the Music Roots program.
The participants in the beginner fiddle class of Music Roots have progressed throughout the semester at different paces, Jensen said, but they are starting to pick it up better than they did when they first started.
As they worked on one of their final songs before Christmas break, Jensen gave out advice to keep the group together as they played. One girl was confident in her knowledge of the piece, but that confidence caused her to speed up ahead of the group. Another missed some beats, and Jensen took the opportunity to teach some music theory.
“All right,” Jensen said as the bows were lowered. “What is that note at the beginning of the measure?”
“It’s a half note,” answered the girl on the end of the row.
“Yes. Exactly,” Jensen said. “And what does that mean?”
“That it gets two beats since we are in 4/4, or common time,” another student said.
Before the bell rang for class to be dismissed, Jensen suggested they play another song, one that the students know very well and enjoy playing. When she mentioned “Old Joe Clark,” the excitement translated into the rustling of sheet music and single staccato notes as the bows hurriedly met the strings in anticipation. The only boy in the class — who is actually a local home-schooled student who attends the school for these music lessons — stood up beside the upright bass, ready to take on the responsibility of keeping time.
The group played “Old Joe Clark” a couple of times before the bell rang, signaling the mad dash to pack up instruments and get to the next class. Jensen straightened up the chairs after the students left, taking a moment to reflect on Music Roots.
“Sometimes it’s really amazing,” she said. “There are some kids who really run with it. We’ve got kids in this town who are unreal.”
Music Roots has been in the Mountain View Public Schools for more than a decade, and through the program, local students have had a chance to learn how to play various folk instruments, including fiddle, banjo and mandolin.
“Music uses the whole brain,” Jensen said. “There are chances in this town for kids to perform. We try to have jams outside of school, and you get kids who may not have had an opportunity like this without Music Roots.”
Similar programs have been started all over the country, giving students in rural or low-income areas a chance to learn music. Anecdotes from these programs show that kids are staying in school and staying out of trouble because of their love of music.
One challenge with Music Roots in Mountain View, Jensen said, is the limited time instructors have with students. Most of the time, she gets to see her students for one class period per week, and it can be hard to arrange time to get together outside of school hours because of how far some of the students live. Other than that one time a week, it is up to the students to practice on their own.
“I tell them, if nothing else, just practice for a few minutes each day. That way, they can keep that muscle memory,” she said. “This is in their hands when they leave the classroom.”
Music Roots is largely funded by donations and grants, and people in the community have donated instruments for the program. Instructors also come from the community, and they use this chance to teach the kids more than music.
“Most of the teachers are just musicians from around,” Jensen said. “I try to give [the students] something. As a teacher, you try to incorporate life lessons.”
These life lessons might be about responsibility to your craft, meaning it is important to practice at home. Another life lesson might be about responsibility to family, and Jensen encourages older siblings to help younger siblings learn their music.
When everything is said and done, Jensen said, some of the Music Roots students have gone on to perform professionally or have started family bands to earn a little extra money on the weekends and in the summers. Even if they do not go on to be some of the best fiddle players around, Jensen said, she is thankful to have a chance to pass on the folk-music heritage.
“I’m just happy if they’re playing,” she said.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.