The wall above the piano became a road map of sorts, with eight milestones placed along the way at regular intervals. Each student got to select their preferred mode of transportation, from camels to ships to airplanes, and write their name on it. At the front of the assignment book individual road maps marked students’ progress and outlined how to take a piece from the very beginning stage of learning it to a polished performance-ready state. Once a piece reached that point, we recorded the title and date and they got to move ahead to the next milestone. On each milestone marker was the name of a famous composer. Throughout the year, I scheduled several historical tours where we would travel back in time to meet that composer. Students who reached that milestone were invited to attend the tours – including memorable trips into the attic to copy music by candlelight with Bach, and to the throne room of King George I of England to explore the life of Handel.
Milestones to Musical Mastery (2001-2002)
