BAM Blog

Back with in-person lessons in over a year, the natural first thing to do is play a duet! Here is a little moment we captured with Trevor and his student M. We have really been enjoying the sounds of music in the halls and seeing how much our students have grown during our time away. It brings a lot of joy to watch students eyes light up seeing their teachers and getting to play together. At this point about a third of our students have transitioned back to in-person lessons, which has helped us navigate learning our new space at Paseo Baptist Church and work out scheduling logistics in preparation for our Summer Lessons. Summer Lessons run June 21st - August 7th and we are anticipating a large increase in both in-person lessons and students overall. Much music and much fun will be had as we work to return to and beyond our pre-COVID numbers. Thank you to everyone in our community for doing your part to continue to help prevent the spread of COVID and getting vaccinated when you are eligible. You are helping keep our families healthy and safe, and making our in-person lessons a reality. Clint Velazquez Founder / Executive Director Base Academy of Music

I was talking with one of the BAM board members this week about the challenges I’m working through looking for solutions for BAM to return to in-person lessons. I mentioned to him my tendency to pick the first solution to a problem and not explore lots of options. Curiously, he pointed me to a talk on creativity by John Cleese, co-founder of Monty Python. John Cleese talked about an open and a closed mindset, the open mindset a place where new ideas are explored and a closed mindset where focus helps complete tasks. While both are important to productivity, we tend to favor the closed mindset and reward children for their ability to operate in that space. The open mindset is a place of play, humor, and where most ideas worth doing start. At BAM we tell this to our students all the time; play your instrument every day. PLAY! Have fun. Explore. Don’t just run the scale or do the rudiment. Make some silly noise. Everyone is creative, you just have to give yourself permission. Sometimes you need a good teacher, or a good friend, to remind you the best way to solve the problem in front of you is to have a little fun with. That is a lesson I needed, and one we want our students to take with them for the rest of their life. re. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source. Clint Velazquez Executive Director

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We recently sat down with all of our teachers to ask them three questions; What do you want for your students? Why do you teach at BAM? And can you tell me a story about one of your students?

BAM instructor Nicholas Ferguson sits down to talk about developing work ethic through musical practice and how music pushes the creative boundaries of his students.

What is a beat? You’ve undoubtedly heard the term before, but can you describe what it really Is? In short, the beat is a measure of time that, among other things, allows musicians to identify the underlying pattern of a song. In this episode of BAM’s Master Class Series, composer and teacher, Trevor Smith, uses a universally recognized example of a beat-- the heartbeat, to help viewers understand how a beat is the “pulse” of music. Smith then goes on to explain the theory of rhythm and its relationship to a beat. He also explains the five types of rhythms.

Tumperteer, composer and BAM instructor, Nate Nall, showcases Google’s Chrome Music Lab. The free-to-access website was developed in 2016 as a contribution to Music In Our Schools Month as a way to make music exploration and education accessible to many. Watch as Nate explores the platform’s interactive experiments and learn how they can be used to demonstrate the concepts of sound, rhythm, harmony and others. You can visit Google’s Chrome Music Lab at https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/ or google “ chrome music lab ”. If your child is ready to begin or progress their music education, call Base Academy of Music at (816) 533-5018 or sign up here .

We are beyond excited to welcome Mishawnda Mintz and Sherman Whites to the Base Academy of Music family as our newest board members! Sherman Whites currently serves as a director in Education for the Mauriel Ewing Kauffman Foundation and also lends his time to the Kauffman Foundation’s Communications and Public Affairs team to help shape the lives of Kansas City youth through providing access to education. Mishawnda Mintz along with her husband, James, own and operate InvestMintz, a real estate and investment company that works to provide beautiful and affordable housing options to their community. Mintz is also CEO and co-founder of What an organization that provides a network of resources and support for black homeschoolers and their families. Here, Sherman and Mishawnda share their experiences of first being introduced to BAM and how the organization has impacted the lives of themselves and their families. We’re fortunate to have Sherman and Mishawnda join our community and lend their support and talent to the BAM mission!