may I ask your music background?

W

wendywyrm

Member
Cathe,
I met you on the 1st roadtrip which I LOVED. I have always been curious about something and wondered if I could ask. I noticed that you are a spectular cue-er and you always start at the top of the phrase. So many aerobic instructors don't do this. As a musician myself, I SO appreciate this. Instructors who are off the beat or don't use 32-count phrasing or don't start at the top of the phrase make me want to climb the wall or shoot myself or something. (I want to scream "Count to 8! Not 10!") May I ask, do you have a musical background that you wouldn't mind sharing with us? Or is it just innate ability? (which would make me think that you probably have musical talent if you haven't tapped into it - not that you need more things to do).

Thanks,
Wendy
 
Pardon me for butting in but I've always thought Cathe to have really good intonation when speaking which might indicate a background of good musical/vocal training.
 
Hi Wendy,

Wow, I've never experienced an instructor who did not use the 32 count phrase while teaching, and I've been teaching over 10 years. This is how I instruct and many, many of my fellow instructors do the same. I was never talented in the music business, but perhaps it has something to do with knowing how to dance and keep the beat. Who knows??

Candy
 
Hmm...I should have considered that dance training would teach things like recognizing the top of the phrase. Yes, there are instructors who even MAKE VIDEOS who haven't mastered this. There are well-known videos where the instructor doesn't even keep the beat, let alone keep to 32-count phrasing. Did you figure out yet that I find it irritating? Cathe is perfect in these regards. I'm amazed that she even starts at the top of the phrase when there are just beats and no lyrics.
Wendy
 
Thank you Wendy! I do know exactly what you mean. I have actually heard that many people have the innate ability to hear the phrasing in music, and therefore if they are taking a class with an instructor who is not working on the 8 count, 16 count or 32 count phrase, they will feel the class is off somehow(not as noticeable with classes that aren't tightly choreographed). Students may not be able to put their finger on "why" it feels off, but they will notice. This certainly isn't meant as a demeaning criticism. I'm not at all implying that these are not good instructors, rather that by not understanding the musical phrasing, something is taken away from the ease and smoothness of their class delivery. If I see that an instructor struggles with phrasing I will encourage them to work on learning/understanding it so that their overall class is more enjoyable for both the instructor and the students.

Ironically, in some of my strength training tapes, I would actually lose a lot of "tape time" waiting for the top of the phrase before starting the next set of an exercise so I was forced to start anywhere in the phrase. That was like nails going down a chalk board to me and I found it distracting and almost undoable. Those are the times that I really have to rely on Cedie to count for me so that I am free to give form pointers without completely losing my place.

As far as my background.....while I believe this could be an innate ability for me, I did grow up around music. My father LOVED music and he was always into German marching bands. I myself played flute in marching band as well as marched in colorguard and danced in drill team all through high school. So I was always exposed to music and felt that working to the beat and phrase came naturally to me.

Thanks for asking and have a fun weekend.

:)
 
Funny you mention this Shelby. This could be related to my Communications degree. My radio broadcasting teacher spent a good deal of time working on intonation, voice inflection, and voice projection. Thanks and have a great weekend.
 
WOW, Cathe! I'm like you! I played flute in the marching band and I can't hardly do anything without keeping it to the beat.

When I took my final black belt test for my 1st degree in Taekwondo in 2002, I had to do an original form with music in the background as part of the test. You can bet every single movement (kick, punch, turn, even bow) was choreographed to the music. My instructor was totally amazed because no one else had ever done that he said. I told him I couldn't do it without doing to the beat - period. Since then they have begun offering more freestyle forms to music (but I don't go to the dojo anymore - the kiddo is older and I want to enjoy her high school years!) - pretty cool! I wonder, though, if anyone does it to the beat or not...

And I, too, love music!

Awesome! Looking forward to STS and all of your future offerings!

Gibbee:)
 
Thanks for sharing Cathe! I had said to myself "I bet she was in marching band". I've played piano all my life and I played the sax in the marching band. I had a summer job in Germany when I was in college in the late 80's and I found the marching bands there a ton of fun. It's also amazing to me how the older Germans are such great dancers. Sixty-something-year-olds can polka the schnitzel out of the younger folks. ;)
Thanks,
Wendy
 
One more thing to add to this discussion: because of my marching band experience, when I began teaching aerobics (a faculty class where I'm a professor) I always started on the left foot. All my students had dance backgrounds and they said, "No, start on the right foot." I've adjusted but it seemed weird. I guess the aerobics right-foot tradition dates back to ballet where you start on the right foot.

Wendy
 
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