“If you cannot teach me to fly, teach me to sing.”

― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

The 2017 school year is over… and we certainly ‘flew’ through it! As I’ve shared before, one of my last tasks to complete is a summary and reflection on the year in classroom music for the College magazine. I have again used a quote to frame this article, and stumbled on a wonderfully nostalgic line from Peter Pan:

If you cannot teach me to fly, teach me to sing.

What a wonderful statement! Sir James Matthew Barrie penned this in early 1900s in his play come novel, Peter Pan. “If you cannot teach me to fly, teach me to sing” reveals what those of us who ‘music’ can experience – a sense of wonderment, transcendence, ‘magic’… something often unfathomable. When we are deeply engaged in ‘music’ we come close to what it might be like to fly, perhaps just like Peter Pan – soaring above the world, reliving the playfulness of our childhood moments, transcending place and time… we visit places we’ve never been, and can never revisit in later similar iterations. Of course we can’t fly, but music offers up perhaps the closest experience.

I became aware of this in Year 7 when I started to learn the trumpet – it opened up a new world for me; I was completely absorbed in the challenge, and as I gained some fluency on my instrument, I explored ‘new worlds’, and new ways of communication and expression… When I played, I clearly remember a sense of ‘soaring above’ – the realities of my day would become blurred; time moved unnoticed… Perhaps I am getting a little romantic, but I know that many of the students I work with feel the same. I see it, know it when it is happening… everything but music is relegated to the ‘edges’ as we ‘fly’… we are free to move about as we please, we are not boxed in… we can explore our entire realm of existence. I know that some students might still be taking-off, but we all need a big run-up to get ‘off the ground’ – grab a hold of a ‘musical Peter Pan’ and let him take you to places unseen, unheard and un-experienced. No matter how far along (or up) the students are in their musical journey – all have the capacity to soar; alone or with a ‘Peter Pan’.

Given the option, if it were possible for us to fly, then I do think I would still choose to sing!

What a wonderful thing it is we get to do, us music teachers…!

Image: Disney: “I taught you to fight and to fly. What more could there be?”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan and Wendy from http://artsmeme.com/2013/01/10/peter-pan-panelat-el-capitan/