Last week’s blog talked about how powerful facial communication can be. I hope I convinced you to give freely of your facial expressions and to work on further developing them. To that end, I have three suggestions. First, get ahold of an anger management poster. Most guidance counselors or school psychologists have them. They are a series of photos or cartoon caricatures of facial expressions that match a word or phrase. They are meant to help students with difficulties communicating their feelings to share their thoughts. I suggest hanging one on or near a mirror and making those facial expressions to master them. The simple act of “exercising your face” will make using it easier, and it will help you explore facial expressions that are not in your wheelhouse. I know it sounds crazy, but it works so well. Second, find a partner with whom to play a game. Each of you write down five emotions. Then, take turns guessing what each other has portrayed using only the face. This will include a fair amount of laughter, but it will also pay great dividends. Remember, our students are a perfect mirror: what they see is what we get. So practicing “what they see” is as valuable as can be. Third, put sticky notes in a score at various spots to remind you of a facial expression you want to make. Now, is this organic or sincere communication? No, absolutely not. But in the throes of rehearsing and conducting, the first casualty of communication is our face. When we are worried about why the trumpets aren’t using mutes, why a percussionist is playing the cymbal part on a triangle, and whether we have to separate Kim and Alex before their tempers flare, the first thing lost is our face. Not our hands; our face. So, by placing those reminder notes in a score, we can jog our memories of what we want to show in our face. Over time, those notes aren’t needed, because we will have practiced and mastered the use of organic, sincere, heartfelt facial expressions in our conducting. And there is not much better than that!
Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America
The content of this Blog article or Banded Story is the intellectual property of the author(s) and cannot be duplicated without the permission of KHS America and/or the author(s). Standard copyright rules apply.
We look forward to the evolution of this exciting program, and welcome feedback on how we can further enhance the work that you do in music education.
We are excited to offer your program the opportunity to join the KHS America Academic Alliance today.