Ahhhh, sweet summer time!
The time to chillax, drift away, and . . . . start planning what music you’re going to do in the next year.
May I suggest . . . plan what you are going to have in your back pocket.
What you have in your back pocket refers to the idea of a song you can pull out on a second’s notice when a great song is needed.
As the song goes, "You're never fully dressed without a song in your back pocket!"
Or something like that.
When do you need to pull a song out of your back pocket?
How about when visitors unexpectedly show up in your class room or in the school.
Superintendents, perspective parents on a tour of the school, politicians, grandparents, photo-ops, visiting educators from other schools, Principals-for the day – all prime candidates for a polished back pocket song.
And over my career, I did one for all the above.
Pro tip: have more than one song in your pocket- you might need an encore.
Then there is the time you have to pull that one special song out of your back pocket: “The” back pocket song.
It has to be a solid vocal number that the kids love to sing, one they have memorized with a very recognizable intro lick.
When kids hear an intro to a song that they love, they immediately buzz and smile because they know what’s coming is something they always look forward to.
If it’s an up-tempo song, make sure it has a physical flourish at the end that ends on a freeze.
If it’s a ballad, make sure that it builds to the last note and that the vowel sounds are as pure as you want to convey that your students are.
Another great opportunity for back pocket songs is when there is a problem during a school assembly and there is an unexpected empty block of time that has fallen into your principal’s lap.
Almost every principal I have worked for has never forgotten the day that their school singers saved the day.
Every year in my elementary school, there were usually at least a half-dozen situations where there were hundreds of kids waiting for something.
They were times like the startup of an assembly, waiting for field trip buses, lunch lines, waiting for buses that broke down at the end of the snowy school day where not only was I able to pull something out of my back pocket, I had to.
My favorite was on those twenty degree winter days at 3:00 when hundreds of kids were bundled up in overcoats, parkas, and cinched hoods, waiting in the bus court for a fleet of late school buses that were stuck in snow somewhere.
Kids would start to get rammy and teachers would nervously look at one another about how they were going to quell the rapidly rising energy in the mile-long line of impatient kids.
I would often turn to two fifth graders, give them each a guitar pick, and tell them to RUN to my music room, bring back my guitar case and be sure that they carry it over their heads when they brought it back to me.
As soon as the back of the bus line saw that guitar travelling in the hall, the positive expectant buzz was in the air: they knew that a song wasn’t far behind.
"Mr. Holmes is gonna sing with us!!"
Without taking off my winter top coat, I would get that guitar out, strap up, and immediately start working the line, singing all the favorite songs that all the kids from kindergarten to fifth grade knew.
It felt like magic.
Guess what was the best day when I pulled some songs out of my back pocket?
My final day of teaching.
It was a sweltering day in June.
The kids had just given me a thunderous clap out through the entire school as I was privileged to lead the bus line for the last time at dismissal.
Like every last day of the school year, there were hundreds of honks from bus horns, hugs, waves, and tears as each of the twenty-five school buses pulled out for the last time for the school year.
Every bus but one.
One bus was missing.
The kids had to patiently sit in the broiling sun on the curb with Assistant Principal Roberta Jacobs and myself, waiting for their bus in the suddenly silent and still parking lot.
After a minute, I knew exactly what to do.
Two fifth graders came running out with my guitar over their heads, I worked the curb, and we shared some back pocket songs for the very last time.
Finally after twenty minutes, the bus came and, along with my guitar, I waved good-bye for the last time.
While I knew that having a bunch of songs in my back pocket was the result of me being proactively ready and planning in the summer time, I realized that it was the power of those songs and the power of all these positive kids, teachers, and administrators raising their voices together with me in hallways, classrooms, assembly halls, and yes, even curbs that was the REAL back pocket magic!
The time to chillax, drift away, and . . . . start planning what music you’re going to do in the next year.
May I suggest . . . plan what you are going to have in your back pocket.
What you have in your back pocket refers to the idea of a song you can pull out on a second’s notice when a great song is needed.
As the song goes, "You're never fully dressed without a song in your back pocket!"
Or something like that.
When do you need to pull a song out of your back pocket?
How about when visitors unexpectedly show up in your class room or in the school.
Superintendents, perspective parents on a tour of the school, politicians, grandparents, photo-ops, visiting educators from other schools, Principals-for the day – all prime candidates for a polished back pocket song.
And over my career, I did one for all the above.
Pro tip: have more than one song in your pocket- you might need an encore.
Then there is the time you have to pull that one special song out of your back pocket: “The” back pocket song.
It has to be a solid vocal number that the kids love to sing, one they have memorized with a very recognizable intro lick.
When kids hear an intro to a song that they love, they immediately buzz and smile because they know what’s coming is something they always look forward to.
If it’s an up-tempo song, make sure it has a physical flourish at the end that ends on a freeze.
If it’s a ballad, make sure that it builds to the last note and that the vowel sounds are as pure as you want to convey that your students are.
Another great opportunity for back pocket songs is when there is a problem during a school assembly and there is an unexpected empty block of time that has fallen into your principal’s lap.
Almost every principal I have worked for has never forgotten the day that their school singers saved the day.
Every year in my elementary school, there were usually at least a half-dozen situations where there were hundreds of kids waiting for something.
They were times like the startup of an assembly, waiting for field trip buses, lunch lines, waiting for buses that broke down at the end of the snowy school day where not only was I able to pull something out of my back pocket, I had to.
My favorite was on those twenty degree winter days at 3:00 when hundreds of kids were bundled up in overcoats, parkas, and cinched hoods, waiting in the bus court for a fleet of late school buses that were stuck in snow somewhere.
Kids would start to get rammy and teachers would nervously look at one another about how they were going to quell the rapidly rising energy in the mile-long line of impatient kids.
I would often turn to two fifth graders, give them each a guitar pick, and tell them to RUN to my music room, bring back my guitar case and be sure that they carry it over their heads when they brought it back to me.
As soon as the back of the bus line saw that guitar travelling in the hall, the positive expectant buzz was in the air: they knew that a song wasn’t far behind.
"Mr. Holmes is gonna sing with us!!"
Without taking off my winter top coat, I would get that guitar out, strap up, and immediately start working the line, singing all the favorite songs that all the kids from kindergarten to fifth grade knew.
It felt like magic.
Guess what was the best day when I pulled some songs out of my back pocket?
My final day of teaching.
It was a sweltering day in June.
The kids had just given me a thunderous clap out through the entire school as I was privileged to lead the bus line for the last time at dismissal.
Like every last day of the school year, there were hundreds of honks from bus horns, hugs, waves, and tears as each of the twenty-five school buses pulled out for the last time for the school year.
Every bus but one.
One bus was missing.
The kids had to patiently sit in the broiling sun on the curb with Assistant Principal Roberta Jacobs and myself, waiting for their bus in the suddenly silent and still parking lot.
After a minute, I knew exactly what to do.
Two fifth graders came running out with my guitar over their heads, I worked the curb, and we shared some back pocket songs for the very last time.
Finally after twenty minutes, the bus came and, along with my guitar, I waved good-bye for the last time.
While I knew that having a bunch of songs in my back pocket was the result of me being proactively ready and planning in the summer time, I realized that it was the power of those songs and the power of all these positive kids, teachers, and administrators raising their voices together with me in hallways, classrooms, assembly halls, and yes, even curbs that was the REAL back pocket magic!
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