TOW #2: Mr. Hood's String Class (Visual Text)

     Mr. Hood's strings class has an unusual classroom dynamic. The students are usually the speakers, and as they speak through their music, Mr. Hood becomes the audience. He also, however, is a speaker at times when he directs or critiques the musicians, and as a musician and a music teacher, he certainly is qualified to be giving his class instruction on how to play. The purpose of the strings class is to prepare the students for their winter concert, and the most effective way to do this is to place the musicians in an environment in which they can practice and therefore improve. From there, they can become skilled enough to perform at the winter concert where, by extension, their audience will also include concertgoers.
     As a certified music teacher, Mr. Hood appeals to ethos. Since he is their teacher, his students already look up to him and trust his opinion. They also know that he is in several bands and has a great amount of experience with performing. The students know he is skilled in what he is teaching, and they are therefore more likely to trust his views as their conductor. It is very important for an orchestra to trust a conductor's decisions in order for the music they're learning to eventually become performance-ready.
     Mr. Hood is able to further his purpose by setting a specific tone in the classroom. He engages students by making jokes and altogether not being very serious or formal. The class mirrors this light-hearted tone by responding to his jokes or engaging him in conversation. This allows the student-teacher (and musician-conductor) relationship to develop and become stronger, which helps the class run smoothly. However, it's not all fun and games – there is a sense of urgency in that there is a deadline before which the music has to be prepared. This sense of urgency is produced by the continual practicing in the class; the short breaks are often filled with Mr. Hood giving critique or instruction.
     The strings class successfully achieves its purpose through Mr. Hood's appeal to ethos and the informal but determined tone shared by both the musicians and conductor. The use of these devices will lead to a performance-ready strings group by the winter concert in December.

Mr. Hood:

Mr. Hood's experience as a musician (in this picture, he is playing bass, but he is skilled at many other instruments) allows him to effectively prepare his strings class for their winter concert.

(Source: http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2013/07/06/ambler_gazette/news/doc51d3108fac68f880283111.txt)