Show and share

Jordan's class has been having "show and share" lately, where each kid gets five minutes to show something to the rest of the class. The range of presentations runs from kids who formed a band that practiced for months, to a kid who just got up and told a joke, to a kid who made an elaborate presentation about the pet guinea pig. I asked Jordan a couple days ago what he planned to do and he said play the trombone. I wondered if this was the best idea, since he has not touched the trombone in months; maybe he should talk about choir or piano instead? Nope: trombone. Okay.

Well, it was a giant hit. He took requests. People yelled out Hanukkah songs and he just played them - not perfectly, but pretty good for a first try. How does he do it?

[iPad or iPhone users try this link instead.]

As you can hear on the video, I asked him how he does it, and it's not something that he can articulate very well. He said, "I know where each note is and I know what it sounds like." He also stated truthfully that he barely ever practices; "Somehow I just pick it up and I know it every time," he said. His teacher reported by email that during their snack break, he played some more, and the whole class sang along with him.