Draft 2 for Fordham. Thoughts?
Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:56 pm
Any thoughts?
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As a professional guitar player, I’ve done some thrilling stuff. I’ve nailed killer licks. I’ve laid down a track in the studio with one perfect take. I’ve found myself entranced by a melody and high on sound. The biggest thrill, though, comes when I’m in a five-by-five-foot room with a student. Usually, professional musicians consider teaching lessons as a necessity for making ends meet. I consider it the best part of the job.
Students like complex puzzles. Each has peculiarities of personality that, once solved, allow me to teach to the student in a focused, personal way. The smile on a student’s face after they have finally mastered a tricky chord change or learned a cool pop riff fills me with an overwhelming sense of achievement; to understand a person and to guide them to success is a very satisfying pursuit.
I’ve had some students for a long time. By seeing them week after week, year after year, I’ve developed a strong rapport them and their families. I’ve seen innocent five year-olds grow to be mischievous middle-schoolers, and I’ve seen scrawny, shy sixth-graders grow up to be mature, college-bound young adults who drive themselves to lessons and perform their own gigs. There came a time, however, when teaching lessons was not alone enough to satisfy my creative drive. I needed something more.
So, in 2008, I created and directed two programs for my students: a guitar ensemble and a summer jazz band. My goal in founding these groups was to bring together students of varying ages and interests, so that they may share their skills and ideas while learning and playing together. The groups often performed publically, and each concert drummed up interest. At the start of each new session, new members joined the groups. Ultimately, I increased enrollment in my ensembles by 300 percent, and succeeded in creating the forum for music and community that I had envisioned.
Nevertheless, the community that I created is a small one. In many ways, it still barely extends beyond the five-by-five-foot space of my lesson room. And though I love the puzzle-world of students and teaching, I crave more complex problems more formidable intellectual challenges.
Like my students who are ready to start anew in college, high school, and middle school, I am geared for fresh challenges in law school. My passion for the music world, coupled with my craving to creatively conquer challenges, has ignited a desire to extend my passion for teaching to the study and practice of entertainment law.
Like my students, the music business is growing up very quickly. Rapid advances have been made in the ways that people hear, view, and buy music. New technology, new media, and new means of communication raise new questions and issues that need resolving. Just as students need the guidance and wisdom of teachers, the music industry will need similar attention in order to reach its maximized potential. I am eager to address these issues and to tackle these questions, and excited to offer an attentive, guiding hand.
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As a professional guitar player, I’ve done some thrilling stuff. I’ve nailed killer licks. I’ve laid down a track in the studio with one perfect take. I’ve found myself entranced by a melody and high on sound. The biggest thrill, though, comes when I’m in a five-by-five-foot room with a student. Usually, professional musicians consider teaching lessons as a necessity for making ends meet. I consider it the best part of the job.
Students like complex puzzles. Each has peculiarities of personality that, once solved, allow me to teach to the student in a focused, personal way. The smile on a student’s face after they have finally mastered a tricky chord change or learned a cool pop riff fills me with an overwhelming sense of achievement; to understand a person and to guide them to success is a very satisfying pursuit.
I’ve had some students for a long time. By seeing them week after week, year after year, I’ve developed a strong rapport them and their families. I’ve seen innocent five year-olds grow to be mischievous middle-schoolers, and I’ve seen scrawny, shy sixth-graders grow up to be mature, college-bound young adults who drive themselves to lessons and perform their own gigs. There came a time, however, when teaching lessons was not alone enough to satisfy my creative drive. I needed something more.
So, in 2008, I created and directed two programs for my students: a guitar ensemble and a summer jazz band. My goal in founding these groups was to bring together students of varying ages and interests, so that they may share their skills and ideas while learning and playing together. The groups often performed publically, and each concert drummed up interest. At the start of each new session, new members joined the groups. Ultimately, I increased enrollment in my ensembles by 300 percent, and succeeded in creating the forum for music and community that I had envisioned.
Nevertheless, the community that I created is a small one. In many ways, it still barely extends beyond the five-by-five-foot space of my lesson room. And though I love the puzzle-world of students and teaching, I crave more complex problems more formidable intellectual challenges.
Like my students who are ready to start anew in college, high school, and middle school, I am geared for fresh challenges in law school. My passion for the music world, coupled with my craving to creatively conquer challenges, has ignited a desire to extend my passion for teaching to the study and practice of entertainment law.
Like my students, the music business is growing up very quickly. Rapid advances have been made in the ways that people hear, view, and buy music. New technology, new media, and new means of communication raise new questions and issues that need resolving. Just as students need the guidance and wisdom of teachers, the music industry will need similar attention in order to reach its maximized potential. I am eager to address these issues and to tackle these questions, and excited to offer an attentive, guiding hand.