Lego in action

My studio is working on a group project to build the Lego Grand Piano. It is one of the most fun projects I have ever worked on with my students. At the end of each lesson, everyone (from ages 7-70+) builds a few steps. I write their name and the date on the page in the instruction book and take a picture on my phone.

The grand piano has 3600 pieces and 840 steps (this is where I show what a nerd I am). It's taking about a month to get through 25%, so if we started in March, we will end in July.

Lego did a phenomenal job with the details of the piano, so as we build the model, I can show what part of the piano we are building on the actual piano I have in the room.

You can print photos from your phone at various places, which I've done. I have cut them out and stuck them in the lego instruction book, which is transforming into a scrap book. It's one of the most precious things I have. A record of my students.

It's a gift that keeps on giving, when we are done with this one, the next one we are going to make is Artemis. Artemis, as you may know, recently orbited the moon. There are so many moon and space songs, that we are going to dedicate the rest of the year with an otherworldly program.

This isn't a random let's-have-fun in the studio thing. Watching students with lego gives me an insight on fine motor control, sequential processing, and observational skills. It is a group activity that everyone can participate in, even if they don't see each other on a regular basis. The scrapbook is a way for students to meet each other. It's a record of lessons.

Lego instructions are brilliant. Every brick is accounted for. Like a piece of classical music where every note and every measure should be learned, the model isn't complete if everything isn't done.

There's the delayed gratification aspect. We all get to see progress, even if it's slow. A student contributes, then comes back the next week to see how much the project has grown, then they contribute again.

While students build, I have time to write a quick notice happiness card about what they did well in the lesson. They can see their collection of cards growing at the same time they see the piano change.

Composers are Happiness!

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