A typical first grade music lesson – teaching basic rhythms through words.  The kids were using the words Dog, Puppy, Egg and Chicken to form measures of 4/4 time, just saying the words, then clapping along with the words.  Then I asked them to “hear the words in their heads” and try to just clap the syllables (rhythms).  Officially this is called audiation and it’s hard.  So hard that for me it’s just an experiment to see how far I can take them before they crash and burn.  I’m not looking for perfection, I’m looking for kids who are willing to try something different.  Up until today, the classes had met that expectation of experimentation, but the results were less then stellar.

Then we added some simple rhythm instruments instead of the clapping.  This is where it usually gets messy.  Where they tend to have trouble is switching from the end of one line of rhythms to the beginning of the next – there always seems to be a pause or hesitation.  But not today.  These little guys just pushed right through, so together, that on the very last “note” – a “ta” or quarter note, there was dead silence afterwards.  There was this slight intake of breath from everyone, including me, and then, breaking the silence was this little voice who very clearly and enthusiastically said, “OUT-standing!”

Another second of silence and the whole room erupted with laughter.  “Outstanding!” they said to one another, followed by more laughter.  For me however, it immediately brought back my dad, a man of few words, whose only utterance when something really impressed him was something like “Faaaan-tastic” or “OUT-standing”.  He would have gotten a kick out of this.  I had pushed these little guys pretty far and they took on the challenge successfully.  It was the perfect way to celebrate.

“Outstanding” from my dad could come from any number of experiences.  A high school band performance I marched in.  My son making it through basic training.  Seeing my first house. Me graduating from college.  Watching the Cornhusker Marching Band on video led by his son-in-law.  A great musical recording.  A great meal.  He never elaborated, but the expression in his voice would say it all.  “OUT-standing” with a big smile on his face or sunglasses to hide a stray tear welling in his eye.  A very articulate man, with a wealth of vocabulary, I look back now and wonder why he didn’t elaborate more often.

You see, men of his generation didn’t express themselves with a lot of exuberance.  Very matter of fact and slightly stoic, the only time you would see him emote at all was when he was listening to a great piece of music, followed perhaps, for anyone listening, by a very satisfied “Outstanding”.  I often wonder, now that he’s been gone, what kinds of things would illicit those words again.  My sons getting married, buying their first houses, adopting his great-grandsons, me serving at a state and national level, his son-in-law becoming a successful “Big 10” band director.  So hearing that word burst from that little guy this afternoon was a gift, a reminder of someone who has been gone for a while now, but still lives, through his words in my memories.

OUT-standing.