Sycamore Park’s own school of rock

By Catherine Amos

Published: October 2, 2008

What’s-for-lunch?

Pep-per-o-ni-piz-za.

Cho-colate-milk-shake.

French-fries.

It may sound like the menu in the school cafeteria, but instead these questions and answers accompanied varying drum beats coming from the music room at the end of a long hall at Sycamore Park
Elementary School Wednesday afternoon.

Music teacher Ben Temple recently began teaching after-school music lessons to fourth and fifth graders, thanks to Little Kids Rock, an organization that donates instruments to low-income schools.
Temple took a class this summer with Little Kids Rock, which trained him to teach guitar and donated 30 guitars to Temple’s class.

More than 90 students applied for the guitar class and Temple randomly selected 30 to participate. They meet every other week and on the off weeks, he holds a drum class for about 15 students.

“It’s a great organization,” he said. “It gives the kids a reason to go to school. A lot of them aren’t going for reading and math, but they’ll come for this. It’s a way to get kids to love music.”

Temple, a vocal major in college, began learning to play guitar this summer in preparation for teaching his students, who seem to thoroughly enjoy the after-school activities. In his drum class, the group of kids sat in a circle, legs straddling African-looking red, black, yellow and green patterned drums as they pounded on the skins.

“I like the way you can hit it hard or light,” said Brandon Davidson, 9. “I think it’s really fun to drum.”

It was clear the task came easier to some than others as they mimicked Temple’s beats. After a few rounds of the cafeteria lunch game, the group moved on to beating out their names. Temple would play a rhythm and one by one, the kids would answer with their names. “Sa-man-tha-Jack-son,” then “Zach-ar-y-South-ard.”

In between exercises, students knew to keep their hands at their sides. “You’re burning, get off the hot stove,” Temple would joke if they leaned on the drums.

Temple’s son, Philip, 8, didn’t participate in the drum class but sits in on the guitar class with his own guitar.

“I think it’s fun because it’s a good instrument and I like the sound,” he said. “It hurts your fingers a little bit, but I like that because I like challenges.”

The classes will culminate with an instrumental concert in March, which is “Music In Our Schools” month. Temple said all six of Culpeper’s public elementary schools have drum classes, but his is the only guitar class.

“A lot of these kids, this is the first time they’ve done anything like this, so it’s tough at first,” Temple said.

Catherine Amos can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 138 or .