Dennis Fett, a band teacher and peacock farmer from Minden, Iowa, recently appeared on The Tonight Show. His presentation involved playing a tune on the clarinet, taking the instrument apart from the bottom as he played, ending up with just the mouthpiece for the final notes.
To see and hear a recreation of the performance that Fett calls “the wacky disappearing clarinet,” go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0S6cfrivyA [The original can’t be used due to legal restrictions.]
When Fett returned to his classroom, “There was no getting away from talking in my elementary music class about my three-day trip to California to be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. For the performance, I played ‘Jingle Bells’ in twenty-eight seconds, gradually disassembling the clarinet and ending up playing only the mouthpiece.”
Fett’s teaching helped him overcome the challenge of performing on national television. He greatly enjoys his students and helping them become more musical. “At Boyer Valley Elementary School, Dow City, Iowa, I teach general music K–5 and fifth-grade band. I place an emphasis on musical performance and include music history along with music theory in our curriculum.”
He continues, “Like all music educators, I take my real-life musical experiences and life skills and use them in the classroom. When teaching about the woodwind family in music classes, I use my clarinet and take it apart while playing. My students enjoy my clarinet act, and it helps them learn about the various parts in the instrument.”
“My students knew all about my dream to play my clarinet on national television since the fifth grade. On my return from being on The Tonight Show, my lesson plan included telling my students about the experience. I described how I was disappointed two times before when I was close to being on the show and just did not make the cut. I said, ‘Never give up!’ and mentioned how I’d kept working on my clarinet act knowing that someday I would be on the show.”
"As my last class of the day was leaving, a fifth-grade boy asked me, 'Are you famous, Mr. Fett?' I was taken aback by the question, but said, 'I think so, but only for a short time on the show. Being a music teacher here at our school is what makes me famous forever! Remember, if you never give up your dreams they, too, will come true!' He left my class with a big smile on his face, and that expression is one I will never forget.”
MENC member Dennis M. Fett teaches elementary general music and fifth-grade band at Boyer Valley Elementary School, Dow City, Iowa.
--Ella Wilcox, May 20, 2009, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org)