Yo. So, I make a lot of Star Wars references (episode 4 mainly) when I'm teaching.

Now, I'm finding that many of my students haven't seen Star Wars and I've been contemplating showing the movie at the end of the semester during their final exam. But, I would like to put a musical spin on it.

If you've found yourself drawing these sorts of analogies, would you share them here? Thanks!

Giving the pit ";listening"; responsibilities when they can't really hear what's going on behind them: ";Use the force"; :-)

I've also always used the expression Jedi Mind Trick to describe the phenomenon of self-realization the kids have after I totally blow their mind.  This is especially pertinent when we'll be working on something that should be easier than they think.  I make them play it faster then back it down to the original ";hard"; tempo, to which they reply: ";Wow, this isn't really that hard!";

...Jedi Mind Trick.

Another good one is the hand gesture that is seen at 0:15 here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnjaUoR15dU
That one can accompany just about any situation in which the kids think one thing and you are needing to convince them otherwise.

Not sure if these were what you were talking about, but I definitely just revealed my inner nerd.

This is exactly what I was talking about!

(I use the Jedi ";wave"; every... day...)

Kids these days and their High School Musicals, Pokemon, and angry white boy hate music.

Metronome is master Yoda, kid is Luke Skywalker, and their neighbor the hacker is Darth Vader.

When your neighbor gets off with the metronome, you have a decision to make. Do you go with your neighbor and turn to the Dark Side, or do you ignore him and stay with Master Yoda?

Kid messes up and then takes a few kids with him, I'll just stop class and stare at the kid, giving them the slow mechanical breathing.

Works wonders:)

[quote author=Lydian9 link=topic=2817.msg14945#msg14945 date=1227033343]When your neighbor gets off with the metronome, you have a decision to make. Do you go with your neighbor and turn to the Dark Side, or do you ignore him and stay with Master Yoda?[/quote]

I am totally stealing that. :D

In learning a new exercise or ";lick";, I have been known to use Master Yoda's line used when he was teaching Luke in the swampy planet known as Dagobah: [b]Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.[/b]  Perhaps not the best way in this ";feel good world"; but it has gotten results.  Just another method I use occasionally to push the student(s) to the next level.

I cant wait to use this stuff next rehearsal... I never thought to combine Star Wars and drumming, but as you guys point out... the possibilities are endless!

I love the ";turning to the dark side"; of not following the metronome

Awesome

You guys are complete nerds and should be ashamed of yourselves.



...now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on my Jedi robe and play Star Wars Galaxies.

I can't believe there are kids in this world who have not seen star wars.

[quote author=gbass598 link=topic=2817.msg14967#msg14967 date=1227237308]
I can't believe there are kids in this world who have not seen star wars.
[/quote]

And I feel fully responsible for chaning that!

I almost forgot about another favorite.  In [i]Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace[/i], Master Qui-Gon Jinn, in speaking to young Anakin before departing the city-planet Coruscant, tells him [b]";Always remember: Your focus determines your reality.";[/b]

I used the ";these are not the droids you are looking for hand wave"; ALL the time.

Ah, its the Jedi Mind Trick routine. :)

I have a Jedi Mind Trick story:

University of North Texas, Fall 1996; Hijda Fakutchi's 8am Ear Training Class. My very good friend and percussionist Ray Levitt (Long Island, NY) and I are walking to class from our dorm rooms, which were across the hall from eachother in Bruce Hall; it was about 7:57. We run into Shawn Murphy (BD mello soloist, all-around good guy, great pool player..but I can still kick his ass, sorry, anyway); Shawn says to us, ";You dudes ready for the sight-singing test today";. I respond with ";F^%$#^&#$%!!!!";. Ray, who's eyes have not yet really opened yet, calmly says, ";I'm not taking it. I'll use the Jedi Mind Trick on that dude if I have to";.

So we get to class and sure enough there is a test. Fakutchi, bless his heart, didn't really speak English...at all. He was a Grad Assistant who didn't speak well, didn't understand any question you ever asked and really didn't understand American pop culture. Fakutchi is going up and down the rows asking us to sing ";minor Ra"; (that'd be minor ";la"; for you solfeggio peeps). We fold and fold and fold and fold; then he gets to Ray.

Fakutchi, ";Mr. Rrrevitt. You sing numba' 137 out of Otttttaaaman buk";. Ray looks at the dude strait in the eye and says, ";I don't need to read number 137...(very subtle hand wave) I'm not the theory student you're looking for";. We all kinda laugh, haha very funny, etc. Now, Fakutchi doesn't get it. He kind of forces a laugh (because we were laughing) but he doesn't get it. Ray just stares at him with a blank look on his face.... Fakutchi doesn't know what to do and then; Fakutchi skips Ray and goes onto the next person. Jaws drop, gasps are heard around the room, etc. I laugh, ";Dude! It totally worked!!!"; And to this day, the percussion studio talks about the theory student who used the Jedi Mind Trick on a weak minded grad assistant.