Lane Middle School in Fort Wayne was the first school in Northeast Indiana to have a Mariachi band, which was formed two years ago. Almost immediately after it was formed, the pandemic hit and caused after school programs and most band programs to stop almost completely.
Now, with kids back in school, Lane’s orchestra director is working to get what she calls "hot mess Mariachi" back on track.
Colleen Phillips is one of three band directors at the middle school and her focus is on orchestra. But, she said, Mariachi isn’t something she came up with out of the blue.
According to Phillips, Mariachi bands are extremely common in the Southwest.
“They’re more common than jazz band is in the midwest," she said. "You don’t just have them after school, you have them all throughout the day.”
Phillips has been attending the Conn-Selmers Institute for many years. Conn-Selmers is a conference for college students, directors and music program leaders. Phillips said more and more Mariachi directors from around the country have been attending.
“And they started talking more and more about how Mariachi worked and I was like ‘this is really cool, we can do this, we can make this happen,’” she said.
Phillips said she then went to Bruce Schneider, the program manager for B-Instrumental, and her principal to figure out how they could get the band started.
“I went to Bruce like ‘what would it take to get a couple vihuelas and a guitarron to kind of get going?’”
A vihuela is a small rhythm guitar and a guitarron is a large bass guitar, both of which are commonplace in Mariachi bands.
“And one day in early October, some beautiful boxes showed up I’m like ‘Christmas!’” Phillips said.
That was two years ago. Not long after the program got started, the pandemic hit and kids weren’t going to school in-person for a while, which made teaching band a lot harder and after school activities were completely canceled.
“So many students who did it virtually, didn’t really do it," Phillips said. "I mean, how are you supposed to learn an instrument and play virtually with an orchestra?”
Sound delays, lag and poor connections could be big barriers to band members being in sync. Phillips said a lot of students lost interest in their instruments during the pandemic, due to not being able to really play with their fellow band members.
“So, it’s been very much a rebuilding year, getting these kids to love it, to play with each other,” Phillips said.
Phillips said she likes to keep the vihuela out in her classroom to entice students to ask about it and learn more about Mariachi. She said she’s had a bit of an open-door policy for the club this year as students have shown interest in joining or finished up their fall sports and looked for a new extracurricular.
Jason Brown is an eighth grade student at Lane who began learning the violin only about a month ago in order to play with the Mariachi band. Mariachi also utilizes common western music instruments like violins, trumpets and guitars.
“So, I first popped in and I got to try a different instrument other than the reeds that I’m used to and it felt like a great experience,” Jason said.
Jason’s primary instrument is a clarinet.
“I’m literally a reed instrument, I blow," he said. "Now I’m learning string and orchestra music.”
Sofia Alvarez is also an eighth grader at Lane and joined the Mariachi band this year. Sofia said she’s played the piano, drums and violin. Now, she’s learning the vihuela.
“I used to play like piano and other stuff at all times when I was a kid, like the drums and stuff," Sofia said. "But I wanted to try a new instrument this time and learn about the culture more and just learn about new stuff.”
Phillips has put a lot of emphasis on the importance of not just playing Mariachi music, but learning more about the culture it comes from. Mariachi is specifically a Mexican form of music.
“While not everybody in the group is hispanic, it’s giving a voice and having people understand it better," Phillips said. "If you understand someone’s culture, you understand them a lot better. If you understand someone’s music, you can have an appreciation for stuff. It breaks down a lot of barriers.”
Jason said he feels like the club has offered him the opportunity to learn about more than just how to play a new instrument.
“I do feel like I’ve learned a lot, because not only do we talk about Mariachi music, we also talk about the culture behind it," Jason said. "So, it’s like a whole new learning experience.”
Phillips herself has begun learning Spanish alongside her husband so she can better understand and pronounce the different songs and lyrics they’re learning in Mariachi.
Mariachi can also be especially challenging to learn because it utilizes a lot of notes and methods not typically found in western music. Phillips said western music is the umbrella term to refer to Eastern European music.
For Sofia and Jason, learning new chords can be a challenge, but it’s one that pays off in the end.
“You know who you get that feeling where it’s like a new accomplishment that you didn’t know you could do before,” Jason said.
“Yeah, like, first you’re trying to get that moment, first you have that chord and then you’re like ‘Oh, shoot, I’ve gotta switch it,’" Sofia said. "And it’s just challenging.”
“It’s been challenging but it’s been fun at the same time,” Jason said.
And the students say that’s in no small part thanks to Phillips style of teaching.
“And, Mrs. Phillips is just one of those teachers where even when you mess up, you feel like you want to try harder,” Jason said.
“Once we mess up, she says like ‘Oh, you can do it again just try and remember the steps,’" Sofia said. "And I’m like okay, I’ll try to remember the steps. So, I do and I’m like now I get it.”
During the band’s practice, Phillips typically plays along with the students with one of the various instruments she keeps on hand, showing the students how it should sound once they know the piece better. Students don’t hesitate to ask for help when they need it, handing off their instruments for Phillips to show them how to rest their hands to achieve specific chords.
During some parts, Phillips sings the lyrics in Spanish to help the students with the melody. Some students correct her pronunciation and she said it’s a great opportunity for her to learn from them as well.
“It’s a challenge, but you know what?" Phillips said. "It’s worth it.”
The Lane Middle School Mariachi band plans to perform during the Orchestra winter concert in December.
