Music is not easy to learn. No one can pick up an instrument they know nothing about and play it well without proper instruction.

No one knows this better than Kittitas School District Music Director Don May.

Being an effective teacher, like being a great musician, takes years to master.

Most musical education majors do not get the opportunity to teach an actual band class until after they have graduated, but this is not always the case.

“Back in 1999, a student of mine named Neil Proff started teaching the middle school jazz band, and he did that for three years and then it was passed on,” May said. “[Proff and I] talked to the Central professors and got a program going.”

Tanner Cornell has been passed the honor and obligation of teaching jazz band to the Morgan Middle School students every weekday at 7 a.m.

“When he goes on a gig with us, I try to give him as much leeway as possible to make it[the students and Cornell’s] band, and teach the students as much as possible” May said.

Cornell is not a new face to the band students at Morgan Middle School.

“He is about to pass the baton to someone else, but Cornell has been faithful to the program. He has been teaching the middle school jazz band for six or seven quarters,” May said.

During this time, Cornell has gained more experience teaching band than if he hadn’t pursued the program.   

“I’ve been doing it for two years, since January 2014. I was asked in the fall of 2013,” Cornell said.

Tasks such as getting the students to listen to instructions, respecting one another as fellow musicians and following directions perfectly, are all skills that can only be learned through time and experience as a teacher.

To Cornell being successful is all in the preparation.

“Just the challenge of being prepared [is difficult], throughout the day I am always thinking about what a good next step is going to be for each rehearsal,” Cornell said.

At first, Cornell wasn’t sure he was ready to commit to being a jazz teacher for the rest of his time at Central.

“I’ve taught jazz bands before, only the time commitment was an issue,” Cornell said

Cornell believes that the benefits of his job outweigh its cons.

“Any teaching experience is super valuable. I’ve learned a ton about myself and what I need to work on,” Cornell said.

Cornell isn’t the only Central student who has been helping out with the jazz band. Dan Baker graduated last year, but came in fall and winter quarters to help. Emily Hurd has also helped a lot as the saxophone section coach last year and coming in every day this year to help out.

The most rewarding part about being a jazz band instructor, according to Cornell, is not the experience gained, it’s watching his student grow as musicians.

“I’ve been doing this for a while, It’s fun. Some of my kids have gone to high school,  and I get to see them perform. They always come up to me after the show and tell me that we [May and Cornell] are the reason that they stuck with music,” Cornell said. “That’s probably the best part about it, when they continue to work on becoming better musicians.”