Sometimes, you just gotta have fun - The Orchestra Flamin Hot Cheeto Challenge

Last week I worked all of my orchestras really hard so that we could get back into shape for the new year.  Students worked on a New Year's practicing assignment, plus they had a playing test on Friday.  Normally, students do not love playing test days because they each play alone for me in front of the class and some get really nervous.  Since we had a pretty serious week, I decided to make playing test day a little crazy and fun.

We watched this video on YouTube about an orchestra that stops in the middle of a piece of music and each orchestra member eats a hot pepper.  The orchestra then continues the music and it is very entertaining to watch.  The idea is to put some passion and 'spice' into your performance:

I then pulled out a bag of Flamin Hot Cheetos and gave students the option to place one hot cheeto in their mouth before playing their playing test for me.  This was totally optional, and about half of the students in each class decided to try the 'Cheeto Challenge.'  It was hilarious to watch and students really got into it.  My students had fun, they bonded, and it was a great way to end a week of hard work.