Mr. Holland's Opus Page #2

I bet you do. Um...

Well, come in about a half-hour before|first period tomorrow and we"ll just start...

OK. All right. Thank you...|thank you very much. Thanks.

When a flat precedes a note, like this,

it indicates that the note|is to be played a half-step lower.

A piece based in F major

should have a flat sign|at the beginning of every stave.

These tests... are pathetic.

"Name an American composer. "

Miss Swedlin, your answer was?

"Bach"?

"Johann Sebastian Bach. "

Oh, this is my favourite one.

"How do you know|what key a concerto is in?"

Mr Mims, your answer was|"Look on the front page?"

Now, this question mark -|was that because you weren"t sure?

Or because your English skills are on|the same level as your musical theory?

These tests are a waste|of my time, and yours!

No kidding! L"d rather be somewhere else.

Mr Sullivan! Why don't you pay a visit|to Mr Wolters, right now!

Get your books and get outta here!

As for the rest of you,|get your textbooks out.

We"re gonna go over these answers|one by one until you get them right.

Give it up, Miss Lang.

I meant for the day.

- I meant "Give it up for the day. "|- I know what you meant.

Then... why are you crying?

I'm terrible. I'm...

I'm terrible. I practise till my lips swell up,|but all I make is noise.

It takes work|to learn a musical instrument.

I just... I just wanna be good at something.

My sister"s got a ballet scholarship|to go to Juilliard,

and my brother"s going to Notre Dame|on a football scholarship.

My mother"s won the blue ribbon|for watercolours at the state fair

so many times|they"ve retired the category.

My father"s got the most|beautiful voice. He's...

I'm the only one in my family who"s...

I... I just can't...

It doesn't make any difference anyway. I...

Mr Holland!|Just the man I was looking for.

We"re forming a textbook committee|for next year.

I would like to have your suggestions. We|meet next Tuesday night in the library.

Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs Jacobs.|I'm very busy on Tuesday night.

Uh-huh?

You know, for a good four or five months|now, I've been watching you.

I've never seen a teacher|sprint for the parking lot

with more speed and enthusiasm|than his students.

Perhaps you should be our track coach.

Mrs Jacobs, I get here on time|every morning, don't I?

I'm doing my job the best I can.

A teacher is two jobs.|Fill young minds with knowledge, yes.

But, more important,|give those minds a compass

so that knowledge doesn't go to waste.

I don't know what you do|with the knowledge,

but as a compass, you"re stuck.

I really hate that woman!|And I hate teaching, Iris. I hate it.

Nobody could teach|these children. Nobody!

I don't know what I'm gonna do.

They just sit there, staring up at me.|There's no there there. I've been trying...

You played a lot of tough houses.|When they didn"t listen, did you quit?

Wait a minute. Wait a minute! Aren"t we|supposed to be on the same side?

I am.

It's just that I...

I...

What?

I'm pregnant.

I wasn't... I wasn't sure if I was,|but I went to the doctor and I... I am.

We are.

S...

Say something.

Wow.

Iris...

- Iris...|- I... I don't know. I knew!

- I knew you wouldn"t be, but I just...|- Iris, it just took me by surprise, that's all.

Let me tell you a story, OK?

When I was 15 years old|I used to hang out at a local record store.

There was this guy who worked there|who thought he knew what I liked,

and he handed me this album one day|and it was John Coltrane.

So I took it home|and I put it on the machine.

And I hated it. I mean, I really hated it.

I just didn"t get it.

So I... played it again.

I played it again, and I played it again...

and then... I just couldn"t stop playin" it.

I kept listening to those notes.

And I realised that... that's what|I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

You know?

Make music.

What am I tryin" to say?

Look, Iris...

Look, you... you tell me that...|we"re gonna have a baby.

Well...

that's like... falling in love|with John Coltrane...

all over again.

If that is a lie,|that is the sweetest lie I ever heard.

Let"s take our seats, please.

Anybody here know the difference|between the lonian and the Dorian scale?

Anybody?

I just wanted to confirm the fact

that I've made absolutely no impact|on you in the last five months.

- Mr Sullivan.|- Yeah.

What kind of music|do you like to listen to?

- Um...|- don't be afraid.

Rock"n"roll.

- What about you?|- Rock"n"roll.

- You?|- Classical.

Brown-noser.

Does anybody here like|Johann Sebastian Bach?

Other than you?

I'll bet all of you, whether you know it or|not, already like Johann Sebastian Bach.

- What's this called?|- "A Lover's Concerto".

- Who wrote it?|- The Toys.

Wrong!

That was "Minuet in G", and it was written|by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Can you hear it?

# Bom-bom, bom-bom, bom

And he wrote it in 1725.

They are both prime examples|of the lonian scale.

Now listen... and see if|you can hear the connective tissue

between what I just played and this.

...and they were answering questions|and it was so much fun.

It was rowdy, you know.|It was... it was just great.

Hey, hey, hey! What do we think, huh?

And it only took two tries and three hours.

You didn"t realise|you"d married such a handy man!

But now we really don't have any space.

Well... how would you feel|if we moved into a house?

- You"re kidding?|- No.

But we can't afford that.

If we used our savings account we could,|and I taught driver"s ed in the summer.

- You were gonna compose this summer.|- Well, we could make it work.

- It"d mean taking the crib apart again.|- Never!

I'll tear a wall down first.

It's up to you.

- I think we should do it.|- Really?!

Play the song you wrote|that made me fall in love with you.

The song that made you|fall in love with me?

The song that made you...|Oh, yes! The song!

- # Give me some men who are...|- No! No!

- No?|- No, come on.

Mm-hm.

- Mr Holland?|- You"re late.

And you left your clarinet here|the other day.

Yeah, um...|if you know anyone who wants it...

I'm giving up the clarinet. I'm just|goofing everybody else up anyway.

So, um... I just wanted to say thanks.|Thanks for trying.

Is it any fun?

I wanted it to be.

You know what we"ve been doing wrong?

We"ve been playing the notes on the page.

Well, what else is there to play?

There's a lot more to music|than notes on a page.

These guys, for example.

Now... they can't sing,

and they have absolutely|no harmonic sense, and they"re...

they"re playing the same three chords|over and over again.

And I love it.

- Do you?|- Yeah.

Yeah!

Why?

- I don't know.|- Yeah, you do.

- Because It's fun?|- That's right.

Because playing music|is supposed to be fun.

It's about... heart.

It's about feelings and... moving people|and something beautiful and being alive,

and It's not about notes on a page!

I could teach you notes on a page.|I can't teach you that other stuff.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes