Music

Illustrated by Tim Heitz

"**Music**" is the tenth chapter of *Wayside School Is Falling Down*.

## Synopsis

Benjamin tries to tell Mrs. Jewls his real name during music class.

## Plot

This chapter opens with Benjamin examining his time at school so far and pondering as to whether or not he should tell the class his real name. He notes that his grades are better than ever, he's always being picked first for kickball, and the girls in class seem to like him. He assumes that being known as Mark Miller has made him a much more talented student, but he knows he has to tell Mrs. Jewls the truth. He raises his hand and Mrs. Jewls hands him a tambourine. What Benjamin didn't know is that Mrs. Jewls was handing out instruments for music class, and is looking for someone to play the tambourine. When nobody raises their hand, she then asks who wants the triangle, and Joe raises his hand. He briefly questions why it's called a triangle. John suggests it's because it's shaped like a triangle, but Mrs. Jewls states that can't be right because otherwise, a tambourine would be a circle. Rondi then suggests it was probably invented by someone named Joe Triangle, and Mrs. Jewls felt that was a likely explanation. Sharie gets the glockenspiel. No one asks why it's called that because it's obvious. Stephen gets the bells and asks why they are called that. No one knows. Joy, Todd, Leslie, and Jenny get drums, Calvin and Bebe each get a cymbal, D.J. gets a gong, and the three Erics each get kazoos.

Mrs. Jewls lets the music begin, but notices Benjamin isn't playing and asks what's wrong. Benjamin tries to tell Mrs. Jewls that his name isn't Mark Miller, but Mrs. Jewls can't hear him over the loud music and tells him to speak louder. The other students misinterpret Mrs. Jewls's comment as an instruction to play louder and so do just that. As everyone continues to make noise, Benjamin tries to tell Mrs. Jewls his real name, but his attempts are drowned out by the music. Every time Mrs. Jewls asks him to speak up, the other students misunderstand her request and play louder than ever, further hampering Benjamin's attempts. Benjamin hollers his name as loud as he can, but he can't be heard over the music, so Mrs. Jewls asks him to speak louder. Everyone prepares to play as loud as possible, when the door flies open.

The school principal, Mr. Kidswatter, walks into the room. Mrs. Jewls asks him what's wrong, and he explains that several teachers from other classrooms are complaining about the music in Mrs. Jewls's class because the students are having trouble hearing through all that noise. However, Mrs. Jewls misinterprets the complaint as a request to play even louder, so she tells the class they need to play as loud as they can so all the other students at Wayside School can hear them. Benjamin, who has given up on trying to tell Mrs. Jewls his name, finally gets into the music class and plays the tambourine instead. After hearing Mrs. Jewls delighted, he decides to continue using his alias as Mark Miller, feeling that it's far more superior to his true identity.

## Characters

* Benjamin Nushmutt
* Mrs. Jewls
* Joe
* John
* Joe Triangle (debut, mentioned)
* Rondi
* Sharie
* Stephen
* Joy
* Todd
* Jenny
* Leslie
* Calvin
* Bebe Gunn
* D.J.
* Eric Fry
* Eric Bacon
* Eric Ovens
* Paul
* Mr. Kidswatter (debut)

## Trivia

* This marked Mr. Kidswatter's first appearance in the *Wayside School* series.
* The cartoon episode "Music Lessons" may be based on this chapter.
* Contrary to what the class believed; the triangle *is* in fact named after its shape. On the other hand, the word "tambourine" comes from the word "tambourin", a French derivation of the word "tambour", which means "drum". The name "glockenspiel" means "playing the bell", though some just call it "bells". The word "bell" has a complicated history, but mostly it comes from the word "bellow", meaning "to shout". Theoretically, if there *was* an instrument called a "circle", it would most likely be a round triangle.

## Gallery

Joel Schick illustrationAdam McCauley illustration
### Foreign editions

Peter Allen illustration (UK)Peter Allen second illustration (UK)Hillar Mets illustration (Estonia)Satoshi Kitamura illustration (Japan)