Polyphony - Professional Resources - teaching variations for music

American Music Teacher, Feb-March, 2003 by Jane Magrath

In this month's column, I would like to deal with two issues--the sameness of the private lesson setting, and meaningfulness in what we do in teaching and within out personal lives as a whole. Both topics deserve much thought, and cannot be fully dealt with in a column. This forum can, however, serve as a starting place for renewal during these winter months. We are entering a time of the year when the newness of the teaching year and the excitement of the holiday season sometimes are replaced by a feeling of sameness in the lessons or a sense of busyness on the student's part. This results in student preparation waning or the lessons themselves taking on a sameness or staleness. This can apply to university and college students as equally as to precollege students. Perhaps it is helpful for teachers to consciously assess one's lesson format that has become comfortable and find ways to change the lesson setting, providing variety for the student and teacher alike.

Q: What are some ways to vary the lesson, especially when we have become comfortable with our teaching style?

A: Often we hear so many helpful ideas for teaching, but do not actually try out the ideas. If there is no real attempt to do something different, change never occurs; the students may experience little variety in the lesson setting. Jana Ritchie, independent teacher in Cumming, Georgia, writes the following: "I had each student learn a piece only in their private lesson. They could not take it home to practice/teach themselves. I hoped to model appropriate practice strategies while gaining more insight into learning traits and functional piano skills. It has certainly been intriguing!"

Q: What about having students take responsibility for the learning themselves?

A: Exactly. It is during the lesson time that we help them see they can do what we and they desire. We actually go through the process with them. Sometimes we expect students to accomplish things in their practice that really we have not prepared. It helps to remember, "Telling is not teaching."

Q: Are there ways I can become more conscious of whether I fall into this trap as a teacher?

A: An amusing way of doing this for the teacher is to keep a stopwatch nearby during the lesson. During a single week, for each lesson, keep a running total of the amount of time spent actually playing as opposed to talking. Start the watch every time playing or working on a passage begins and stop it (pause it) when dialogue or commentary begins. Then continue timing when playing begins again. The teacher can decide how much of the lesson ideally should consist of playing and how much might be spent talking. Then too, one could add the aspect of listening to music, either recorded or the teacher's performance/demonstration, during the lesson if that seems important to the teacher. I certainly believe it is.

Q: How do we get today's students to take responsibility for their own work and progress?

A: Expect it. Often, that is the missing Link--true expectation from the teacher. Then, if the student does not measure up, it is the teacher's responsibility to change the behavior. It takes effort on both the part of the teacher, as well as the student. To change the outcomes requires absolute consistency. Be consistent and be firm--and be positive. No one likes a nag.

Q: Are there ways to get a reality check on my own, so I can know whether it is my responsibility that the student is not progressing as he should?

A: There are many ways, including becoming more skilled at listening to the student and really hearing what is being said through body language, practice habits, lesson demeanor and speech. One of the simplest ways to discover information is to ask students to anonymously list at the end of their lessons the four things they like most about their lessons and the four things they like least about the lessons. The comments are put in a box or container so the teacher cannot/will not read them before all the students have written responses. The answers could be revealing. The teacher actually could make up any set of questions she wanted.

Q: How can we get students really to change habits?

A: Ideally, we want to change our own habits rather than trying to change the other person. This change on our part can then, perhaps, evoke different results with students. To change a habit takes a long time, but the result is a change that lasts--a change could affect the student's learning and practicing abilities. It could, in essence, allow him or her to learn music more successfully and to have a stronger and more meaningful experience with the music.

Q: It seems that I have heard of William James's writing on the law of habit.

A: William James was one of America's most illustrious philosophers. He gave a series of public lectures on psychology to Cambridge, Massachusetts, teachers, and the collective lectures have been published as "Talks to Teachers." In one of the lectures, The Law of Habit, James discussed how habits can be changed. He believed the goal of education is to make useful habits automatic. James provided four maxims for changing habits. First, he suggested we must make a strong and decided initiative to make the change. He even proposed a person might take a public pledge, if appropriate, so he or she will believe the change is a big and important step, one undertaken with commitment. The decision itself needs to be a strong event. Secondly, we must be fully consistent when making the change until the new habit is securely rooted in our teaching. Consistency is extremely important. One is to be relentless in the consistency of practice of the new habit. The third maxim concerns seizing the very first possible opportunity to act on making the change. Do not wait until the perfect opportunity presents itself, but rather begin to change the habit immediately, perhaps that afternoon. Finally, James prompted us not to "preach" or abound in good talk. He reminded us that preaching and talking too soon can be boring. (1)