Polyphony: what is important?

American Music Teacher, Feb-March, 2005 by Jane Magrath

Maybe it is because I turned 50 several years ago that I started asking more frequently, "Just what is important?" either with respect to the day's proposed activities or in a situation that can seem difficult with a student. Perhaps the issue is not that important, but again, maybe it is. I ask the question consciously and subconsciously about much of what goes on in teaching. Sometimes in a lesson, the time is right to reinforce what students are working through and encourage them on the path already begun. Sometimes we need to awaken their ears and kindle their understanding of a passage or entire work.

I ask this question of myself when I present a workshop to a group of teachers. "What really matters, and what matters less in what goes on that day?" Recently, I was at the Mississippi State Music Teachers Association conference celebrating its fiftieth year of affiliation with MTNA, and I asked those questions. It was an especially busy time for everyone. Once more I posed, "What is important about what we do?" What follows in this column are some thoughts surrounding this experience.

Q. In general, what is it we are all about as teachers?

A. Music teachers change lives. I came across this again recently as the opening line on an MTNA FOUNDATION FUND flier, and how true it is. We affect how our students will hear and listen to music for the rest of their lives. We even affect how our students will think about musicians as people, how they will think about our profession and, too, how they will respond to music as an art form later in life. So, one asks whether what we do is important? There is not a lot that is more important. We affect our students' perception of music for their entire lives to come, and then those of the generations they influence.

Q. What is most important in your mind to be aware of with respect to our relationships with students?

A. First, share your excitement about * music. Let us not keep our passion for music a secret. It is good for students to know our involvement with music and our professional lives in music. I believe so much that enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm.

Second, allow lessons to be positive growth experiences. In the long run, how will your students view their music lessons and music study experiences? If the response tends to be that they see it in a more negative than positive light, perhaps the student will work more effectively in a different situation--with a different teacher or playing a different instrument. Perhaps a change in the long run would be better for the student and the teacher. Or, perhaps, we change our teaching so it is more positive overall. Music study is a growth experience, undoubtedly, and while not all growth is easy or even painless, the primary perspective on the process as a whole should be positive.

Every student grows at a different rate. And every student develops differently as a musician. That, I believe, is what keeps us fascinated, but it is something to remember with students who seem to progress more slowly than other individuals. These students, nevertheless, will make music in their own time.

Fourth, students love doing what they feel they do well. Our challenge is to see that students always perform at a high level musically, artistically, no matter what level of repertoire they are performing. When this happens, they are won over to the music, the process, and want to play more of what they already have been successful with in the past. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and they grow in an upward spiral.

Finally, build the trust of your students' parents. This goes without saying, but it is especially important for younger teachers to remember, especially when the parents may be older than the teacher. There is value in communication with parents in the form of newsletters, phone calls about a student's progress (especially positive phone calls), parent/student receptions and so on. Good communication with parents can go far in establishing a relationship where students can get the most from the teacher's help through strong home and family support and encouragement. This link will make all the difference in a student's success.

Q. What then, would you say are central priorities for teachers regarding the music we teach? What is most important in this area?

A. The quality of the teacher's sound ideal for a work, that is, the highest artist image imaginable for a piece in the teacher's mind, is at the crux of teaching and playing. It is important to audiate at a high level, as the piece should and can be performed, and then work to match the student's performance as much as possible to that ideal. Someone has asked, "If we don't know a piece, how can we teach it?" What is important is that we not accept a sub par performance from a student.

Secondly, build the student's playing. With respect to piano teaching, build pianism rather than teach pieces in a random sequence once a student is out of a method book. Combine technical training with repertoire study and positive performance experiences. Consider teaching etudes in addition to the literature. Build a student's playing through study of the technical skills needed at each repertoire level. Demand artistry at every level of study