Questions

Are you aware of how many questions you ask during a lesson?  What kind of questions are they?

Too often in a music lesson we tell.  We tell the students when they’ve made a mistake.  We tell them what the key signature is.  We tell them how a particular passage or rhythm goes.  A music lesson can become quite a passive experience.

But what if we asked more questions?  What if we required our students to think a little deeper about their musical experiences?  What if we made them a little more responsible for their own learning?

There are two types of questions we can ask: closed and open.

Closed questions are those that are either right or wrong.  Questions that can be answered with a yes or a no. 

“What is the key signature?”

“What does allegro mean”?

“Where do the dynamics shift to mezzo piano”?

These questions are good because they require knowledge.  You can gauge instantly whether or not the student has that information.

Open questions lead to more questions.  They require interpretation, thinking and reflection.

“What is the mood of this section”?

“Does that bowing work?”

“What would happen if you took a breath here?”

These questions need your student to work a little harder and put more responsibility on to them.

Have a think about the questions you ask. Do you ask questions? How can you better utilise questioning in your lessons?

(See what I did there?)

Teaching Methods - The Suzuki Method

The Suzuki Method of music education began in Japan through the concept of the “mother-tongue” approach.

Violinist Shinichi Suzuki began to apply the principles of language learning to music.  He recognised that when children began to learn their mother-tongue, they did so gradually, learning one new word at a time.  The adults in their lives would praise each new word, and gradually the child would be able to string more and more words together and intuitively understand the grammar of the language.  

Suzuki noticed that children learned by listening to the adults around them and only after they were able to speak did they learn to read and write.  He decided to apply this technique to learning the violin.

Suzuki method relies very heavily on parental involvement.  Suzuki-trained teachers talk about the triangle approach.  The child is the bottom line of triangle, supported equally on either side by the parents and the teacher.  Parents attend lessons with their children and they learn the violin too.  This way they are better equipped to help their child practice at home.

Children work through graded books. Everyone learns the same repertoire.  They have recordings of the music which they are encouraged to listen to everyday.  Children listen to all the pieces in their current book. This creates a familiarity with the music, so when they come to learn a particular piece, it is already known to them.

Initially the pieces are learned by rote and are memorised.  Once a child has reached a certain level, they go back through the previous books and learn to read the notation. 

Review is an important part of the Suzuki method.  Even if a child is up to say, Book 4, they will cycle through all the pieces from Book 1.  Often easy pieces, like the Twinkle Variations (a set of variations focussing on different violin techniques/rhythms, based on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) are used as technical exercises in more advanced repertoire.

Children typically have two lessons.  One is their private lesson and the other is a group lesson.  One to one lessons focus on the technique of the individual and group lessons focus on playing together as an ensemble.  Suzuki associations hold regular camps, where children participate in group lessons and also masterclasses – where one student has a one to one lesson with a teacher, but others can watch and learn.

The main goal of the Suzuki method is not strictly musical.  The inherent belief is that every child can learn, and that through music children can develop into loving members of society.  Suzuki teachers believe that musical ability can be developed in all children.

Ending a Lesson

What to do at the end of a lesson.

Make it obvious it’s the end of the lesson.  Say something like: “Right, let’s do these four bars one more time before we pack up.”

Start packing up 5 minutes before the end of the designated lesson time (this only works if you’ve actually been keeping track of the lesson time.  If you’re relying on your phone to tell the time, invest in a small travel clock you can place in your line of vision).  This means the class will get away on time and the next class can start on time.

Set homework for the week.  Tell kids what you expect them to practice/be able to do during the week.  Make sure they write it down or that their parents hear it.

As they pack up, make small talk: ask what they are doing in the weekend/during the next week.  Be interested.

Say goodbye.

Caring for Instruments

One of the first things you need to teach you students isn’t about the dots on the page or where their fingers go.  It’s how to look after their instrument.

I tell students that musical instruments are taonga, treasures.  And I start this from the very youngest students – when we are playing on buckets!  If you treat an instrument well, it will treat you well.

Patience: Your Teaching Super Power

Some superheroes have x-ray vision.  Some have invisibility.  Others, telepathy, teleportation or even time-travel.  But there’s another superpower we tend to forget about.  As a music teacher, your superpower is patience.  

And, luckily, no matter how hard your students try to diminish it, it’s a power that never expires.

School Assessments

If you are teaching high school students, chances are they will be doing some kind of assessment for their music class.  In New Zealand, even if senior students aren’t taking music as a subject, they are still able (depending on school policy) to gain NCEA credits for solo and group performance.

As their teacher, you need to find out a few things:

• ·         When is the performance (date and time)?
• ·         What pieces do they need to play?
• ·         Do they need accompaniment? (and do they need to provide their own or will the school provide one?)
• ·         What criteria are they being assessed on?

If the student doesn’t know this information, email or call their school music teacher.  They’ll have it in writing.

With your student, work out an appropriate rehearsal schedule, using the criteria to guide what you focus on.  Yes, this is what teachers refer to as “teaching to the test”, but your student is being tested on these criteria.  You have myriad other opportunities to work on other aspects of their music education.

If your student needs an accompanist, and it’s not you, make sure they have ample opportunity to practice with them.

Communicating With Parents

How many times have you tried to explain yourself online only to dig yourself deeper and deeper into a mess and end up having to resort to emoticons?  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯      

Generally, we don’t have as much face to face communication with people, even our friends, as much as we used you.  Depending on your age, most communication you have with others is done via text; on your phone or computer.  Because of this, you’ll know that things can be easily misconstrued.  It’s really easy to misunderstand someone because of a missed comma, a misdirected attempt at sarcasm or people who continue to use caps lock.  ALL OF THE TIME!

What does this mean for your music teaching?  I’m assuming you teach children.  Children who need rides to lessons, workshops, competitions.  Children who can’t pay your fees. Children who forget to tell the adults in their lives about the lessons, workshops, competitions, fees. 

You need some form of communication with their parents/caregivers.  If you keep parents onside, they will be more likely to support their children, are happier to be flexible when you need it, and are more likely to recommend you to others as the music teacher of choice.  And one of the best ways to keep them onside is through effective communication.

This post gives you 7 tips for better communication with the parents of your students.