Teaching someone how to play an instrument is a daunting enough task. It requires patience, empathy, and a great deal of ingenuity to be able to impart knowledge that is intelligible to your student(s) as well as help them see things as you do so you can share a like minded unity of thought. This complication is quadrupled when the age of the student is roughly seven or eight years old.
On Monday Feb 24. 2014 I had to give a simulated lesson of a 5th graders first ever flute lesson. The lesson was timed to be 5 minutes and my objective was to impart something, anything into this young students memory that could be built on in a later lesson. I must say I felt oddly at ease yet strangely off put because I'm used to teaching children instruments. However I'm not used to teaching them how to play instruments I don't even play.
I figured though that this is a great way for me to put myself in the student's shoes and start somewhere we both needed to start; an understanding of how to get a pitch. I believe the imagery I tried to convey to my student was useful as it wasn't to wordy and it may have been something he could've related to as well. Also I understood how much time it will take some students to simply get the note to come out correctly. My main goal was to teach the student correct embouchure as well as understand the basics for blowing across the reed of the instrument.
After my 5 minutes ended I was both relieved but also a bit unsatisfied as I felt that with more time I probably could've helped the student to get their first real note out of the instrument. I also received my fellow students' observations, comments, and critiques and one that I got was very encouraging. It told me that they understood how hard it is to teach a young student the flute and how it may even be best to learn how to breathe first, an aspect of music I often forget about because I'm a pianist and I can breathe comfortably for any length of time I choose to do so. I also received remarks such as clear and articulate which made me feel good in the sense that I wasn't too wordy or in depth with my conversation but rather more focused on the task at hand and also more specifically the objective I wanted to accomplish for that particular lesson.
Things I wish I could've done differently would've been:
1) Showcase the instrument for a few seconds to arouse my students interest and also show them that it is a REAL instrument and can sound AWESOME if you get good at it
2) Tried to help my student feel the breathing aspect a bit more so they know the difference between a "cold air" approach and a "hot air" approach.
3) Gave a more extensive homework/practice regiment for the student to go through for the next lesson. I felt as though the only thing I made my student attempt to aspire to was to create a sound when in reality I wanted my student to create tonality and specifically a flute's tonality. I think with a bit more understanding of the instrument I could find interesting and inviting ways to grasp the students interests and keep them motivated to learn even more about their instrument.
Five minutes for me was a paradox; it was the longest short amount of time I've ever had to teach someone.
On Monday Feb 24. 2014 I had to give a simulated lesson of a 5th graders first ever flute lesson. The lesson was timed to be 5 minutes and my objective was to impart something, anything into this young students memory that could be built on in a later lesson. I must say I felt oddly at ease yet strangely off put because I'm used to teaching children instruments. However I'm not used to teaching them how to play instruments I don't even play.
I figured though that this is a great way for me to put myself in the student's shoes and start somewhere we both needed to start; an understanding of how to get a pitch. I believe the imagery I tried to convey to my student was useful as it wasn't to wordy and it may have been something he could've related to as well. Also I understood how much time it will take some students to simply get the note to come out correctly. My main goal was to teach the student correct embouchure as well as understand the basics for blowing across the reed of the instrument.
After my 5 minutes ended I was both relieved but also a bit unsatisfied as I felt that with more time I probably could've helped the student to get their first real note out of the instrument. I also received my fellow students' observations, comments, and critiques and one that I got was very encouraging. It told me that they understood how hard it is to teach a young student the flute and how it may even be best to learn how to breathe first, an aspect of music I often forget about because I'm a pianist and I can breathe comfortably for any length of time I choose to do so. I also received remarks such as clear and articulate which made me feel good in the sense that I wasn't too wordy or in depth with my conversation but rather more focused on the task at hand and also more specifically the objective I wanted to accomplish for that particular lesson.
Things I wish I could've done differently would've been:
1) Showcase the instrument for a few seconds to arouse my students interest and also show them that it is a REAL instrument and can sound AWESOME if you get good at it
2) Tried to help my student feel the breathing aspect a bit more so they know the difference between a "cold air" approach and a "hot air" approach.
3) Gave a more extensive homework/practice regiment for the student to go through for the next lesson. I felt as though the only thing I made my student attempt to aspire to was to create a sound when in reality I wanted my student to create tonality and specifically a flute's tonality. I think with a bit more understanding of the instrument I could find interesting and inviting ways to grasp the students interests and keep them motivated to learn even more about their instrument.
Five minutes for me was a paradox; it was the longest short amount of time I've ever had to teach someone.
Joel, I relate to so much that you are writing here, especially wanting to accomplish way more than is actually feasible. I've never been surfing, but I imagine that teaching a class is much like surfing in that one needs to make instant micro adjustments almost without thinking, or at least without having to think too much. Sometimes we're successful and can ride the wave into the end of the lesson. Sometimes, though, we get soaked. Hm......
ReplyDeleteHow aptly put! Thank you for that.
DeleteJoel I thought you did well. You were not verbose and nonchalant which I think worked out well for that 5th grader. I think Brandt is right when he says to do one or two things right rather than several things badly. I also feel that, in a perfect world, when it comes to teaching an instrument, you should learn to play the instrument (time permitting with our busy lives). This gives you more intimate knowledge of the instrument to become a better teacher. That being said, I don't know how to play: flute, percussion, oboe, bassoon, french horn, all strings, other stuff, tuba, a lot of other stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks Javier. I always appreciate constitutive critiques as well as any additional suggestions. I also agree with you that learning the instrument is such a plus when it comes to being able to teach it. I only hope to continue my progress and add more tools to my toolkit
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