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| Sandra Kipp |
Do we as teachers really make our students better? Or do we give
our students the tools to improve on their own? I believe it is our job to give
our students the knowledge and skills needed to problem-solve and improve as
they spend hours in the practice room!
I like the analogy that music
teachers are similar to medical
doctors. If you are sick, you go to the doctor who will diagnose your
ailment, write a prescription, and send you home with a list of things to do to
make yourself better, i.e. drink more fluids, rest or apply ice. It isn’t the
doctor that makes you better. It is the knowledge and expert advice that the
doctor shares with you, and your subsequent execution of these suggestions that
make you better.
This idea doesn’t lesson the importance of a private teacher. In
fact, it strengthens our role. As
teachers, we listen to and observe our students; we diagnose their problems. Is
their embouchure too tight, fingers uneven, tongue a bit weak, rhythm not
accurate? We then “prescribe” various practice methods and techniques that will
solve the problem and strengthen the skill. It is up to the student to go home
and “take their medicine.” As we do this, hopefully our students learn how to
diagnose their own problems and utilize problem-solving techniques. This
doesn’t eliminate the need for a teacher. On the contrary, it creates a great student, which is a reflection of
a great teacher. If students come to
lessons having worked out the majority of their fundamental problems, teachers
have more time to work on my favorite
part of teaching: interpretation, style, character, phrasing, etc.
Interpretation is not something students can learn on their own. Wouldn’t it be
great if we could get to interpretation more quickly and truly teach our
students to play music and not just notes??
