Innate or habit?

As a teacher of many different age groups I have noticed a trend with all of my students, while playing a piece, that they should have practiced. When they make a mistake, they almost always want to go back to the beginning and start again. It can sometimes be a bit frustrating as a teacher, but I have been starting to analyze why this is such a trend. I do teach my students how to break down pieces when they practice, I also give them a new piece or sightreading most lesson, so that they become used to reading new music, but they all want to start at the beginning if they make one little mistake.

So, my question is, is it an innate thing that makes us want to have perfection? Or is it habit as human beings to strive for perfection, and so once you have made a mistake you need to wipe the slate clean and start again?

For those who are not musicians, the reason this can be a problem when playing through a piece or sightreading, is that it is important to move on and keep playing music even if you make a mistake. You might do so while performing one day, or playing with a band, and you certainly can't stop and go back and fix a mistake. Yes, while learning, you can then go back over the parts that you don't know so well, but that is a different exercise in itself.

The in-between state

I firmly believe that change is as good as a holiday, but as we say goodbye to our old home, we are not able to move directly to our new place, so the change feels delayed. Now that we are staying with my parents, I am able to focus on my current state of being, rather than just focusing on the next step and moving forward. While I was secretly dreading this in-between stage and had hoped to avoid it, I realise that it has been the most healthy thing for me, to stop and reflect on where my work journey and home life is going. It has been most refreshing. 

I am a doer, I dream and then I do my best to move in the direction I feel that dream is taking me. So it has been hard to have to stop and not feel like I am moving forward with our new venture, and having to wait has proven to be tougher than I thought.

The reflecting aspect has meant that I can see the dream in a broader context. I have been able to put certain things into perspective, but most significantly, I have felt affirmed that I am heading in the right direction in order to achieve my goals.

The most exciting thing however, is to see how much support I have had from both my students and friends, and the fact that my students are eager to get started with lessons again, proves to me that I am fulfilling my role with what I am actually offering as a music teacher. It tells me that my core roll in this industry is meaningful and worth something, and that is the nudge I have been needing to propel me to the next level. 

What books do I start with?

There are so many very good tutor books out there and I probably will change which books I use a few times over the years. But I do have my current favorites for beginners.

Below are short descriptions of the books:

Recorder

Title: Recorder from the Beginning Book 1
Composed or arranged by: John Pitts
Published by: Music Sales Ltd 
For : Young beginners

This book is good because it has a word or syllable below each note. It is more appropriate for the little ones who are either starting to read or already can, but I find it wonderful to teach the younger ones the rhymes and how to play the pieces. I show them the book and teach them about the note values and they are pretty quick to start understanding basic concepts. It helps if they are learning to count already, and usually from about 3 they are counting comfortable (remember they will only need to count to 4).

Recorder

For: Older beginners - from 12 and up

I actually haven't had any adult beginners. I have one who is doing Grade 3, so I don't actually have a go to book for this one :-)  I'm open to suggestions.


Clarinet

Title: A Tune a Day For Clarinet book 1
Composed or arranged by: C. Paul Herfurth
Published by: Boston Music Company
For: Any age, although I don't usually start clarinet student too young, the youngest I have is 9 and she is an exception as she is incredibly advanced musically for her age.

I'm not sure if I like the new layout as I haven't used the latest publication yet, but I found that the old 'A Tune a Day for Clarinet' introduces new notes well and has good pictures to help students remember the notes. There are a lot of exercises given on each note before moving to the next. As the clarinet makes use of a lot of ledger lines very early on, it is important that a beginner is very certain of the notes before moving to the next one to avoid any confusion. I usually use it for teaching all of the notes and then supplement it with examination pieces as soon as the student is ready.The new edition comes with a backing track CD, I believe.

Saxophone

Title: Saxophone Basics
Arranged or composed by: Andy Hampton
Published by: Faber Music
For: Any age

I really like this book because the saxophone is a much easier instrument to come to grips with as a beginner than the clarinet. So this book moves much faster. There aren't as many examples before moving on to the next note. Yet it is still thorough and presents each page in a fun and clear way with added tips and information. Once you have learnt all of the notes there are some nice pieces toward the end of the book. This allows the learner to feel they have really accomplished a lot by the time they have reached the end of the book. My younger and adult beginners both seem to enjoy using this book. 

You should be able to purchase these books at any local music shop. They may have to order them for you or you can also purchase the online. 

Disclaimer: please note that none of these pictures belong to me.

How to sight-read

I like to teach my students to sight-read by giving them new music at each lesson from early on. If they are continually exposed to new music they aren't going to feel daunted when they have to do so in an examination.

Being able to read music really is an essential part of learning to be a competent musician and something that I believe is key to being able to empower a learner to be able to learn and play anything that they choose. It also helps boost their confidence when they join an ensemble or band.

Before I continue let me make it clear that I do realize that many musicians are self taught and many play by ear, so I'm not knocking anyone, but in terms of the system and styles that I teach, it is highly important and appropriate  for learners to be able to read music.

          

So when teaching sight-reading I make sure that my students check out the following before attempting to play:

Key signature

Accidentals

Accents (including slurred and tongued notes)

Time signature

Dynamics

Tempo indications

Any tricky rhythms

If there is still time then I tell them to try to find any melodic or rhythmic patterns that are repeated and if they are allowed to, they should play the first two and last two bars.

Make sure you count a bar for nothing before you begin to set your speed and off you go. Make sure that you don't stop once you have begun. Make sure you focus more on the rhythms because your brain should naturally pick up which notes to play.

Good Hope, fresh hope

For the last four weeks I taught at Good Hope Seminary for Girls. It was the third school that I have temped at this year and I really enjoyed my stay. It's always a little tricky to balance my everyday life  with the extra work (which is why I haven't blogged in a while), but it's really worth it and I always find that I learn so much. 

The great thing about temp work is that you feel like you are giving a series of master classes. This is mainly because you are coming into the school with no preconceived ideas about the students and you usually don't have to teach them from scratch. So it's a fresh approach and I have found that the students respond really well. While I was at Good Hope, I was teaching mainly group recorder classes. It also coincided with my good friend, Susan McAlpine's trip to Cape Town. Since she is currently completing her final year at Amsterdam Conservatory, majoring in the recorder it was the perfect opportunity for the girls to be have a workshop with her. 

Susan came and did some really interesting workshops with the grade 10 and 12 learners focusing on alternative and advance techniques. Each workshop ended with a fun game at the end and I even got to learn a few things and got involved with the game.

Here are a few pictures from the workshop:

Meeting the learners

Checking intonation

Listening to each learner individually

Playing together

Susan demonstrating techniques