Klarinet Archive - Posting 000616.txt from 1998/06

From: jisa@-----.com (Polly)
Subj: Re: [kl] Beginner students/list stats
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 23:08:30 -0400

A lot of interesting discussion on this topic. I can't make a great deal of=
=20
judgement about this because, frankly, I'm out of my depth (being basically=
=20
a kid myself). But I did have some comments.

R&T:
>For example, my multiage (2nd/3rd) class did better on solo
>singing assessments than the 2nd and 3rd grade classes did separately. =20
Was there a large difference in skill levels here, or just age? Age is not=
=20
exactly part of this discussion. Not originally, anyway. Something similar=
=20
may apply in the recorder situation. Anna's original question is how to deal=
=20
with a single talented student in a relatively small (?) class of beginners.

>Beginners achieve more in a short period of time when they hear their peers
>doing things that they can't do yet. =20
Sometimes, yes. Sometimes it just demotivates them, as others have noted.

>More advanced students love to perform for other students.
Not if they're not getting anywhere themselves. The ensemble playing (with=
=20
harmony, three parts, etc.) sounds like a great idea though. I think that=20
ensembles are helpful. I love to play in sectionals in band with just the=20
other clarinets. I learn a lot that way, and it's easier to understand than=
=20
in a large ensemble like the band.

>rather than the traditional method of going straight through the lesson
>book. You just have to stop teaching like a traditional teacher.
Either I'm really lucky, or this isn't very traditional anymore. I haven't=
=20
had a single teacher (band, private, or small group) that cared about=20
getting me through x method, going straight through.

>GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:
>> Anna....regarding your very advanced student, get him out of the class=
and
>> give him private lessons. There is NO way to accomodate him and the other
>> sudents in the class. It will just frustrate them and demotivate him.
There is almost never "NO way" to accomodate people.

Reagarding the progress of less advanced v. more advanced students in mixed=
=20
classes, it's pretty clear that the less advanced ones are going to progress=
=20
more, and that this is probably going to happen at the expense of the=20
others. I'm not saying that's inevitable, but it seems most likely.

Kevin Fay:
<<I do not have a problem w/ multi-age bands--in fact, I think they're
preferable. At least in the middle-school environment, bands grouped by
ability (the 1 band and the 2 band) do much better and faster than the ones
grouped by grade (i.e., the 7th grade band and the 8th grade band). >>
Grade is not equivalent to amount of playing experience, and age is not=20
really the original question--playing ability v. experience is.

<<They get bored in a hurry, and misbehave because they have nothing to do. =
=20
Kids are perpetual motion machines--if they're not in gear going forward,=20
they're going to
expend that energy in another direction. >>
<<Then watch the same student in a rehearsal of a more advanced group, say=
=20
an honor
band or youth symphony. Not only will they behave, they will play better.
Trust me, it's not the superior classroom management skills of the second
instructor--it's that the kid is fully engaged.>>
This I can say is true from my own experience. I'm not 11 anymore, and when=
=20
I was, I didn't have this problem, because I wasn't ahead at all. But if I=
=20
watch myself in my regular band rehearsals, and sometimes even my Youth=20
Orchestra rehearsals, and compare than to my behavior in Youth Band and=20
All-State, I see a really big difference. I'm just not paying as much of my=
=20
attention to the work in the previous two. In YB and All-State, where I have=
=20
to concentrate like heck just to play up to level, I'm much more focused.

GTGallant:
<< Having a group lesson is a great opportunity to learn through ensemble
> music rather than the traditional method of going straight through the
> lesson book. You just have to stop teaching like a traditional teacher.
Someone (Kevin?)
<<I feel that this approach - as opposed to private instrument study -=20
eventually
destroys a child's ambition to study music on a higher level. Lets face it,
how many music "educators" on the 1-12 grade levels can actually play their
OWN instrument, nevertheless teach ALL instruments? Most school music
teachers I've run across can't play their way out of a wet paper bag! >>
Ed Lacy:
<<First, it would be well to realize
that there are also many great performers who can't _teach_ their way out
of a wet paper bag. An understanding of music and of the requirements for
successful performance are necessary in order to be an effective teacher,
but performance ability does not insure teaching ability. I have known
teachers who taught musicianship at a very high level but who themselves
had not been performers for a very long time. >>
Tani Miller:
<<Incidentally, comments like "I feel that this approach - as opposed to=20
private
instrument study - eventually destroys a child's ambition to study music on=
a
higher level." is really not what makes for success in a school music=
program.
It's not the approach, it's the teacher and the environment that the teacher
creates. You either have an environment that involves students in active=
music
making which will cause them to learn and grow, or you don't. >>
Please, oh please, give credit to those great music teachers out there!=20
There are many music teachers who are truly not good at what they do, for=20
one reason or another. But there are, I believe, far more who make great=20
efforts to give their best to every child they teach. I believe that it is=
=20
important for a music teacher to have a certain level of understanding of=20
every intrument, including basic playing skills, and to have a special=20
instrument that they play well. There are many other things a music teacher=
=20
must know, including literature, harmonies etc, and repair. However, the=20
ability to _teach_ is the most important thing. Great teachers care=20
specially for all their students, and encourage them to take advantage of=20
all opportunities and work to the best of their ability. I know a great=20
teacher--my band teacher at school. He knows everything (or so it seems). He=
=20
teaches bands from 6th to 12th grades, including a band that goes from 8th=
=20
to 12th grades and thus includes a huge diversity of ability levels. Before=
=20
the school asked him to stop, he also performed with his own band and a=20
commercial mariachi band.
okay, enough of my rambling about how great Mr. Truitt is. I hope these=20
comments were reasonable and helpful.

one more note:
Gary Van Cott:
<<Most of the list members are clarinetists, but some have other primary
instruments such as bassoon, oboe, and even saxophone.>>
And flute too! Don't forget flute! (I know it's unusual, but it happens.)

Alexis

----------:-)----------:-)----------:-)----------:-)---------
"After silence, that which comes closest to expressing=20
the inexpressible is music."=20
=97Aldous Huxley

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