Klarinet Archive - Posting 000179.txt from 1998/09

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Teaching Lessons
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 23:22:07 -0400

on 9/5/98 3:55 PM, Teri Herel wrote:

>Listen. :)
>
>Start feeling out what they've learned and what's been left out. Each
>student
>will be different and the first lesson is will reveal a lot. You'll know
>right away what major things need to be worked on.
>
*Amen!*

(SNIP)
>I think the most important thing I learned as a teacher is to limit the
>amount
>of information I give at each lesson. When I first started, I tried to solve
>ALL the problems right away! That didn't work - The brain can only absorb so
>much. So I learned to prioritize. I pick maybe the worst two things the
>student is doing and start to address those. After the student gets a handle
>on how to fix them, then I add new things. You'll be able to tell how much
>information you can load each student with over time, and each student
>will be different.

Good comment. Also, among older students that I meet for the first time,
I ask *them* what they want to improve about their playing. High School
and college age students are often pretty aware of their shortcomings,
and I find I get pretty good response if I ask them to be involved in
identifying the problems that need correction. Then, it's easy to lead
the discussion around to other areas you've noticed as a teacher.

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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