Klarinet Archive - Posting 001043.txt from 1998/11

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Absolutes
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1998 22:15:31 -0500

On Thu, 26 Nov 1998 15:46:49 -0600 (CST), rgarrett@-----.edu said:

> On Thu, 26 Nov 1998, Tony Pay wrote:

> > No quibbles. I don't have much to do with very young students, but
> > when I do, I mostly just play duets with them.
> >
> > Tony
>
> Now - think back to the post you made earlier with regard to
> communication and how we communicate via this listserv. Until your
> post above, your discussion has appeared to include all levels. The
> clarity of your position above helps define all that you have said
> prior.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this, Roger. Perhaps you'd
like to explain further.

What I wrote was not meant to suggest that, were I more involved with
younger players, *all* I would do would be to play duets with them,
though I certainly think that imitation is one of the best ways to
learn, and a duet is an excellent context in which to expand your
awareness beyond what you're doing and listen to all of it. It's how we
learn to speak, after all. No-one tells a young beginning speaker to
concentrate on where to put his or her tongue. In fact, I think there
are better metaphors than direct instruction in precisely this case, of
articulation.

Anyhow, my post about 'communication and how we communicate on this
listserv' was just pointing out that *here* we have no way to use the
feedback from listening to the student's efforts to backtrack and try
something else. Therefore, to present an instruction *even if it is in
some ways the right instruction* in a dogmatic way may do damage.

Some people here do it very well. David just did a brilliant job,
talking to Diane, I thought. Just judging by what you say, you probably
do it well too, with your students.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE
tel/fax 01865 553339

"...his playing soars so freely, one is aware of witchcraft without
noticing a single magical gesture."
(C.D.F.Schubart on the harpsichord playing of C.P.E.Bach)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------