Author: Tom A
Date: 2007-07-14 23:04
-Be there, ready to start;
-Begin with a brief warm-up, which gives you an idea of the sound they make, any obvious embouchure problems among them, and the chance to praise them for something straight away;
-Keep an eye on the clock. In each session, you want to run through the easy parts briefly and use them to get a strong sound and balance. You also want to pin down the one or two hard bars in a piece and help them to get it technically right using your own practice techniques in a simpler way;
-There will often be one or two in a group who have less idea than the others about everything. Don't get bogged down teaching one child how to play individual notes. That's for their own practice to deal with;
-In the middle of each session, do something different to rest them. It might be a rhythm game, or turning their clarinets around and fingering a fast passage while each child blows, or a demo by you of "the highest notes";
-At the end of each session, or the last session, try to revise some specific things they've done, like some of the harder parts that they used to fudge but can now play. Remind them that if they're just as careful when they rehearse in band, it will stay with them, and they'll be the one section who can play that bit really well, etc. etc.
-If they do something correctly, or better than before, TELL THEM! Individually if appropriate, and sometimes as a whole group. That can work if you have a ratty kid, who will often be the insecure one.
-If you are helping one child with something and it's not getting better, praise that child for listening and trying, and for making it a bit better, say to keep practising the way they just did, and then move on. No matter how nice you are, you have to be careful not to zero in on on kid for too long.
-If there is an ongoing behaviour problem, remove the child in a calm voice to the side of the room, and tell the conductor during a break. You can't change a child's personality, so don't try. The main problem is that child is taking time from the others.
If it's good, praise them genuinely. If something needs work, praise them for trying and then say "But it will be easier/better if you..."
And have fun.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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