 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BlockEyeDan
Date: 2005-08-27 00:28
Good Friday evening all,
I seem to have reached an impasse with my lone 10-year-old pupil. She is quite gifted for her age, and when she wants to she is capable of things that surprise me.
Lately, however, she has taken to digging her heels into the ground whenever I challenge her in the slightest. Take yesterday, for instance. We were doing rhythm charts (6/8, 9/8) and we got to a section where the author had liberally sprinkled eighth rests within the note groupings. She has been able to grasp the concept of #/8 meters; I taught her how to count off 123 123 etc. When I tried to explain to her that by slowly counting off in such a fashion, she can figure out (with a bit of practice) how to learn where the eighth rests fall. She would hear none of it. She started to throw a tantrum, insisting that she didn't know how to do it. I sat in silence for a bit; I never lost my cool. Luckily the lesson was over by that time, so I packed up and left, wishing her all the best until next week.
I will be the first to admit that this is my first venture into the world of musical education. I have made great progress with her. What I want to know is: am I doing something that is obviously wrong with her? One thing that I told her, and that I stick by in my post here, is that I would NEVER ask her to do something that I wasn't sure she could do. I try to gradually stretch her boundaries by challenging her in a manner which is appropriate for her age and ability level. To do otherwise would be completely unfair. I am starting to get frustrated, though. Is she testing me? Am I pushing too hard? I like this girl, and I feel that there's no better way to show my appreciation for all the teachers that I've had for the past 17 years than to pass my knowledge on to the next generation. Otherwise I wouldn't bother.
So let 'er rip, folks.
P.S. OT: Here in Hartford, with the Patriots playing tonight, our FOX affiliate is showing us Pittsburgh versus Washington. I'm a bit peeved.....
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Author: Markael
Date: 2005-08-27 01:09
Regardless of what techniques you might try to overcome the resistance, just remember this: Don’t take the resistance as a sign of failure on your part, and don’t invest too much of your ego in a struggle of wills. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.
I have noticed that young teachers with great ideas about teaching often run into problems when kids don’t readily embrace those ideas. Kids have a lot of other issues going on even though they may have the intellectual and physical capacities to play the music. Sometimes number one on the list of problems is the lack of perseverance and confidence to tackle a task that cannot be mastered immediately.
You might want to back up and just play for fun for a while, and then reintroduce these ideas in small doses.
Teaching a ten year old to play clarinet is a hard job. I would like to find more literature on the subject.
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Author: msloss
Date: 2005-08-27 02:30
Some kids just aren't ready at 10. I've taken the time to break a few, but frankly, I find it isn't worth it. Usually I have a talk with the parents and explain the dynamic, or even have a parent observe. We talk candidly about the maturity level required, and that different children have different temperments, and it is no reflection on the child's ability. Some times, taking a six month break and coming back to it makes all the difference. Kids are maturing at a breathtaking rate at that age. Amazing changes between 10 and 12.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2005-08-27 02:45
i'd let her pick a short song she likes, to work on for a few weeks , then gently try to reintroduce the rhythm studies again.
mix it up with short fun songs - something thats fun for the student
i agree with the others, 10 year olds are difficult to teach. i have had a few that young, very tough to teach that age student.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2005-08-27 03:41
I know this sounds a little strange, but next time you see her, can you ask her to teach YOU for whatever time you have. The laughter involved might just get you over the hump.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-08-27 05:38
My student and I sometimes reverse roles like that, Carol. Excellent suggestion. It's great fun and he actually has some interesting insights and the laughs generated occasionally have family members in stitches as well.
If it ain't fun it ain't worth doin'.... 
- ron b -
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2005-08-27 08:45
I am amused to hear that people think that ten year olds are very young.
To a clarinet teacher, maybe they seem so. Ask a piano or violin teacher, you might just find they think ten is really a bit too old to start.
-----------
If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: Markael
Date: 2005-08-27 11:40
“I am amused…”
I’m not.
Nor do I think that ten is “a bit too old to start” piano lessons—that is, private instruction one-on-one. My mother wanted to start me in piano lessons when I entered fourth grade at age nine. That was exactly right.
I have mixed results teaching piano to seven and eight year olds. I admit that working with that age group is not one of my strengths, and some people are really good at it. Those who are have to modify their approach to the developmental realities of the age group.
Early exposure is important. I think, though, that music classes are the best way to introduce most younger children to formal musical instruction. Most kids. There are exceptions. Informally musical toys and exposure to music help lay a foundation.
Perhaps the UK has a better system of school music than we have in the States?
Beginning clarinet has issues that don’t exist with piano. Breathing, tonguing, all that is inside the body. There are issues of tone and intonation. Scales and chords and intervals don’t have the visual logic that can be demonstrated on a piano keyboard.
If you search the bulletin board for success stories of early exposure to wind instruments, you will find that certain adaptations must be made. Sometimes teachers use recorders or tonettes at first. One person uses, I believe, an alto horn because of the size of it.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2005-08-27 12:19
I'll probably get flamed for this, but I wonder if you're being too careful to treat this child gently and to make the lessons fun. Yes, the lessons need to be fun on some level, and I think Paul is right about mixing the "serious" music with some "short, fun songs." But a 10 year old is not a little baby, and the responsibility for the lesson going well is not only the teacher's; it's hers, too, and she may be one of those kids who responds best to a respectful appeal to her desire to be treated as mature. When she's fixing to throw a tantrum, you might try looking her right in the eye and saying, firmly, something like, "It bothers me when I see someone as talented as you are give up and try to get out of doing the work. You may be frustrated right now because it takes determination to learn something well, but you're making good progress and *you can do this.*"
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-08-27 13:12
I am surprised that no one has brought up the possibility that there is *something else* going on in this girl's life -- external or internal -- and that she has seized upon her music lessons (a relatively safe place, in her comfort zone?) as the place to "act out" about whatever it is.
It sounds to me as if she is anxious about something. Perhaps she is anxious about school starting. Is she headed to middle school this year for the first time? Have other demands in her life been abruptly ramped up? Is she approaching puberty? Has there been a significant personnel change in her household?
She seems to be saying a loud and clear "No!" to your (reasonable) demand/expectation of continued development, not unlike a two-year-old holding her breath until she turns blue.
If memory serves, the advice given to parents of two-year-olds is to gently but firmly remove them from the provocative setting and provide them a chance to regain self-control. If that is the case here, then the suggestion from Paul, to let her go back and play things she already does well and just enjoy herself for a while, may be on the mark.
Good luck!
Susan
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Author: Markael
Date: 2005-08-27 14:27
Regarding what Susan just said:
I have a middle school piano student who is a bit picky about what he plays. Sometimes (not always) I have to agree with him that the piece in the method book is unimaginative or boring.
One day during a lesson he became frustrated with a piece, ripped it out, threw it on the floor, and yelled, “I’m not playing this!”
For an instant I felt challenged in my authority. “Surely I must call his hand on this, or I’m a weak teacher.” Then I stopped.
This guy had been in a drama production, which he enjoyed very much. As you can already tell, he tends to be dramatic.
Play rehearsals, enjoyable or not, get to be exhausting. He was stressed out, and the piano lesson was the one place where he felt safe to let off steam in this way. I wasn’t weak to let this pass; quite the contrary.
You probably wouldn’t want to let a ten year old rip a page out of the music book, but you get the idea.
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Author: BlockEyeDan
Date: 2005-08-27 14:34
I'd like to thank everybody for their constructive input.
We have a terrific rapport. We enjoy ourselves (for the most part) and 90 percent of the time she is willing to do what I ask of her. Lately we've been playing a lot of duets, which she enjoys quite a bit. She's even asked to start playing the top part, which she usually shies away from. Perhaps the transition from duets to rhythm charts upset her a bit (I know it upset me!).
I want her to keep learning, but I don't want to turn into Otto Klemperer, barking orders and haranguing her for slight mistakes.
Dan
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-27 15:07
I started Clarinet at 12.
A former student of mine who now is the Clarinet Professor at West Chester University started clarinet at 17.
He got the position at 28.
Age didn't slow either of us down at all.
But I do think that mid 3rd grade (8-9 yrs) is a good time to start. For piano and violin starting younger is very good as it increases the teachers income by that many more years 
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-27 15:26
btw - Dan, don't get too hung up with moving her too quickly. Be very complete with what she is working on, but dont' drive her nuts with it. Rhythm is often the most difficult with early players.
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Author: Robyn
Date: 2005-08-27 15:44
Speaking from personal experience, let me offer another perspective on what might be going on here. You mentioned that this girl is bright. Is it possible that she is used to "getting" things easily and so when suddenly something doesn't come as easily to her, she gets frustrated and expresses that frustration in the tantrum you witnessed?
I was one of those kinds of kids, only for me the frustration came out in tears instead of anger. Imagine the "deer-in-the-headlights" look I got from my teacher when I did that!! I've obviously matured since then, but I think when you're that age, I'm not sure you understand that the world isn't going to go to pieces (or something similarly over-dramatic) if you don't understand something.
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Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2005-08-27 17:36
I teach students starting in grades 4 and 5 every year. Ten years old is not too young. I would say that most ten year olds I have seen are not capable of focusing for a very long time on rhythmic study, but every student varies. Although they may be capable, they may not like it. They are still pretty little, and it's easy to forget that sometimes.
I can say, in general, they tend not to like emphasis on rhythmic study, unless they're getting to do something "fun", like playing a rhythm instrument.
I would agree with most of what was said above, which seems to be focusing on something else for a while. I don't think this one instance alone warrants a parental conference, and sometimes these can have exactly the opposite outcome from what you had hoped for.
Petulance is not uncommon in 10 year olds. It's better than quitting altogether.
Sue Tansey
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Author: msloss
Date: 2005-08-27 17:39
To be clearer, each child is different. 4 might be a good age for a kid with the aptitude and focus to start, and for another 14. This has nothing to do with school systems, parenting, teaching, or the direction the wind is blowing. I suppose you can cram anything down a kid's throat with enough time and determination, but if they have to take lessons like medicine, you run the risk of engendering a lifelong disdain for playing music.
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Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2005-08-27 20:10
No student of mine, of whatever age, tantrum or no tantrum, is allowed to say "I can't". If they persist in saying this the class comes to an immediate end.
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Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2005-08-27 21:07
On the topic of "can't", my daughter was taking lessons from someone many years ago. She got into the car and burst into tears, saying "He hit me!". So while I was calmly heading in the direction of the police station, it came out that he had a policy that when a student said "I can't", he would punch them on the shoulder. She actually was 11. She did learn not to say those words to him, but she never did like him much.
It wasn't a hard punch, but it was still pretty weird.
Sue Tansey
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-27 22:12
When a student says to me "I can't", I reply with "no, that just means that you won't", or "no, just that you think you can't do it currently - keep trying and make it happen".
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Author: Wendy
Date: 2005-08-28 16:45
Having switched from mostly classical to jazz/improv lessons a few months ago (at age 50), I have found myself uttering the dreaded "I can't" words in frustration more than a few times. Last weekend I ran across this signboard at Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. Kind of sums it all up, I think.
Post Edited (2005-08-28 16:54)
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Author: clarinets1
Date: 2005-08-29 18:53
my ballet teacher told us all that we were not allowed to say "I can't" because we were Ameri"cans". ha ha ha ha ha . we got a kick out of that. easily amused dancers i guess.
~~jk
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Author: allencole
Date: 2005-08-30 05:05
It's less a matter of 10 being too young, then the fact that fewer kids are ready to truly study at age 10. I have a couple of kids in this range and we do few real exercises other than major scales and arpeggios.
Having lots of songs available is a great help at this age, and I've also enjoyed time spent teaching them to play by ear. The tough part is actually getting their motors running a year or so down the road as their physical and mental maturity starts coming into sight.
Rhythms can be slow going with really young kids, and when we get to stuff peppered with 8th rests, I allow a long time for it to kick in. Usually, I find that dotted-quarter-eighth patterns are the critical item for making lots of songs available. My guys work on rhythm in the Master Theory Workbook. Once the paperwork has been done on a particular rhythm type, we just hack at it a little bit each week. If it doesn't work out, we simply try the same thing again next week. It's hard to get into it too deeply in any single sitting, but just taking a shot at it week after week can help to open things up.
I think that a primary concern at these ages is not to make things hard enough to 'weed them out.' I often worry that students may be judged at age 9 to be lacking in traits that they will have perfectly well by age 12.
Allen Cole
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-08-30 12:28
<<I often worry that students may be judged at age 9 to be lacking in traits that they will have perfectly well by age 12.>>
I offer a strong "second" to that statement, Allen!
Years ago, I attempted to teach a nephew, age 10, the basics of piano, by ear. He was interested and willling, but apparently had no ear at all. He could not even plunk out "Merrily We Roll Along" or "Three Blind Mice." I just figured he had been standing behind the door when the musical genes were passed out.
When he was 16, his father gave him a set of harmonicas as a gift. By the time he was 18, he had become a master of blues harmonica, and had learned guitar and was singing semi-professionally in local adult productions.
By the time he was 21, he was a full-fledged professional blues fusion musician fronting his own band, touring the Southwestern U.S.
By 30, he was established as a "musician's musician" in Austin, TX, had a regular gig at Antone's, had released a pile of CDs, provided music for a major motion picture (starring Sandra Bullock), and toured extensively in Europe and the Southwest U.S.
Of all the talented musicians in our family, he is easily the most gifted. I have no idea why this happens, but it does. Not everyone is a prodigy. There *is* life after childhood.
Susan
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2005-08-30 16:35
I play regularly with a person who had no music lesons as a child, never listened attentively to music on the radio of any kind, and never developed a taste or even knowledge of one genre of music or another. You could mention a well-known pop musician or classical piece and both would elicit blank stares from him. Some time in his 30's, he just decided he wanted to play guitar, and so began taking lessons from local folk musicians who taught by ear. It was years later before he even realized that some people actually read music.
Today, this guy is a fine amateur banjo/mando/fiddle and concertina player. Recently, he impressed a pro with his skills on a hand drum. His music reading ability is still weak but he can play anything by ear.
Yes, there certainly is life after childhood. And also, he never worries if playing one instrument will damage his skills on another.
Steve Epstein
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Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2005-08-30 20:37
I agree with Allen, as usual. I would further suggest working on some "fun" music that might contain a few of the rhythmic elements you'd like to encompass. That way it doesn't look like work and the concept still gets taught.
Sue Tansey
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Author: allencole
Date: 2005-08-31 06:31
I think that we often have a more difficult time on clarinet than with flute or violin because of the issue of covering the holes and dealing with the double use of the left thumb and index finger.
Was watching a very earnest 11 year old clarinetist today, struggling to get through the slow theme from the New World Symphony (getting from throat A to the C above and back), and with "Cantina Band" from Star Wars. (in written C/Am) Lots of left index finger issues, and very good progress in conquering the problems--but still waiting to grow into the task.
In contrast, the next student was a 10-year old flutist with only 6 weeks of instruction under her belt. She moved easily through The First Noel by ear, and is already venturing into her third register. Not discounting the fact that she is very enthusiastic, I credit much of her success with the ease of fingering a closed-hole flute.
Will see the same story tomorrow with two sisters who are beginning flute and clarinet. The flutist is zipping along with over an octave of notes, while the clarinetist is still getting used to the tone holes. Stretching those little fingers down to a low E is prerequisite for mid-staff B and C, and handling the throat A-key is a critical job. Quite a bit of baggage just to eek out a C scale.
When I see sixth graders with thin fingers struggle like this, I have to wonder how bad an experience this might be if they were a year or more younger/smaller.
Allen Cole
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-08-31 12:54
This has been an enjoyable thread. Having taught recorder to kids for 15 years before I got a life and discovered weekends, I'd like to share some thoughts from that experience.
1) Remember that you might be the only adult that child has all to herself for the time of her lesson during the week. That is a priceless time for her and may be the most important part of the lesson. Your undivided attention is what counts.
2) Kids, at whatever age, are constantly changing. When they get into the upper elementary years, they are really starting to act like pre-teens. And with kids maturing earlier and earlier these days, there may be some subtle hormonal changes going on as well. They pass.
3) If she's bright and things come easily for her, she will not be happy when she can't do something right away. Been there, done that. So she learns it later. No big deal.
4) Rhythm -- borrow a page from a Suzuki teacher. Find word patterns to equate with rhythm patterns. Putting them together will have both of you rolling on the floor. Peanut butter (sandwich), popsicle, twenty-two were some of my favorites for 8th note patterns. It also got them used to playing patterns right away and this led to very musical playing from the get-go. Only later did I teach them to count.
Try having her walk and say the rhythms. It's especially good for more complex ideas. I used it a lot with the dotted quarter, eighth, quarter saying the word Amsterdam. The first lesson I started kids with was simple walking, saying Mississippi, one step per syllable. Their practice assignment walk out their own names and the names of at least 5 friends or family members. Walking gets rhythms grounded into the entire body. I guess it was Orff light.
By the way, I started many a youngster on the recorder at 6; even had to invent a program for a 3-year old who wanted to share his brother's experience. The five-minute lesson.I was asked many times to do a book. Never did, because each kid was so different. I just borrowed from anywhere I could and went from there. Had a blast.
You sound like a really caring teacher. There are times when the clarinet is the least important part of the lesson. That's okay. And just wait until she hits junior high - it's a disease that is only curable by 10th grade or maybe not even until college!
Be creative, be flexible and dare to go outside the book. It will pay off big time. This is a process and sometimes you just have to make it up as you go along.
Best wishes. I'd say give her a hug, but unfortunately these days, that's not possible unless the parents are there to monitor.
Mary Vinquist
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2005-08-31 18:28
A possibility that might be running alongside one or more of the others -- ten years old is old enough that her musical taste may be developed considerably ahead of her body's motor coordination. She may have such a good idea of what she *wants* to hear that the "baby music" she has to play to get there may be driving her nuts. If so, it might help to ask her to compose some music, herself, using the skills you're teaching her right now. If she's having trouble going back and forth over the break, for instance, ask her to write her own exercise or short piece that crosses up and down. That or assign her a *more difficult* but *more musical* piece that teaches the same thing. Adding a creative challenge to the physical one might be just what she needs. I think teachers tend to assume that something is "too hard" -- especially when the child *says* it's too hard -- when in reality parts of the problem might seem harder than they really are because the part of the problem that's too easy is turning off the kid's brain.
Bringing the mental challenge up to the level of the physical challenge can help. I'm suggesting this solution from personal experience, btw. When I was about 12, I floored my piano teacher one day, when instead of bringing in the boring, brain-deadening exercise we'd been working on, patiently, for weeks ("until you get it right," which was going to be never, because the piece was so asinine that after the first couple of weeks, I couldn't force myself to concentrate when I dutifully, grimly practiced it), I brought in a piece in the same key, using the same rapid runs I'd been flubbing over and over in the student exercise, and played it from memory. He gulped hard and said that piece would do, in lieu of the exercise, which he took away from me and stuck in a drawer. He started assigning me, not easier work, but harder work, which I learned a lot faster.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2005-08-31 18:30)
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Author: clarinetwife
Date: 2005-08-31 19:05
Lelia Loban wrote:
I couldn't force myself to concentrate when I dutifully,
> grimly practiced it), I brought in a piece in the same key,
> using the same rapid runs I'd been flubbing over and over in
> the student exercise, and played it from memory. He gulped
> hard and said that piece would do
Yup. I find that my preteen boy students in particular learn the RH Eb-LH C interval in the lower clariion register pretty quick when it means they can play Mission: Impossible. And they are playing in 5/4 time to boot.
Post Edited (2005-08-31 19:07)
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Author: allencole
Date: 2005-09-01 15:49
>A possibility that might be running alongside one or more of the others -- >ten years old is old enough that her musical taste may be developed >considerably ahead of her body's motor coordination. She may have such >a good idea of what she *wants* to hear that the "baby music" she has >to play to get there may be driving her nuts. If so, it might help to ask her >to compose some music, herself, using the skills you're teaching her right >now.
This is a very important point, but I am wary of asking students to compose things for two reasons. First, giving a kid a blank canvas halts activity until they get ideas AND can express them in the way that they need. It also sends them into something where they are creating something esoteric instead of pursuing a practical goal. In asking them to write their own exercise to solve a problem, you might have to dismiss what they come up with because they don't fully understand what's being addressed. After all, these physical skills are new to them and they can't anticipate all of the consequences of what they do and how they do it.
I suggest that instead of giving them the equivalent of a blank canvas, we give them the equivalent of a coloring book. They need a tangible example and a framework for learning. From there they can build skills and experiement a little bit.
The equivalent of a coloring book is the activity of playing a song by ear. This makes them more aware of a number of things, and allows them to correct the simplified rhythms that have been put in their books to make familiar songs easier to play. It can be done like playing a game, and THEY KNOW whether what they do sounds right or wrong.
This can be both easy and fun if you approach it right, and have a wide variety of songs available to suit available ranges, playing problems, etc. A kid who can eek out a low F or G scale can play some pretty adult stuff by ear. A kid who can only play from low B up to their A key can still play My Country Tis of Thee (if anyone knows it anymore). This Old Man, Twinkle, Jingle Bells, are all available for someone with only 6 or 7 notes going.
It's also a great way for them to discover the process of practicing, and to avoid excessive discouragement when they guess something wrong.
It also creates necessities in their instruction which illustrate why music and scales are organized and written as they are. I had several kids today playing "This Old Man" (not quite ready to go over the break yet). As they learned a phrase, they would write noteheads on a piece of staff paper to help them remember what they did. When they feel better about counting rhythm, we'll tap our feet while looking at those notes and write down where the beats are relative to those notes. From there, note values will be determined and the kid will have written what he/she played and will be able to clearly discuss where 'real rhythm' differs from 'baby rhythm.' They can also consider other embellishments if they wish.
In this way, even a kid with some physical struggles can have some very practical musical experience, which even non-musical family and friends will recognize as skill.
The final advantage of playing by ear over composing is that the teacher cannot know what lies only in the student's mind. When working on a song that both the student and teacher know, both teacher and student share their knowledge of, and perspectives on, something that is a known quantity for both of them.
Allen Cole
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-09-01 19:28
I prefer to use a remote controlled "dog training mat" that I place in their chair, which I can press when they hit a wrong rhythm. It sends a brief, yet non-lethal jolt of electricity and helps them learn it by "activating more than one sense".
I've only gotten a few complaints and the occasional lawsuit, but all in all it has worked out very well!
;)
"a man walks into a talent agents office"........
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Author: allencole
Date: 2005-09-01 23:49
Hmm...I joke with the kids about electric shocks all the time, but didn't know I could get a mat. Cooooooooool....
Allen Cole
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-09-02 01:20
I used to use pretzels. Kids loved 'em, I didn't. Parents were neutral on the subject.
Mary
P.S. any old mat, rug and a doorknob will deliver the desired electric experience.
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Author: ClarinetGirl312
Date: 2005-09-02 17:36
Though I'm not able to offer advice from the teacher standpoint, I might be able to offer input on how the girl feels, considering it was not too long ago that I was in a similar situation myself :-)
I too, started clarinet at age 10 and was told to take lessons by my band director a year later. She was able to suggest a great teacher to me, so I pursued it. With several years of piano under my belt and never having a problem with it (I admit to rarely practicing but was able to get away with it, somehow), I thought clarinet would be just as easy. Boy, was I wrong! (Apparently it requires more practice!)
After about a year of lessons, I would dread going each week, yet I didn't want to quit. I was determind to be able to play the stupid thing and play it well (problem with being a perfectionist). Well, my dad finally said he was going to stop taking me because it was making me too upset each week, but I answered him with a resounding "no!". So he decided to talk to my teacher and ask him to slow down a bit.
After that, it seemed to me that I was the one pushing myself and bringing the challenges upon myself. That satisfied me because I felt in control of the outcome of my lessons, and didn't come out feeling upset anymore. The feeling encouraged me to practice more to show my teacher what I was really capable of so he would push me further, which he most certainly did!
Maybe she just needs to feel like she's pushing herself, and not you doing all of it.
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Author: marcia
Date: 2005-09-02 19:01
"a man walks into a talent agents office"........
...and...???
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Author: JessKateDD
Date: 2005-09-02 20:36
Since Dave opened the window....
When I first saw this thread, I almost chimed in that any situation could be solved with a roll of duct tape and an electric cattle prod. I never hit the post button for fear of admin retribution. Just a joke, as is Dave's post.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-09-03 14:24
Surely, W.C.Fields was also kidding....
Bob Draznik
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The Clarinet Pages
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