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Re: teaching or coaching for advanced

Author: nellsonic
Date: 2020-10-21 09:45

Continuing education is important, but there are so many ways of doing that. It seems rare for pros to keep taking lessons once they get established and probably rarer still that it is talked about.

One teacher who apparently had some top names coming to him well into their careers was Kal Opperman. Ricardo studied with him when he already had the job at the Met. Stanley Drucker apparently stopped by once or twice to "play duets" but Kal told him he knew what he was up to and that was the end of that!

As a clarinetist and teacher I am always looking for new ways to understand and communicate how our instrument works. I audited a wonderful week long online workshop this past summer that featured Yehuda Gilad and some of his top former students as faculty. I gained some new perspective and learned a few very effective teaching techniques.

I have thought several times over the past few years of taking some lessons. Now would be an ideal time in some ways as all these top players have more time on their hands than usual during the pandemic. So far, I've always ended up not doing it. My excuses are that I should be a little better before I do, and that I don't have the time to devote myself to the demands that a top teacher would put on me. I feel that I am still making good progress on my own - learning how to keep improving one's teaching means continuing to learn how to practice better - but I am sure there are some blind spots that could use a little light.

I have taken coaching as part of chamber music ensembles the last few years, with mixed results, but it has always been interesting.

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