A few thoughts on teaching

To seek or not to seek training: Of all musical instruments, perhaps the organ possesses the easiest method of tone production -- the mere pressing of a key produces sound, no matter how that key is pressed. Such an easily obtained satisfaction often eclipses a sense of responsibility to improve one’s technique to play the organ well, practice it carefully, or listen to it critically. That is not to say that everyone who plays the organ owes it their full academic attention, for the organ is indeed an important source of delight and fulfillment for thousands of amateur players and their listeners.

The ‘professional’ student: For the enrolled student, a certain ‘inversion’ exists. Thanks to weekly church work, the organ student might arguably ‘perform’ the most often of all music students. Additionally, that student leads or accompanies at least one choral rehearsal each week. The student is already doing and making money at what she is training to do, and he very well might have been doing so for a number of years before even arriving for college. As the teacher, I am presented from the very beginning a student’s career to help develop and promote.

Stay in your cocoon during your transformation: I ask students not to go home and play recitals until we have reached a certain point in their training. Extra-curricular underclassman recitals accomplish little more than taking time and energy away from our work together. Although many people back home will claim that they can “hear a difference” in the student’s playing after only a few lessons, that difference does not exist at that point, and I have far more work to do with the student beyond impressing the home folks.

All performing is potentially inspirational: What we might consider a sub-par performance (especially from a performer who ought to know better) can actually serve as an inspiration to do better ourselves. Yes, a fine performance can inspire one to strive more. However, a really fine performance can sometimes discourage a student into thinking that s/he would never be able to attain that level. Enter teaching: students receive tools from me, and they hone their skills over time with increasing independence. It is this constant, increasing attention to detail that will bring them to the next level. When they reach that point, hearing a fine performance becomes exciting, not discouraging. But the most exciting part is that the students then have the vocabulary to explain what made a performance great -- or terrible.

Live with the little problems: Common annoyances you will always have with you: broken air conditioners, cantankerous console mechanisms, bright spot lights, dim console lights, ciphers, dead notes, crying babies, poor sightlines to the conductor, last-minute music changes, un-adjustable benches and ill-prepared collaborators. A student’s ability to function in top form, no matter the situation, goes a long way and gets noticed by others. Problem-solving and “damage-control” skills become increasingly important as students begin performing away from the home base. Social graces and grace under pressure are paramount to the establishment of a good reputation in one’s career.

Solve the real problems: Mundane issues such as equipment failure or missing personnel are one thing, but the philosophical issues facing us today require an expansion of our compassion and our educational vocabulary. Examples: “How do you respond when someone says, …?” “How do you respond when someone requests X for their wedding?” “How do you reconcile ministry of music with being a professional musician?” “Might that particular liturgical practice you abhor have significant historical roots, after all?”

More to come.