nkhornstudio

This past weekend I enjoyed a number of sessions at the 2012 Southeast Horn Workshop, which was hosted by Jeremy Hansen at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. Among the high lights of the weekend was Karl Pituch’s AMAZING recital and an hour-long talk from Douglas Hill on being a teacher.

I have really thought about my place as a horn teacher a great deal over the years and many of my thoughts were in line with what Doug had to say – except that he was able to explain it all so well because he has thought about these ideas with 40 years of teaching experience.

I’ve been asked, in job interviews at universities, before to “describe a typical lesson.” I always had an issue with this question because for me there is no typical lesson. Of course I gave the standard “We’ll talk about what we went over and assigned last week, I’ll have the student play, and then we’ll see where it goes from there” answer. I had never really thought about WHY there is no typical  lesson for my style of teaching.

I know that some teachers, old pedagogues of brass, use the notion of a “cookie cutter method.” Each student comes in, does certain things, and *BADABING* – when they leave they can play. It has worked for many teachers and players in the past, but I really think it is just luck. More often than not you hear of the success stories, but what about those students that failed? Did they fail because they didn’t put it the work and adhere to the master plan or was the style of teaching they received not right for them?

Doug’s approach to the role of teacher and student really fit as a great explanation of what I already truly believe in. He came up with the notion that the most important job for the student is to take responsibility for his/her learning. Once the student is responsible for their path, they can then begin to set goals – both micro and macro. After this, it is then the teacher’s responsibility to understand the student’s goals and respond to the work they are putting in. He called this the responsible student and the respondable teacher.”

This is a perfect explanation of my philosophy of teaching – and it describes very well why there is no cookie cutter method to teaching the horn. Each student should have an idea of the short and long-term goals that they have. Of course, depending on what long-term goals they have the teacher and student can discuss what works best for progress at any given time – but it is also OK for the student to have definite short-term goals as well.

Doug even alluded to the fact that by the time the student is advanced enough into his program each lesson is not about what he has assigned for the next week, but rather what is it that the student is working on this week. Be it a problem in the low register, a recital, and audition, etc – the student brings to the lesson an issue or a goal, and it is the great teacher that is able to respond to each individual student’s needs.

What this accomplishes is the teacher then turning that student into their own teacher by guiding and helping them create their own path. In hindsight, it is very easy for me to see that Dr. Mattingly did this for me and it is probably why I was able to develop my own opinions on the matter without even really knowing that it was happening.

Of course the topic I’m talking about is teaching horn, but really the notion works for all of “teaching.” Band, Spanish, English, Sciences, Math, etc – all very successful students first take responsibility for their learning and most come across that one really special teacher (among the bad ones!) that responds to their individual needs; pointing them in the direction of success, often making adjustments to the path as needed, and in the end we have someone who is imbedded with a love of their discipline.

Many students have come in to lessons unprepared in the past. I have, you probably have, and your friends probably have too. Here, I’m going to outline 3 steps you can  take to make sure you are as prepared as you can be for your regularly scheduled lesson.

1. Notes and Rhythms – The first thing you should do is learn all notes and rhythms that are assigned to you. Better yet, apply the use of a metronome with it. If your teacher assigns two etudes, two scales, and a solo piece for your next lesson, you should walk in to the lesson with at least all of the notes and rhythms down. The point of the lesson is not for you to fumble through fingerings, key signatures, or time signatures.
2. Interpretation – Once you have the notes and rhythms down, and at the appropriate tempi, you can begin to make musical decisions regarding the material. If there are recordings, listen to them… decide what you like and don’t like… and try to apply it to the pieces. If it is just an etude, try to make the simplistic study more than that…. turn it in to music. Right or wrong, make a choice, take it to the lesson, and let your teacher guide you from there.
3. Application – Along with applying musical decisions you have made to the pieces, try to apply whatever concepts you and your teacher have been working on in the past. Nothing makes a teacher more excited than when a student tries to continue working on ideas (ON THEIR OWN) from week to week.

In summary, the most basic thing you should always walk in to a lesson having done is learned the notes and rhythms. If you don’t get to steps two and three, then those are things that your teacher will gladly help you with. As you continue to progress as a student, or work on the same pieces from week to week, steps two and three should become more of a part of your weekly preparation. Using a practice log and or making notes during lessons/during practice sessions can help you to organize your practice sessions from day to day and week to week. I still have a box full of old practice logs from college, and they really did help me to organize what I was trying to accomplish, both on a day to day basis and in the long run.