Posted by Joseph on June 18, 2002 at 13:11:47:
In Reply to: Re: types of teachers posted by Bill Nazzaro on June 18, 2002 at 11:21:57:
Of course you analyze the situation but that doesn't mean you give them a mechanical goal!
The body is a very complicated machine. You want to make use of the very efficient computer controls that are already in place whenever possible. If you go to the machine level you are bypassing that wonderful computer system. Things might go along fine for a while but as you age and your body changes the old solutions will eventually cease to work. This will lead to frustration and the problems that you alluded to. To address the false analogy that you created. Patients/musicians are like car owners; they don't have to think or know about how their car works they just turn the wheel and push the pedals and everything goals along just fine. If you want to become a better driver/musician you study with someone that is good at driving/being a musician. You would never ask a driver to teach you how to drive by leaning out the window and controling the throttle, choke, fuel injection, and firing of the spark plugs all at once. Yet many poor teachers routinely ask students to do the mental equivalent all the time! Doctors are like car mechanics. They are the ones that get paid to understand and address the mechanical issues. An example of an actual mechanical break down in ones playing would be a nerve disorder such as focal dystonia. If you have that problem you will get much better help from a doctor than a music teacher.
If you are a relatively healthy person this is how I would attack 'playing problems'.
If something isn't going well break the problem down to it's smallest component and work your way back up. For example, high range, can they buzz that high? If the buzz is poor playing it on the horn isn't going to go so well. Encourage the student to buzz in the shower and along with the radio on the way to school. Buzz-Scatt like a vocal jazz singer. If the transition from one range to another is bumpy encourage them to do siren calls from top to bottom.. from say Pedal at the bottom of the piano to C an octave above middle C or higher. Can they do that while maintaining a full buzz.. no hiccups? Give the student a musical goal that just happens to incorporate the high range. Have him/her pick a melody that is familiar and enjoyable. Play it in the mid-range until absolutely perfect, then up perhaps a whole step. Then another.. and so on. Always keep the musical product at the forefront. I have my students perform Rochut in multiple octaves and they routinely amaze themselves with their range. This builds confidence and develops the attitude that is so important to further growth. Play scales into the supposedly high range. Do the scales sound like mini-solos or like the student is just going through the motions? Work on flexibility to build strength and endurange. If there is a mental block point out that it takes no more physical strength or effort to play those notes on tuba than it does on trumpet. Have them read The Inner Game of Tennis, or A Soprano on her Head.
Apparently I feel pretty strongly about this topic..
FWIW,
joseph