Practice What You Teach.

We've been having a bit of a rough week.

The bands currently are in the "we're learning new music phase".  For this particular group, learning music does not come easily.  They are a very hard working group - however, many of them came to these ensembles without some basic skills necessary.

However, they are wonderful students, and work very hard to learn, however at a very slow pace.

Two days ago, I became frustrated.  To sum it up, the day went like this:

(To an individual musician):  "Play the note you have on the downbeat.  OK - that's too high, try again, a bit lower.  OK, that's too low, try again.  OK - now you have it, but make sure you support the air to keep the pitch centered."

Multiply this by 14.  And then multiply this by every note in the piece.  And we haven't addressed rhythm yet. 

I teach at a community college - this fact overloaded the voices in my head that were comparing what the students were able to do, versus what I expected them to be able to do.

I was exhausted, and at my wit's end.  As much as I tried to not lose my temper, my temper perhaps flared a bit.  Students left with their shoulders slumped over, staring at the ground as if the burden of their perceived ineptitude was weighing them down.

Then, the next day, a student came to visit my office.

"Mrs. Downes...maybe I shouldn't be in jazz band - I don't want to bring the rest of the band down because I can't learn the notes as fast."

This student didn't seem to realize that the other 13 students in the group were having the same trouble.  All he understood was that despite all of his hard work, he wasn't "cutting it".

He and I talked for quite awhile, and I assured him that indeed, he did belong, and that his contributions were essential to the success of the group.  I also reminded him how much he had improved since the beginning of the semester.  I told him how important it was that he came and talked to me, because I valued his contributions, not only musically, but as a model of work ethic to the other students.

He left seeming to feel a bit better about the situation, but not completely convinced.

At this time, I realized something essential.

It is my job to do whatever it takes to give the students the tools they need to be successful.  This also means that I need to be able to accurately assess all of their needs - musically, educationally, and personally - and be able to present material in a way that encourages them to grow and develop holistically as musicians.  If I am not providing an environment in which students feel they can be successful, musicianship will never happen.

As a result of this interaction, today's rehearsal was different.  The goal was to focus on their strengths as tools to use to bolster their weaknesses, crafting a lesson that was more about building on their skills towards the goal of overall musicianship, rather than "playing right notes".

And, without delving into a boring overview of my lesson plan, I'll simply say, this approach left students smiling, and excited about our "jam fest" we have planned for the last rehearsal before Thanksgiving.  We listened to music, we played expressively through improvisation development, and we managed to conquer some "musical demons" that gave students fits the other day.  We probably got more done towards the goal of overall musicianship than we had in quite awhile.

I often tell student musicians not to get bogged down in notes and rhythms - to play the music, and the notes will find their way.  I realized today that if I expect that from students, I need to model how to do it by teaching with that concept at the center of my educational focus.  Sure - they have to be able to play the notes to play the music.  But if they don't feel comfortable playing music, why play the notes at all?