s we begin another new teaching year, it seems appropriate to focus on "new-year" resolutions- those things that we plan to do this year to ensure that our students' attitudes and progress will be even better than they were last year. Actually, as I write this, it's not fall. Instead, it is late spring of 200l, and I'm in the process of evaluating my students' work during the past ten months, making long-range plans for their continuing study during the next school year, and assessing what new activities, ideas, and procedures I want to implement in my teaching during 2001-02. One of the things I've been thinking a lot about lately is the environment of the lesson. Is there enough student input, or are lessons too teacher-centered? If the latter, what can be done to promote a more student-centered lesson environment? A comparison of the following lesson scenarios provides examples of the two types of lessons:

Jason in a teacher-centered lesson:
Jason is working on pieces by Bach, Kuhlau, and Kabalevsky. At today's lesson, his teacher asks to hear the Kabalevsky first, and at the end of Jason's performance, he says, "Good job, Jason! I have only two suggestions." He then points out several wrong notes in the RH chords of the middle section which he circles with a red pencil, and then he shows Jason how to practice this spot to achieve accuracy. Next, the teacher mentions a lack of dynamic contrast in Jason's performance, and at the piano, he illustrates the amount of contrast he would suggest. Then Jason is asked to play the piece again, this time emulating the dynamics which the teacher has just demonstrated. Finally, as a reminder, the teacher writes "CHECK DYNAMICS" on the music.

Jason in a student-centered lesson:
Instead of asking to first hear the Kabalevsky piece, the teacher asks Jason to choose the piece he would like to start with. He selects the Kabalevsky and plays it straight through, producing a few wrong notes in the RH chords of the middle section, and with little dynamic variation. When he finishes, the teacher first says, "What did you like about your performance?" Jason mentions his steady tempo, the phrasing of the LH melody, and the crispness of the RH staccatos. The teacher agrees with this assessment, and then says, "Is there anything that you'll want to improve upon as you practice this piece in the coming week?" Jason cites the RH errors in several of the chords in the middle section and the teacher hands him a red pencil, suggesting that he circle the problem chords; she then asks him to show her how he would practice this spot to obtain accuracy. Following Jason's illustration, the teacher shows him one additional practice step that she thinks will also be helpful and then she writes both Jason's and her own practice steps in his assignment book.

Since Jason had not said anything about the need for more dynamic contrast, the teacher says, "I have a question about the dynamics. Which section of the piece should sound the most forceful and energetic?" Jason points to the middle section marked f and the teacher asks, "Do you think that your performance had enough contrast between the mp and the f?" Jason says probably not, and so he is asked to play and evaluate just the f section, then the mp part that precedes it, and finally to play both sections, nonstop, listening for more exaggerated dynamic contrast between them. Both Jason and the teacher agree that this time they really heard the dynamic differences, and the teacher asks, "What could you write on the music to remind you to exaggerate these dynamic changes?" Jason decides to circle the mp and f in red and he also writes "CHECK DYNAMICS" on the music itself.

In the above examples, the same material was covered in both lessons, but in the student-centered lesson, Jason played a much more active role in orchestrating the lesson happenings. Because of this, he would probably have found this lesson environment more positive, and the learning experience more interesting and enjoyable than in the teacher-centered lesson. And just as important, in the student-centered lesson, Jason is being encouraged to think for himself- an ability that will not only benefit him in music-making, but in many other areas of his life as well.

By the time you read this, I, too, will have also begun my fall teaching schedule, and as you have probably already surmised, one of my "new-year" resolutions is to continue exploring ways to implement more student-centered lessons in my studio. I'm sure that all of us who continue to seek ways to motivate our students and lessen the number of student dropouts will view this as a goal well worth pursuing.

The cover art for this issue is a collage, "HOT PIANO", from 1998, by then-9-year-old BRAD GREATHOUSE. Brad lives in Los Altos, CA and studies piano with Theresa Smith of San Jose.

RHYTHM DEPARTMENT

Craig Sale (the current editor of the Reading Department) discusses the intriguing question of how to teach cantabile playing to early-level students, and also examines some tie-ins between beautiful, lyrical playing and secure rhythm. Craig has recorded eight audio clips to help demonstrate his points, including segments of Lynn Olson's "Night Clouds" and Robert Vandall's "Reverie."