Summer
2004, Vol. 15 #2
It's summer again - a time to look back, a time to plan ahead ...
As always, the advent of summer reminds me that it's once again time to reflect back over the musical and pedagogical happenings in my studio during the past academic year so that I can begin making plans for the new teaching season which is just around the corner.
Among my goals for 2003-04 was to find ways to better assist my students with becoming more responsibly involved with following the suggestions made for each week's home practice. One of the things I did to facilitate this was to redesign my lesson assignment form so that students could play a more active role in planning, successfully implementing suggestions, and evaluating their practice. My revised version of the assignment sheet, shown in the print magazine, consisted of two pages printed back-to-back on a single 8 1/2" x 11" sheet which is 3-hole punched for easy insertion into the student's binder notebook.
Video
and audio clips that accompany Paula McLaughlin's article in
this issue's Rhythm Department.
The revised assignment: its format and contents
Reminders: This past year in the "Reminders" section
at the top of page 1, I added two new items: the "Begin-the-Lesson"
piece (#4), and the Studio "Overlap Recital" (#5).
Item #4 gives students an opportunity to provide more input into
the actual format of the lesson by occasionally getting to choose
the piece that the lesson will start with; item #5 relates to
those weeks when we overlap two students' lessons in order to
give each an opportunity to play for the other. Here again, as
with the "Begin the Lesson" piece, the students get
to select the music they wish to perform.
The actual assignment starts in the middle of page one. All categories (Technique Warm-ups, Theory, Review Repertoire, New Pieces, and Sight-Playing) are listed vertically in the center column.
The "check-off" procedure: To the left of each item is a line on which students are to write a check mark every time they do the activity. Their goal is to end up with at least five checks per week for each item, and by using this check-off procedure, they are better able to keep track of where they are in terms of fulfilling the entire week's assignment.
Goals and practice strategies: The content of the right hand column headed "Goals" is based on whatever happens at the lesson. For example, for a scale, the goal might be to listen for a full, rich tone, or for clarity and evenness; or it might be to check the wrist level, or the finger position; or to monitor the thumb's ongoing mobility and lack of tension as it passes under the hand during the crossings.
For a review piece (see p. 2 of the assignment sheet), the goal might be to work for a tempo, or to memorize the piece, or to do "spot practice" in problem areas, or to work in short sections with dynamic contrasts being the issue, etc. In this right hand "Goals" column, we also write down practice strategies for fulfilling whatever the new goals turn out to be. (Both the goals and the practice steps are actually just a summary of whatever points were made at the lesson, and ideally, it is the student - with, of course, some input from the teacher - who decides what they should be.) Quite often, these written remarks are supplemented with more specific details recorded at the lesson on the student's audio cassette practice tape. Whenever this is the case, we write "T" (check the tape) in red in the "Goals" section to remind the student to listen to the tape at home.
The practice record: In the middle of the second page there is a blank Practice Record on which the student records each day's total practice time. You'll note that included along with the practice record is a place for a parent to sign it before the student returns for the next lesson. (At the lesson we always average the week's total practice time and then record it on the studio practice chart.)
Questions about the week's practice: At the bottom of the second page are some questions for students to answer about their week of practice. I have found that this section of the assignment really does encourage students to take a more active role in evaluating their practice. Their answers to these questions also provide me with some valuable information. For example, I often like to hear the piece with which students say that they have made the most progress because this usually provides me with an opportunity to congratulate them on having made good use of their practice strategies!
I also like to frequently begin the lesson with the piece that is listed as this week's "favorite" because it's almost always one that the student plays well and consequently likes, and thus, it gets the lesson off to a positive start. By the same token, it is wise to also hear the "least favorite" piece because more often than not, this is one that is not played very well, and therefore, one with which the student needs some assistance.
Using the music dictionary: I believe that it is essential for students to know the meaning of descriptive words found in their pieces, i.e., allegro, cantabile, giocoso, etc. Question #3 reminds them that it is their responsibility to look up all such new words in their music dictionary, and then to write each word's definition beside the term in the actual piece in which it is found (and I do check this at every lesson).
Numbering the measures: Question #4 reminds students that numbering all measures in their pieces is also one of their responsibilities. This is an excellent habit to acquire because not only is it a necessity for contest and audition pieces, but it also facilitates a quick way to reference specific spots, both at the lesson and on the assignment sheet.
Student evaluation of the week's practice: The final question (#5) encourages students to think back over the preceding week of practice and make a general evaluation of its quality: "On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), rate this week's practice." I have found that students are usually quite objective as well as right on target with their assessment of their week's work, and I suspect that doing this also provides them with an added incentive to make better use of their practice time.
Obviously, for a "take-home" assignment to be of any value, it must be more than just a few written-down titles and/or page numbers. I believe that students will be more apt to implement the practice suggestions arrived at the lesson if they are provided with a well-structured, comprehensive, and easy-to-read assignment that will guide them at home during the six days between lessons. During this past teaching year, I have been generally very pleased with the results that the revised assignment sheet has produced and plan to continue using it in 2004-2005.
Continuing the pursuit
of "student-centered lessons"
During the 2003-04 academic year, I also continued to seek ways to create and maintain a lesson environment that encourages lots of student participation and input, i.e., lessons which have less teacher "talk and tell," and are instead, more "student-centered." A few of the things that were done to promote this are described below.
Practice projects
"On-own"
pieces:
I continued the practice
of occasionally assigning "on-own" pieces - music which
students prepare strictly on their own without any help from
the teacher or from anyone else. Not only does this activity
assign to the student 100% responsibility for the outcome of
a piece, but the end result also provides valuable information
about exactly what the student has thus far learned (and also
has not learned!) about how to practice. For these reasons,
I certainly plan to continue making "on-own" assignments
during this coming teaching year.
Student-created
plans for daily practice:
Another way I have found to effectively involve students with
more focused, self-directed home practice is to occasionally
ask them to record one of their pieces every day for one week
and then as they listen back to the tape, to make a plan for
that daypractice of the piece. Below are a few things that one
of my 10-year-old students wrote down in her plan for two days
of practice on one of her pieces:
Friday: Try for a more lively spirit. Make note less in
m. 2; Get softer in mm. 13-14; Do more rall. in m.19; Make sure
to count in m. 31; For practice, play each spot 2x.
Saturday: m. 20 - mf, not p; Decresc.
in m. 27; practice starting at certain spots and ending at others;
practice slowly and HS in trouble spots.
At-the-lesson demonstrations: A process which I have used more frequently this past year at the lesson involves asking the student to play a piece (or part of a piece) and have him/her stop the moment something goes wrong - a stumble, a hesitation, a wrong note, etc. Next, the student is asked to show me how he/she would work with the spot at home in order to eliminate the problem. (I frequently have to remind students that I said "SHOW me - not TELL me!") This lesson activity provides much insight into just what the student knows and does not know about a logical approach to remedial practice, and we use whatever the student does as a springboard to discovering a more enlightened and hence, a more successful approach to problem-solving.
Dialogue that
involves the student:
The following questions and statements suggest some additional
ways to ensure more student involvement in lessons.
"What would you like to begin with today - technique warm-ups,
theory, or a piece?" This involves the student immediately
in orchestrating the format of the lesson.
(With a piece-in-progress): "Before you begin playing this
piece, name 3 special things you're going to listen for."
(And immediately after a performance): "What did you like
about your performance? "Did your playing match your plan?
Did you hear what you expected to hear?"
I think that it is very important
for students to be given an opportunity to evaluate their performance
before receiving a critique or practice suggestions from the
teacher. It is also important for them to be able to diagnose
problems and their causes, because only then will they be able
to propose effective remedies.
"What things would you like to improve upon? Show me what
you would do at home to accomplish this ... No, don't tell me;
instead, SHOW me!"
It is also important for the student to play a major role in
goal-setting. "What do you think that this week's goals
should be for this piece?" "What practice steps will
you do in order to accomplish them? Write these on the assignment
sheet."
Increasing student involvement in lesson
activities
I believe that as teachers,
we frequently do things at the lesson for students that they
should actually be doing for themselves. The activities below
suggest just a few ways students can be more involved in more
active participation at the lesson.
- "Mark this new piece in
sections and then label the form - ABA, etc."
- "Choose a metronome tempo that you think would be a wise one for this review piece as you work on it at home this week. Write this tempo on the assignment sheet."
- "Circle the note in red that you missed in measure 23."
- "Write in the counting you'll need to use with that rhythm spot in mm. 7-8 and then show me how you'd tap and count it."
- "Circle in red all of the signs for "loud" that you see in this piece; in blue, circle all of the signs for "soft."
- "Write a sharp in front of all of the F's and C's in the LH part of the piece."
- "Write in all of the RH fingering for mm. 5 and 6 where you had the problem."
- "Choose a metronome tempo that you think would be a wise one for this review piece as you work on it at home this week. Write this tempo on the assignment sheet."
Summary
Each year that I teach, I become more convinced that students who learn how to productively self-direct their practice and who are active participants at their lessons will be much more likely to experience both success and motivation for wanting to continue on with music study. To this end, I remain thoroughly dedicated as I plan for the coming 2004-05 teaching year!
About Our Cover Picture
The cover art is a composite created by Scott Lewis. The flag photos are courtesy of Valeska Hilbig from the Smithsonian National Museum in Washington. The image of the manuscript is courtesy of Elisabeth Proffen and Louise Brownell of the Maryland Historical Society.
To see a larger image of our cover art, please visit our Art Gallery.
MULTIMEDIA ARTICLE
Rhythm Department
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Paula McLaughlin discusses, "How does teaching in small groups help students' rhythmic development?" She includes several video and audio clips, and extra photographs, as a supplement to the text in the print article. |
Also be sure to check out our page of
links to ALL of our multimedia articles in past
issues.
These are the other articles that were in the Summer 2004 issue
Information on obtaining back issues
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The Magic Triangle: |
What are your all-time favorite pieces? |
Barbara Kreader |
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The Other Teacher: |
What practice strategies would you assign for the "Fantasy Dance" from Op. 124 by Schumann? |
Kelley Benson |
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Independence Day: |
How do you incorporate ear training into your curriculum? |
Cathy Albergo |
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Let's Get Physical: |
How do you help students who say, "I know what I want, but my hands just won't do it!"? |
Lotus Cheng Brown |
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The Heart of the Matter: |
How does teaching in small groups help students' rhythmic development? |
Paula J. McLaughlin |
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Issues and Ideas: |
How does your own piano practicing inform your piano teaching? |
Jeongwon Ham |
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It's Never Too Late: |
What is involved in teaching adult piano students in gerontology and retirement center programs? |
Martha Hilley |
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Putting It All Together: |
How do you include music history in the study of repertoire? |
Renée Derstine |
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Tomorrow Today: |
How do you recover the costs of your technology-related equipment? |
Bobbie Rastall |
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The World Around
Us: |
How do you help to make your students' lessons more relevant to their lives? |
Suzanne Guy |
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Keyboard
Kids' Companion |
Puzzles, Practice Projects, Meet the Composers, and more! |
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