Advice For New Music Teacher

Empirical.Logic · #1 06-16-2010, 06:55 PM

Hello all.

As part of my Year 12 Music Individual Study, I've chosen to take up cross age tutoring, teaching beginner bassists. For the study I need to interview some current music teachers. I would appreciate if anyone could give the time to answer my questions.

(Please make your answers as detailed as possible)

How do you judge and keep track of a student’s progress?

Do you create your own educational material, or do you use outside sources?
(Eg. Tutoring books, tutoring websites, other instrumental teachers etc.)

Do you believe in working to the student’s pace, or challenging them to improve their skills?

How important is music theory in teaching your instrument?

Do you believe that homework is important to learning an instrument?

Do you plan your lesson content ahead of time?

What attracted you to working as an instrumental teacher?

What is your behavior management policy?

How to you keep your students engaged and interested during lesson?

I only have a short amount of time to bring my beginner students up to performance ready level. What advice do you have for me to help my students get the best out of each weekly lesson?

Finally, is there any other information that you feel I may need to know?

Thankyou for your time.

Billnc · #2 06-16-2010, 07:56 PM

How do you judge and keep track of a student’s progress?
Post it notes with pertinent info. They take them with them oddly they always bring them back!

Do you create your own educational material, or do you use outside sources?
(Eg. Tutoring books, tutoring websites, other instrumental teachers etc.)

A combination of written materials/tutorials and handwritten lessons

Do you believe in working to the student’s pace, or challenging them to improve their skills?

No 'violence' in learning it is one step at a time. An important teaching skill is knowing how much work to give without it over or underwhelming the student. Interestingly, if I really want to work a student hard I will tell them to signal when they've had enough, I will ask them "Are you still with me?" Some students need to understand repeition is crucial or they need to work out an issue that takes perserverance and I'll work with them till they get something right, they always hang in there if they know they can bail out.

How important is music theory in teaching your instrument?

What to do with chords and their formula , reading, how to walk etc is more important than the 'whys'. You must learn the basics and learn how to use them. You do not need to learn the harmonic series. etc You do need to learn inversions and rythms.

Do you believe that homework is important to learning an instrument?

Yes.

Do you plan your lesson content ahead of time?

I've been doing this long enough that there is a repertoire of what to do in a situation.

What attracted you to working as an instrumental teacher?

I have always taught. I was the guy who took lessons and then showed my friends what to do. Eventually I started getting calls, this includes from a school.

What is your behavior management policy?

I've come close but have never ended a lesson. I can 'look' like an army sgt if need be. I was one. By the way if I feel a student needs a short break I'll shoot the breeze with them. If a student is violating 'noise' policy i.e. playing or bashing the instrument while I'm talking I tell them to stop. If they don't stop I bash some really ugly noises back

How to you keep your students engaged and interested during lesson?

Hands on, at the end we play some jazz/blues or I show them the friggin Greenday song!

I only have a short amount of time to bring my beginner students up to performance ready level. What advice do you have for me to help my students get the best out of each weekly lesson?

One step at a time! You cannot force the performance level, keep it very very simple. Make sure they have a practice routine to do!

Finally, is there any other information that you feel I may need to know?

Patience: not just for students (I have plenty of that) but it took me a long time to tone down my enthusiasm of feeding the students information! One step at a time! I could go too deep too fast.
Thankyou for your time.

MalcolmAmos · #3 06-16-2010, 10:17 PM

If you have not already found Malcolm Knowles, I would highly recommend your spend a few afternoons with his book.

http://www.amazon.com/Adult-Learner-.../dp/0884151158

Eminentbass · #4 06-17-2010, 09:17 AM

I haven't taught in about 4 years but was a guitar/bass teacher at a school for two years teaching kids aged mostly 8 to 14 yrs old. My experience is limited to kids who mostly took lessons because there was a guitar in the house or because their parents thought lessons were a good idea, although there were some who there on their own initiative and wanted to learn, so I hope this helps.

[b]How do you judge and keep track of a student’s progress?

Each student progresses at a different rate and sometimes the progress is slow from week to week but it's obvious when they haven't put in any work. Every lesson was filed and given in a progressive order so if they didn't work then I wouldn't move on to the next set of notes.

Do you create your own educational material, or do you use outside sources?
(Eg. Tutoring books, tutoring websites, other instrumental teachers etc.)

I had books that I worked from that either were just a musical dictionary or had step by step exercises that got more complex. Occasionally I would write out reading exercises for individual students.

Do you believe in working to the student’s pace, or challenging them to improve their skills?

I wasn't adhering to a strict curriculum that had to be completed in a set time period so I would let them work at their own pace sometimes placing a higher demand on those who showed a higher aptitude or eagerness to learn.

How important is music theory in teaching your instrument?

It's vital but with younger kids it was very much a little bit and more on the reading side. With older kids I would try to get them to understand what they were playing rather than just teaching them where to place their fingers.

Do you believe that homework is important to learning an instrument?

Yes.

Do you plan your lesson content ahead of time?

I had a collection of pre-prepared material but would add some individualized lessons for the more astute students.

What attracted you to working as an instrumental teacher?

I thought I had something to offer in an region where good music lessons were isolated to the classical instruments.

What is your behavior management policy?

I never had a problem with this unless occasionally doing an ensemble type situation. Dealing with younger kids, they generally respected my position and were well behaved in a one on one environment.

How to you keep your students engaged and interested during lesson?

I'm a conversational person so it was easy to interact without seeming like giving a lecture. I would often stop and ask them questions or if they understood.

I only have a short amount of time to bring my beginner students up to performance ready level. What advice do you have for me to help my students get the best out of each weekly lesson?

It depends on what they'll be performing. Slow repetition and stressing the value of a little bit of practice regularly rather than trying to cram learn the homework the day before a lesson. I'd often double what they were playing to make them less self conscious. If there was a recital I would do extra lessons to rehearse.

Finally, is there any other information that you feel I may need to know?

I would say patience and understanding. It's easy to forget how much we struggled in the beginning or that things that are easy now weren't then.

Billnc · #5 06-17-2010, 02:32 PM

Let me clarify my theory answer.

It is very important. I meant to say analysis is not overly important for the student. A beginning student can understand the theory of chord construction and the I ii ii IV V VI vii pretty early on. And then learn how to use these in walking lines etc.