Clavier Companion - January/February 2012 - 4

Columns

Editor’s Page
Pete Jutras, Editor-in-Chief

New discoveries
he passing of the holiday season brings the dawn of another new year. As always, there is optimism, hope, expectation in the air. There is a natural excitement about something “new” that touches everyone, from children receiving presents to experienced piano teachers looking forward to new faces, new repertoire, and new performances. I find that I often enjoy the anticipation of something new as much as the thing itself. I avoid previews and reviews of movies and books for fear of spoiling the story—I’ll even stay away from the blurbs on dust jackets in case they divulge too much.

fact, the student never had a chance to think for himself, because the concept was presented, labeled, and defined before he had a chance to think about it on his own terms, to try and discover what it is and how it fits.

Voilà
In a true “discovery” sense, the student starts with something he already knows how to do, something he has been exposed to in a number of carefully planned preparatory steps (steps that were free of unnecessary explanation, verbiage, rules, and corrections). The teacher may ask the student to add a small new step, but the activity remains comfortable, something the student is confidently and consistently successful at. Then, voilà: the teacher takes what the student already knows (and can do) and connects it to something new. This connection could happen through finding what the student already knows in a new setting—perhaps a new piece, a new key, or a new finger pattern. The student has just unwrapped a new level of learning, and if the teacher has planned carefully, the student has made the discovery on his own. If the teacher has helped the student to understand the broader concept, the student can then apply the concept to other new settings and make many more discoveries. For a great discussion on teaching concepts, please see Craig Sale’s article in this issue’s Music Reading department. Armed with new knowledge and a small bit of excitement, the student can then go home to apply the knowledge, and use it in a number of fun ways. The new present is not something that needs fixing (there’s nothing more discouraging than a broken toy on Christmas morning), but something that can be played with, and used to make music. Something fun, something to do, something new! We should never forget that what is common knowledge, even routine to us, is brand new to our students. They don’t have the experience, the familiarity, the depth of understanding about the new concept that we do as teachers. We can’t just tell them about it and hope it will stick. It won’t. What will help it stick, however, are their own discoveries, their own processing, their own efforts to assimilate this knowledge and relate it to what they already know. This happens through discovery, through the fun unwrapping of a concept. As teachers, let’s resolve to work for all of our student’s knowledge to be new, fresh, and exciting in the year ahead. Let your students have the fun of unwrapping a new musical present at every lesson! Click here to view the runner-up essay in our 2011 Collegiate Essay Contest, “Chamber music for the elementary and intermediate student,” by Michelle Wachter.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

You’ll never guess…
I’m one of those present wrappers some people find annoying: if possible I try to disguise what is being wrapped. My philosophy is that a small item is more fun when packaged in a huge box. A book or CD shouldn’t be too obvious. I love watching the faces of gift recipients as they puzzle over an unrecognizable package, and I then share in their excitement when they realize (if I have bought a good present) they got just what they wanted. I will tell my kids that we’re going to the store to run errands and then pull up to an amusement park just so I can watch their delight at the surprise. Learning something new should be just as magical. And learning is the most fun when we are able to discover a new concept (perhaps to our surprise) and realize that it is just what we wanted to learn all along—just what we needed. As teachers, however, we often jump the gun and spoil the surprise, taking away the magical effect of learning something new. And just like an obviously wrapped present (or worse, an unwrapped present that is found hiding in the closet), once the surprise is out of the bag, there is no going back, no returning to the giddy sense of anticipation.

Unsurprising teaching
A common, everyday teaching sequence might unfold as follows: Today we will learn about something new [insert any idea here—a rhythm, a scale, a finger pattern, a voicing technique, etc.]. It is called _____. Here, let me show you (teacher demonstrates the concept). There it is in your music. It means _____. Now you try it. (Student tries but fails.) OK, try it again, but do this. (Another failed attempt, but this one is closer.) Don’t forget, you are supposed to do_______! (A final try is closer still but not exactly right.) Almost. Now I want you to practice that every day and bring it back to the lesson next week. In this scenario, the only thing the student discovered was that he wasn’t very good at the new concept, and it is now another thing that needs to be fixed in his practicing. There was no “A-ha” moment of learning, no magical surprise. In
4
CLAVIER COMPANION

Clavier Companion - January/February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clavier Companion - January/February 2012