[TPIN] What IS competent?

[Louis A. Spagnola]

Every student is a challenge...but for very different reasons!Louis A. Spagnola 12 Elliston Court Exton, PA 19341 (610)647-1336 LouSpag at msn.com

> From: john.daniel at lawrence.edu> Subject: Re: [TPIN] What IS competent?> To: louspag at msn.com; briandavidmoon at comcast.net; bbiffle at brgcc.com; tpin at tpin.okcu.edu> Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 08:40:49 -0600> CC: > > I think most of us by now realize that playing the trumpet > is a challenge. Even on the days where every single thing > comes out right, I wouldn't call it easy. I've worked my > whole life to become a good player, and I know the days > that it is "easy" are a direct result of that hard work. > Even when it is easy, I have to work extremely hard to > keep it that way.> > So if we know how hard it is to play the trumpet, why in > the world would we expect it to be easy to teach the > trumpet? To be alone in a room with student after > student, giving them your full attention, can be > exhausting. And I know that very, very few of them are > going to sustain the kind of effort necessary to fulfill > their potential, which is OK.> > I think for the first 10,000 lessons I taught, I tended to > teach my students the way I had been taught. For the next > 20,000 lessons or so I tried to teach my students the way > I wish I had been taught. Now I try to teach each student > the way they need to be taught, which means I'm switching > gears for each one, sometimes dramatically.> > I am certainly a more experienced teacher now and much > more capable of working with advanced students. I am > probably more capable of working with problem students. > But the truth is, the more I teach, the more I am humbled > by the process.> > Sometimes etude checking is all a student can handle and > all the commitment they are ready for, for example. Some > students are going to be derailed by the slightest > suggestion about embouchure.> > My teacher as a kid certainly tried to show me some > physical aspects of playing, but it never clicked. He was > succesfull in teaching me about music, and we went through > a ton of repertoire. I pretty much had to figure the > physical part out much later, mostly on my own.> > Trust me, every student is a challenge to teach.> > John> > > _______________________________________________> TPIN mailing list> TPIN at tpin.okcu.edu> http://tpin.okcu.edu/mailman/listinfo/tpin