I really enjoyed reading Bjork's chapter on lesson structure. It was good to be reminded of keeping the end view in sight in teaching the lessons. Bjork said, when talking about note-reading, that he always includes note-reading in the lesson even when preparing for a competition or recital. Sometimes it is easy to let an upcoming concert or recital dominate what goes on in the lesson, but Bjork and Suzuki always include tone (and note-reading for Bjork) in the lessons.
I noticed that too. That is one thing that I actually was a little confused about. What time in a child’s violin learning would you introduce sight reading in the lesson? Suzuki says after book 4 so is this sight reading advice directed towards more advanced students?
Note reading should be introduced with the student is reading in their mother tongue-- remember that Suzuki started the students so little that they were probably starting to read when they were working on Volumes 3 or 4!
When in doubt-- think how we learn language. We would not want to delay reading until the student was advanced-- yes?
I was interested in how Bjork emphasized deliberate lesson structures--"if we ask to hear the same thing every week, even the most stubborn student will realize that we consider this an important issue." I thought Suzuki's progress report was a pretty neat contrivance. It looks like it would be a very visual way to track progress.
Having students observe other student's lessons seems like it has some merit. Since students share mistakes, it may be helpful to spot and not perform the mistake.
What is the "E string posture" talked about in point 8 on page 17 of the article?
Yes! That is something I struggle with a lot. I see that they have learned what I am teaching and I move on. I should keep discussing the topics that are important (with some variation and condensing) so they can continue to learn from them. I was really intrigued by the idea of having students watch one another’s’ lessons. It seems very beneficial, but I wonder if it might end up being more hassle then it is worth. If I remember right E string posture is just when a student is standing with their violin up and their bow placed on the E string with the correct arm level and their bow arm is at its “square.”
"E string posture" is the place where connection between the bow and the string happens most naturally on the violin. Maybe on the cello it would be "D" or "G" string posture?
There were two things I found very helpful. First was the idea of practicing in the lesson. I had forgotten how important it is to practice with the student in the lesson to be sure s/he is practicing it correctly at home. I tend to look at the clock and make myself move on when I should just plan less for the lesson so I have more time to devote to building practicing skills. The second thing I found helpful was the advice to be like a loving mother toward your student. I need to have a love for my students and care a lot about their progress.
I agree with you on practicing in the lesson. When I started teaching private lessons this year, that was something I almost didn't do. It helps so much, though, in showing the student how to practice at home. That's where the idea of just having one point or focus per lesson comes in, and you can practice all different types of ways for just one particular technique or area that you are working on.
That's a good idea to plan less for lessons to devote more time to practicing in the lessons. I find it is very easy to plan too much to work on in one lesson, and really be effective in teaching.
Teaching how to practice during the lesson is a good idea. It is hard to expect a student to just know how to practice a piece. I know that I had to be told (and still am being told) many times how to practice.
I agree with teaching how to practice in a lesson. I have experienced this first hand. My brother will call playing his favorite songs (like the Indiana Jones theme song) on his cello as practicing then he'll put his cello away. Now, as he as become a more advanced cellist, he as learned from his teacher the correct way to practice. Like Elijah said, we cannot expect a student to just know how to practice. We need to give them pointers and tips how to effectively practice.
I think that the key to true student success as an independent learner is this very point-- and it is not the kind of thing that you learn from being told-- you have to do it and experience the change in your hands and understanding!
The idea that we as teachers show what is important in the lesson by what we do in the lessons is an interesting concept. If we emphasize something in a lesson, or assign something in the lesson, it needs to be followed up on the next week. Also, I thought the idea of focusing on just one thing in a lesson a different way of looking at things. In a way, I think it would be beneficial for the student, and it may be easier to practice in the lesson and have time to work out techniques or problems completely within the lesson.
Following up in lessons is something that I need to do better on. Sometimes I find it hard to get through everything that I need to get through in a lesson, especially with my more advanced students. I'm trying something new of working on some one week and the other things the next week.
One point--In part it does depend on the level of the student and how much they are practicing. For younger students and parents it makes a huge difference to what they are able to digest and really apply in the home practice!
As I was reading the Starr article, I was reminded of different points that I learned while I attended ASI in Steven's Point this past summer. In one of the observations that I did while I was there, the 6-year old student had a lack of attention span. Instead of forcing the child to complete his lesson, the teacher instead gave the rest of the lesson to the mother since she is the home teacher, or the one who is practicing with him. I also thought it was interesting how that it was mentioned in the article that allowing the student to preform a piece by himself and allow to keep playing,even when mistakes are made, prepares for public performances. I found that the chart that was in the article too, was very interesting. One thing that was really hammered into me during ASI is to have only 1 technical focus point during a lesson.
For the Bjork article, I liked how that he commented that each Suzuki lesson would start off with tonalization but ends with the repertoire piece. As Suzuki said "Beautiful heart, beautiful tone." Tone is very important since that is what music consists of. I was also challenged that we as teachers have great responsibility to watch how we react.
I never was a Suzuki student, so many of the ideas are new. Several good ones from Suzuki’s lesson structure were his focus on tonal aspect of playing and his focus on only one issue. My teachers tended to focus more on playing a piece and “passing it.” The idea of focusing on the tone and playing ability of student to better prepare them for their pieces is intriguing. It could be so beneficial to encourage a student to master what skills they possess and be able to be confident in their abilities. The choosing of one topic to work on for the next week shows great intention; instead of many things that you may work on off and on throughout your learning time, to find something achievable that the student is able to work through and present it with little criticism is a much more encouraging way to teach. And in the second article, the part of the article where they talked about how they dealt with the students not doing well or maybe having a bad attitude. The way he addressed the child, determined that he could play but perhaps was not motivated to do so, and was able to make some progress showed great discernment. The fact that he may not have treated another student the same way, but saw that it would be a benefit to encourage, perhaps not even in the most flowery terms, and achieve some satisfactory results by lessons end, was a feat held to be admirable to anyone who has ever tried to deal with a situation like that.
As a former Suzuki student, the lesson stucture mentioned in Bjork's article was very familiar. The only difference I noticed in the articles and my teacher was that she didn't praise students very much. However, because of that, when I was praised, it made it that much more special. I noticed that in Starr's article, he talked about how Suzuki treated each student differently according to their attention spans, but in Bjork's article, he referred to a lesson structure for every lesson. That was somewhat interesting to me. Both of these were pretty much right on with Suzuki method violin lessons.
As I was reading the introduction to the Talent Code, I thought it was very interesting that you could practice a whole months worth in six minutes! In order to have effective practice, you have to have concentration and willpower. I like Bjork's analogy of memory as being a scaffold. The more we build the scaffold, the faster we learn. SMALL EFFORTS PRODUCE LASTING RESULTS! I liked how Jensen put practicing as taking a vitamin. It doesn't taste good, but it's good for you! I loved how he put that. It's a great reminder for practicing!
Hi folks! Welcome back! Happy discussing!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading Bjork's chapter on lesson structure. It was good to be reminded of keeping the end view in sight in teaching the lessons. Bjork said, when talking about note-reading, that he always includes note-reading in the lesson even when preparing for a competition or recital. Sometimes it is easy to let an upcoming concert or recital dominate what goes on in the lesson, but Bjork and Suzuki always include tone (and note-reading for Bjork) in the lessons.
ReplyDeleteIs it bad to have a few lessons dominated by an upcoming concert? I guess if you performed a lot it would definitely slow down lesson progress.
DeleteI noticed that too. That is one thing that I actually was a little confused about. What time in a child’s violin learning would you introduce sight reading in the lesson? Suzuki says after book 4 so is this sight reading advice directed towards more advanced students?
DeleteHi folks!
DeleteNote reading should be introduced with the student is reading in their mother tongue-- remember that Suzuki started the students so little that they were probably starting to read when they were working on Volumes 3 or 4!
When in doubt-- think how we learn language. We would not want to delay reading until the student was advanced-- yes?
I think too that it's so important too that we as teachers have the end goal in sight. It is our responsibility.
DeleteI was interested in how Bjork emphasized deliberate lesson structures--"if we ask to hear the same thing every week, even the most stubborn student will realize that we consider this an important issue." I thought Suzuki's progress report was a pretty neat contrivance. It looks like it would be a very visual way to track progress.
ReplyDeleteHaving students observe other student's lessons seems like it has some merit. Since students share mistakes, it may be helpful to spot and not perform the mistake.
What is the "E string posture" talked about in point 8 on page 17 of the article?
Yes! That is something I struggle with a lot. I see that they have learned what I am teaching and I move on. I should keep discussing the topics that are important (with some variation and condensing) so they can continue to learn from them.
DeleteI was really intrigued by the idea of having students watch one another’s’ lessons. It seems very beneficial, but I wonder if it might end up being more hassle then it is worth.
If I remember right E string posture is just when a student is standing with their violin up and their bow placed on the E string with the correct arm level and their bow arm is at its “square.”
Hi folks!
Delete"E string posture" is the place where connection between the bow and the string happens most naturally on the violin. Maybe on the cello it would be "D" or "G" string posture?
There were two things I found very helpful. First was the idea of practicing in the lesson. I had forgotten how important it is to practice with the student in the lesson to be sure s/he is practicing it correctly at home. I tend to look at the clock and make myself move on when I should just plan less for the lesson so I have more time to devote to building practicing skills. The second thing I found helpful was the advice to be like a loving mother toward your student. I need to have a love for my students and care a lot about their progress.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on practicing in the lesson. When I started teaching private lessons this year, that was something I almost didn't do. It helps so much, though, in showing the student how to practice at home. That's where the idea of just having one point or focus per lesson comes in, and you can practice all different types of ways for just one particular technique or area that you are working on.
DeleteThat's a good idea to plan less for lessons to devote more time to practicing in the lessons. I find it is very easy to plan too much to work on in one lesson, and really be effective in teaching.
DeleteTeaching how to practice during the lesson is a good idea. It is hard to expect a student to just know how to practice a piece. I know that I had to be told (and still am being told) many times how to practice.
DeleteI agree with teaching how to practice in a lesson. I have experienced this first hand. My brother will call playing his favorite songs (like the Indiana Jones theme song) on his cello as practicing then he'll put his cello away. Now, as he as become a more advanced cellist, he as learned from his teacher the correct way to practice. Like Elijah said, we cannot expect a student to just know how to practice. We need to give them pointers and tips how to effectively practice.
DeleteI think that the key to true student success as an independent learner is this very point-- and it is not the kind of thing that you learn from being told-- you have to do it and experience the change in your hands and understanding!
DeleteThe idea that we as teachers show what is important in the lesson by what we do in the lessons is an interesting concept. If we emphasize something in a lesson, or assign something in the lesson, it needs to be followed up on the next week. Also, I thought the idea of focusing on just one thing in a lesson a different way of looking at things. In a way, I think it would be beneficial for the student, and it may be easier to practice in the lesson and have time to work out techniques or problems completely within the lesson.
ReplyDeleteFollowing up in lessons is something that I need to do better on. Sometimes I find it hard to get through everything that I need to get through in a lesson, especially with my more advanced students. I'm trying something new of working on some one week and the other things the next week.
DeleteOne point--In part it does depend on the level of the student and how much they are practicing. For younger students and parents it makes a huge difference to what they are able to digest and really apply in the home practice!
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the Starr article, I was reminded of different points that I learned while I attended ASI in Steven's Point this past summer. In one of the observations that I did while I was there, the 6-year old student had a lack of attention span. Instead of forcing the child to complete his lesson, the teacher instead gave the rest of the lesson to the mother since she is the home teacher, or the one who is practicing with him. I also thought it was interesting how that it was mentioned in the article that allowing the student to preform a piece by himself and allow to keep playing,even when mistakes are made, prepares for public performances. I found that the chart that was in the article too, was very interesting. One thing that was really hammered into me during ASI is to have only 1 technical focus point during a lesson.
ReplyDeleteFor the Bjork article, I liked how that he commented that each Suzuki lesson would start off with tonalization but ends with the repertoire piece. As Suzuki said "Beautiful heart, beautiful tone." Tone is very important since that is what music consists of. I was also challenged that we as teachers have great responsibility to watch how we react.
ReplyDeleteI never was a Suzuki student, so many of the ideas are new. Several good ones from Suzuki’s lesson structure were his focus on tonal aspect of playing and his focus on only one issue. My teachers tended to focus more on playing a piece and “passing it.” The idea of focusing on the tone and playing ability of student to better prepare them for their pieces is intriguing. It could be so beneficial to encourage a student to master what skills they possess and be able to be confident in their abilities. The choosing of one topic to work on for the next week shows great intention; instead of many things that you may work on off and on throughout your learning time, to find something achievable that the student is able to work through and present it with little criticism is a much more encouraging way to teach. And in the second article, the part of the article where they talked about how they dealt with the students not doing well or maybe having a bad attitude. The way he addressed the child, determined that he could play but perhaps was not motivated to do so, and was able to make some progress showed great discernment. The fact that he may not have treated another student the same way, but saw that it would be a benefit to encourage, perhaps not even in the most flowery terms, and achieve some satisfactory results by lessons end, was a feat held to be admirable to anyone who has ever tried to deal with a situation like that.
ReplyDeleteYou have hit on some of the key teaching points in the "mother tongue method"- bravo, Aaron!
DeleteAs a former Suzuki student, the lesson stucture mentioned in Bjork's article was very familiar. The only difference I noticed in the articles and my teacher was that she didn't praise students very much. However, because of that, when I was praised, it made it that much more special. I noticed that in Starr's article, he talked about how Suzuki treated each student differently according to their attention spans, but in Bjork's article, he referred to a lesson structure for every lesson. That was somewhat interesting to me. Both of these were pretty much right on with Suzuki method violin lessons.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the introduction to the Talent Code, I thought it was very interesting that you could practice a whole months worth in six minutes! In order to have effective practice, you have to have concentration and willpower. I like Bjork's analogy of memory as being a scaffold. The more we build the scaffold, the faster we learn. SMALL EFFORTS PRODUCE LASTING RESULTS! I liked how Jensen put practicing as taking a vitamin. It doesn't taste good, but it's good for you! I loved how he put that. It's a great reminder for practicing!
ReplyDelete