How I Help My Students To Learn New Music
Sep 13 '00 (Updated Dec 30 '01)
The Bottom Line This is a structured approach to dealing with the challenges of studying a new musical piece
I follow a coaching model with my students. In other words, I prepare them to assess and monitor their playing between lessons. They should be spending much more time playing their instrument without me, in band and in between their lessons.
Many students after the first few months of study can "work out" new music intuitively. In other words, they just play it. Others may struggle a bit more. So, I developed (or, more accurately, observed and recorded) a method for students to work out issues in new music. This model applies to learning new written music for beginning and intermediate students. I'll talk a little bit about learning jazz tunes in my upcoming epinion on Ear Training - Part II.
This is a 4-step process and I encourage but do not require the students to use it. When helping during a lesson, I do use it. It's a sequential process and builds upon the student's knowledge.
This process is best with difficult music when there is sufficient time to prepare for an event like a solo contest or band concert. However, it can be applicable to any practice situation. Time constraints and the music itself dictate whether a student should choose to approach a piece of music in phrases or whether they need to learn the whole piece in a hurry.
Step 1 - Notes
This is not as trivial as it sounds. While most students can play most notes on their instrument after a few months, they still need to be able to hit sequences of notes and in context. Since there are some alternative fingering choices on saxophone (and clarinet), this step has them focus on how they are going to execute the notes in the piece. Once the student is comfortable in executing the notes and fingerings involved, it's time to move on to:
Step 2 - Rhythms
This issue gets to playing the notes at a steady tempo in line with the note durations as written. With very difficult or fast pieces, the student needs to use a metronome and find the fastest tempo (often EXTREMELY slow) that they can play the music perfectly 3 times with no mistakes. Then, they can increase the tempo slightly, while they maintain that perfection. The fact is, you learn to play good fast by playing good slow and gradually getting faster. I didn't like it when Tommy (my second teacher - see my epinion on what I learned from my music teachers) told me this, but it's true. When the rhythms are comfortable and internalized, they are ready for:
Step 3 - Articulations
This gets to whether notes are tongued, slurred, accented, short or long, etc. Many students do this well. Others tend to get a little uncomfortable and/or unsettled when dealing with articulations and rhythms at the same time. That's why I work on the sequence. I've also found that the students who struggle with articulations can get better while working on the rhythms phase with repetition. By the time the student works on this, the notes and rhythms should be solid enough so that they do noot become unsettled. The final phase is:
Step 4 - Dynamics
This is the loud or soft and transition in between issue and really, for most beginning and intermediate students, is the final layer of musicality. With the first 3 items solid, the student can finish the piece and let his or her full musicality shine.
These 4 phases permit the students to work on one thing initially and add 1 thing at a time. there is a sequence involved and the complexity increases as does their ability to handle it. Some students can learn new music their own way. The ones who tend to struggle benefit from this sequential approach.
In my next epinion, I'll talk about how to prevent and resolve recurring mistakes in music during the learning phase.
I'll look forward to your comments.
Thanks for reading. God Bless!
If you like mainstream and fusion jazz, check out my web site, www.jazzobsession.com. You’ll find information on my newly-released CD, The Power of Two by John Temmerman's Jazz Obsession Quartet. It is available through Amazon.com and www.cdbaby.com. I have a special discount available on sales through my web site. Come on by!
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