My students sometimes ask: "I didn't get to practice much this week; should I still come to my lesson?" Or prospective students ask: "I really want to improve my playing but don't have a lot of time to practice. Is it still worth it to take lessons?" The answer to both questions is a resounding YES. However, in order for the answer to be yes, you must have the right teacher.
From years of traditional schooling, most of us have gotten used to the idea that you go to class, where the teacher imparts some information, and then you go home and study it. Or, the teacher assigns some work, such as a paper or essay, which you do at home and then return to the teacher for "correcting" and, hopefully, constructive criticism, and possibly grading. You rarely do these assignments in class itself. Therefore it is not surprising that people may think the same model applies to learning an instrument, such as the piano.
Over the years, I have spoken with many people about their lessons with previous teachers. I'm often told that the teacher basically assigned a new piece, maybe went through it a small amount, but instructed the student to "learn" it at home. Then, at the lesson, the teacher might correct "wrong notes" or other problems, and the student would again be sent home to practice with the new "corrections." However, the problem with this is: what if the student doesn't really know or understand how to "learn" the piece for optimal results? The teacher may not even cover this, just assuming that the student knows. There are many ways to approach a new piece. Some are mechanical and joy-killing, and others are a creative process. How to practice well is one of the most important aspects of learning that the teacher needs to address. But many don't, or give it minimal emphasis. In fact, this is why many teachers just do a 30-minute lesson: if you are just correcting errors you may be able to do it in that amount of time. But there is no time to go into any depth on technique, ear-training, musical expression and all the myriad of subtleties that playing the piano requires.
The model of "assign in class and learn at home" doesn't work at all for a pursuit which is highly physical, such as playing an instrument. The student needs to acquire good technique at the lesson, with the teacher demonstrating and, through various means, manipulating the student's hands and arms until they sense the new technique. The student needs to "experience" the new technique at the lesson, so they can attempt to duplicate it at home. I never let the student leave the lesson until I see that they at least have the beginnings of acquiring the new skill. Technique is just one an example, but the same applies to all aspects of playing.
Because of this model, students tend to feel that they must "perform" for the teacher at the lesson in order to show what they have accomplished during the week. Whether conscious or unconscious, this idea will likely cause them to have some nerves, and the playing will be worse than the student hopes. As an experienced teacher, I can always tell what is going on, how the student has practiced, and how they have progressed (or not) during the week. If the student can just be relaxed, their playing will probably be better. I continually emphasize that they are practicing to improve and become more skilled, not to perform for me at the lesson.
A better model for the piano lesson would be a session with a personal trainer. If you are seeing a trainer weekly in order to get more fit, and you don't get a chance to exercise during a given week, should you skip your session with the trainer? Of course not. It would be all the more imperative that you go to your session so you at least get one solid exercise session in for the week. When you are with a trainer, he/she shows you the technique and observes you doing it, correcting your form as necessary. This is the most essential benefit of training with a professional, that is, making sure you have the best technique or form before you go home to do it on your own.
Likewise, I consider the piano lesson to be a supervised practice session. When they are with me at the lesson, the students are doing the highest quality "practicing," and this is what they should be doing at home. Unfortunately, despite my explaining and emphasizing this, I have had some students who go home and do something else entirely, and of course, their results, or lack of results, show it.
At the lesson, the work must be "compressed" in order to get it done in the time allotted. However, the practice session at home should be seen as an "expanded" version of the lesson. In summary, lessons and practicing are not exactly the same, but the student should, ideally, try to replicate what was done at the lesson... again, providing you have the right teacher. If you are currently studying piano with a teacher who uses the "assign and learn at home" model, it's time to find a new teacher.
No comments:
Post a Comment