What happens in a music lesson?
All music making that is led by the ear, and singing has a flow and ease that is deeply rewarding to the student, as well as to the listener. This is especially true when the student is thinking of giving his music to another person, as a gift.Both of these principles are embedded in my approach to teaching music.
Each lessonorganically develops as, I adjust what they are learning based on information that I get, using many of the methods listed below.
- I will typically begin by asking what types of music theylike to listen to and who their favorite singers are.I will then go and listen to them myself if I have never heard of them, which is likely as there is so much music available. I suggest new pieces of music for them to listen to, or even better to watch on YouTube and find out what they like or dislike about the songs, pieces of music.I really like my students to play music that they have a connection to and they often bring in music that they want to learn. This encourages a collaborative approach to the lessons.
- I will often get my younger students to move or danceto different types of music, by playing different songs in different tempos and moods, fast or slow, with a jumpyrhythm or a smooth one.I will often teach them some simple dance moves.
- For my very young students and children with disabilities, Iwill get them to try out developmental movements like rolling on the floor, hoping, skipping, and galloping, to find out what their coordination is like.
- I encourage my students to play the rhythm of the song’s words on the drum. This is a great foundation to develop their listening and coordination. I always start with simple chants, nursery rhymes, and introduce more complex material as we go along.
- Over time they willlearn howto convert the songsthey hear in their minds into the digital patterns (finger movements) relevant to their instrument of choice.They also naturally come up with new words to songs that they know.