Polyphony asking questions.

For many years I would have called myself primarily a private/applied music teacher, but I also devote substantial time to class teaching of piano pedagogy. Where am I most at home? Is it in the "doing it" or the "talking about doing it?" Many people agree that the actual teaching of the lesson is the most stimulating part for them. And yet, during a course I taught this past fall, I was vividly reminded of what we know well to be true: that appropriate and experimental ways of talking about, analyzing, preparing and practicing for teaching, help bring about change in teaching--personal growth in our own teaching.

How did it happen this time? Maybe I was more straightforward than before while teaching this particular course or maybe a lot of points jelled in a different way. Maybe I was more to the point when I asked where we were going and what could help the class members the most with their teaching.

And so, in this course more than ever before, I began to ask myself and the students many questions. And, then it extended to their students as well, hoping to make the students more independent, just as I hoped to have the student-teachers become independent and know what worked.

The Begining

One of the first in-depth class segments had to do with teachers preparing students to learn a new piece. So we asked again and again, with respect to various pieces in the teaching literature, "What can I (the teacher) do to make this easier for my student to learn this week?" Or, "What one glimpse or insight that draws me strongly to this music can I share with the student before he takes it home to learn?"

The result was class teaching segments in which the student-teacher, within approximately five minutes, illustrated an inspiring and well-thought out way to draw the student into the piece--to inspire the student to practice it soon after he arrived home. Schumann's Fantasy Dance, Op. 124, No. 5--is there a way to feel this pulse from the start? What about the patterns between hands at the outset? What are some reading/playing steps for the student to do in the lesson to have the understanding and excitement that both cement themselves in the student's commitment to the new piece?

There were other pieces in which we identified the musical "heart of the piece" or a part that was especially inspiring. For some types of pieces this works well. This inspiring moment could result from a large crescendo and build up in the music, or a single chord with an exquisite color or mode change or a place that is climactic for some inexplicable reason. To determine the musical heart of our pieces, we asked the following questions:

* What is the heart of the piece--the place that moves you most?

* Where is the loudest/most intense place in the piece? Where is the point of greatest repose?

* Where does the fat lady sing here?

* Where does this piece speak most to you?

When these questions are asked and answered, both the teacher and student can discover and verbalize similar and different ways in which the music moves them.

"Where does the fat lady sing?"--a take off of the saying "It's not over until the fat lady sings"--refers to a place in music that, perhaps, sings out or emotionally reaches the listeners thorough a passionate and convincing interpretation--an unusual way of stating the obvious. Where does the fat lady sing in in Burgmuller's The Storm or MacDowell's To a Wild Rose? Where is the heart or the most intense place in the first movement of the Clementi Sonatina in C, Op. 36, No. 3?

Imagery

Another teaching occasion found the class discussing imagery and story narration through the music and as part of the teaching. Dismissing the notion that some people teach well this way and for others it does not come as naturally, we experimented. Everyone found drama and new-found story and meaning in surprisingly powerful ways.

Prokofiev's "Evening" (from Music for Children) lends itself to a mood/program to see the sky darkening with twinkling stars appearing, closing with peaceful tranquility the day's ventures and so forth. A full-fledged opera/drama could be the setting for a work such as the Allegro burlesco movement from the Kuhlau Sonatina, Op. 88, No. 3 with imagination as a guide. The point was that everyone tried this repeatedly to gain some skill in communicating, in yet another way, the meaning of the music.

Teaching Literature

We watched video-taped performances of students for our analysis and discussion. What do you want to say to a student first in the lesson, to balance what has grown and improved with what needs work? Is there a clear and concise way to compliment the student? In all this work, the focus was on conscious teaching--always being aware of what we are saying to the student, of knowing and following through with what we will begin to work with first in the lesson, and what, if any, are other obvious points to make at this point in the lesson?

It is important to follow through on the concept of conscious teaching, a state of teaching where we are aware of what we are saying and how the student is feeling and reacting, as well as whether the suggestions are too difficult, too easy or appropriate for the student and situation. Some points we worked on consciously in teaching demonstration segments (practicing of teaching can be so revealing!):

* How do I sound to myself? Am I thinking and speaking concisely at this point in the lesson?

* After making a point to the student, do I let him reiterate the point via demonstration to ensure he understands it? Do I avoid just telling the student, but let him do it. Or, am I caught in a rut of always talking throughout a lesson, with little playing other than the student's recitation of the piece?

* Am I quickly achieving results in the lesson? Are things changing, is the student connecting with what I am saying?

* Am I connected with the student? What does my eye contact with the student tell me? Have I relaxed my student so he can play his best?

* Am I aware of time in this lesson and how my pacing is going? We almost always work with time limits. We usually must stay on time, even if everything is not accomplished. With consciousness, we learn to prioritize and pace.

* Am I demonstrating for the student in the lesson? The most effective teachers demonstrate frequently and effectively.

* After the lesson is completed, does this student know clearly what to do when she or he leaves? Did I clearly summarize the important points for the student? How does this student perceive me in the lesson? Am I animated, even excited about what is happening? Do I show any energy and draw my students in?

Consciousness and Awareness

Moving from discussion of the teacher's consciousness--awareness of ourselves in the moment during our teaching--we work to help students become conscious of their own playing and at the lesson. What do we do in the lessons to draw the student to the pieces he is working on in the moment?

Now the questions asked draw the student to listen in certain ways to the music as she plays. Ask, "What did you hear here?" with respect to the pedal, the breathing within the line or perhaps with respect to the hands playing a split second apart. Often in this stage of teaching, the student plays the passage again so she can hear it with awareness.

Another way to develop awareness in the student during lessons and practice may be to ask: What is another way to play this? I often wonder why we practice and play things the same way over and over. Instead, how many different ways can you think of to play this phrase?

For a beginning student, the most obvious changes may be in dynamic level. Other students may play a single phrase to find several points of tension or differing focal points, to hear which is most satisfactory at that moment. Students may play phrases with different voicings in that phrase for various repetitions. Students may experiment with slight rhythmic nuances. The possibilities are endless.

The Strong Points

I like working with a teaching demonstration that went well. What are some elements that made this work? What do I want to keep in my teaching as a central part of it? If we do not know what we want, where we are going, what we are striving for in our teaching, we may not get there. Here are some points that worked for one teacher:

* Clear interaction with student

* Teacher demonstrated/modeled the sound for the student

* The student remained involved throughout the lesson

* An effective alternation of teacher discussion/student performance developed in the lesson

* The teacher worked in steps, in small increments

Final Critical Questions?

At least two critical questions remain, always at the core of our teaching. "['he first. Is the student playing the piece the ways he wants or the way the teacher wants it? While it is obvious that the "teacher's way" is not solely desirable, one acknowledges that the teacher necessarily contributes experience and knowledge of style, tempo range and finesse, but may not be perceived by the student--and this must enter the interpretation. But, if the student is not consulted about how she wants to play the piece, the student's creativity will gradually become dormant. If a student is not given choices and asked to create sound from her own images, then perhaps she is in fact playing the teacher's interpretation.

A final question needs to be at the heart of the lesson. If you were the student, what would you want to hear from the teacher? If we do not keep the student's feelings and needs in mind, the lesson loses the communication element that exists between two individuals. It becomes a one-way street, with the teacher providing directions to the student and ultimately removes the marvelous collaborative efforts of teaching.

Implementing Change

Changes in our teaching should occur one step at a time. Take just one idea from above and practice it thoroughly throughout the week. Consciously for a week, work with one point in every lesson and see what changes may occur. Some unexpected creativity may creep in. Additional laughter may just come about as you and your student come up with a solution together. An added freedom to a lesson or two may occur. And then, when one thing is changed, perhaps deal with another question and then another--as you, too, create your own questions and conscious solutions along the continuing path of professional growth in private teaching.

This is about asking the right questions of ourselves as teachers and of our students. Especially now in the midst of the winter season, it is common to want change--to search for something new to develop in our teaching--with which to experiment. It is part of the human condition to want to change and evolve--yes, also in our teaching, to prevent it from becoming stale. By taking one step at a time, paths can open to consistent growth and change in teaching.

Send Us Your Questions

Do you have a teaching question you would like to have answered? Perhaps you have a practice tip for students you would like to share or a studio idea you are trying differently this year. Questions and other items may be sent to: American Music Teacher, Atnn: Polyphony; 441 Vine St., Ste. 505, Cincinnati, OH 45202-2811; fax [phone]; or e-mail to [e-mail].

Jane Magrath, NCTM, is internationally known as a pianist, author, clinician and teacher. She is professor and director of piano pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma in Norman