6 Things I've Learned WhileTeaching Music

I was recently discussing a typical day of teaching at DSM and DLP with my bestest friend Gracie. She thought it was funny that I spent more time telling her what I had learned from my students versus what I had taught them. She suggested I write a blog about this idea, and though it's probably not exactly what she had in mind...here goes:


6 Things I've Learned While Teaching Music


6. Teaching music is a calling... a much different calling than being a musician. If you are a great player but can't relate to people, then please go concentrate on your gigging career.  And thank you in advance from our profession.


5.  If you are teaching music and don't enjoy it, you should seriously consider choosing another line of work.Your students can tell if you like what you do or not. If you are lucky enough to teach music and enjoy it, congratulations and welcome to the club! 


4. Teaching music requires interpersonal skills. If you are a 'people person' you might be a good music teacher. If your idea of a perfect day is being alone with your i-pod and the Oxford Companion to Music, you may want to seek out a library position.


3. "Liking music" and or "knowing music" have little to do with "teaching" music. Your students want to know that you care about them, not the music they are learning.

2. Having the best curriculum, the best 'chops', the best instrument, or the best facility does not guarantee that you will be a successful teacher. Good teachers will be successful without these things and conversely, they will not help a bad teacher very much... if at all. 


1. Music is not important, people are.  

Christopher Small - Musicking 1927 - 2011

Christopher Small, a New Zealand-born writer and musicologist who argued that music is above all an active ritual involving those who play and listen to it and only secondarily a matter of “black dots,” as he once called written music, died on September 7th in Sitges, Spain. He was 84.  


He coined the term 'musicking' and argued that music is a verb rather than a noun.  He wondered about the most basic questions of music: why we pick up instruments or raise our voices together in the first place and stressed that all people involved in a musical performance — the musicians, audience, roadies, publicists, cleaning crew — are part of its ritual.


Those of you who are familiar with the Dallas School of Music may remember that we call our adult student performances 'musicking' and that our original online music learning site was called MusickEd.com - both an homage to Small's work. 


Read the full New York Times article here: http://goo.gl/f6hpn

DSM Celebrates 20 Years and Shares Some Learning Tips

As we begin the new school year (our 20th!) we thought we'd share with our readers a few words of wisdom from some of our staff. Hope you enjoy!

Eugene Cantera on new adult learners: Most adults starting music lessons come in with concerns about making 'practice time' and they are almost apologetic about it when they haven't had time to play during the week.  I try to allay those thoughts at the first few lessons.  Regardless of whether you practice or not, come to the lesson - believe me, we'll practice.

I also encourage adult students to leave their instrument out in a safe place at home, and when they have a moment, pick it up and play it - simple as that.  There's no need to 'schedule' the mystical half hour of practice each day (especially at the beginning stages when there's simply not enough material to practice anyway).


Lastly, the DLP method is concept based so there is musical 'progress' that can be made without the instrument in hand. I encourage adult students to re-read our lesson information and take the quizzes. It's better to always have more information in your head than you can get out on the instrument.

Norm Wick on expressing yourself:  When students start lessons they're usually interested in gaining the power to express themselves through their music, and they want that expression to just ooze with emotion and move people on a grand scale. But Tolstoy didn't write "War and Peace" on the first go around! 


So use those short, simple songs that beginners play (or sing), to develop that ability by making everything you do become a tool of expression.  Even warm-up exercises can be done with a beautiful sound, even tempo, and dynamic shaping to help sharpen those skills.  You'll quickly go from the realm of musical "babbling" into the world of musical eloquence.

Mike Finkel on being overly critical: Don't be afraid to "fail". Many music students (both adults and children) stop 'musicking' for fear of being "bad at it". We all have to start at the beginning when we learn something new, so stay focused on "why" you wanted to play an instrument (or sing) in the first place. 


Making music is something that is enjoyable and it can stay with you for the rest of your life.  It's an activity with no finish line. Stick with it and you will always continue to grow and get better. Remember, you can make music at every level, even right at the start and enjoy the music you are making.

Gary Feltner on having fun: In our efforts to become better musicians everyday, we often use words like "practice", "work", and "technique", but sometimes we let the word "enjoy" fall by the wayside. Dont' forget why you got into music in the first place - to have fun! Even when I'm working on technique, I'm still having fun just spending time with my instrument. 

We all have to work hard to get better, but it doesn't have to be a chore. If I think, "spending time working on this aspect of my playing now will allow me to enjoy playing at a higher level later", then no time spent playing music is drudgery.

Tamalyn Lawrence on practice time: With work and school schedules back in place for the fall, it can be difficult to find time to practice.  Families are loaded with activities; school, after school clubs, sports, homework, dinner, bath time etc... Where do we find the time?


For beginning music students, especially youngsters, sometimes less is indeed more. Remember, our goal as educators (and your goal as a parent) should always be to encourage a love for music. Every child is different (even within the same family!) and some children will do better with a very structured practice routine, maybe right after school or before dinner time.  Others do better with far less structure and succeed by grabbing just a few random minutes here and there.

Practicing does not need to be stressful (that goes for adults too!) . A few minutes can go a long way, especially at the beginning stages when notes and concepts are most basic. And don't make the mistake of confusing practicing with learning; learning can take place anywhere, even away from an instrument.  Lesson material can be reviewed and quizzes can be taken on a handheld or pc. And spending a few minutes reviewing the material will pay big dividends when there's finally time to apply those concepts to the instrument. So don't sweat it, just try to add a few minutes several days a week and you'll begin to see loads of progress with very little stress!

A Visit from "The Reed Guy"

You've heard us say it before but it's worth repeating; "the greatest thing about music is the people you meet through it".  We are fortunate at DSM and DLP to meet folks from all aspects of the music industry, from accountants to educators, instrument manufacturers, sheet music publishers, and retailers.

About once a year or so, Kurt Wilbur stops in to see us at DSM. Kurt is a larger than life character with a strong handshake and straight forward Midwestern appeal.  He is a D'Addario representative and he's extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their products.  I call him 'the reed guy'. His visits are always entertaining, informative, and sometimes sprinkled with samples of new reeds and reed related products. We dig Kurt!

I’ve often referred to reeds as 'the bane of our existence' to fellow woodwind players. I've lamented about reeds with teachers, students, colleagues, and even my alto hero Phil Woods. It fascinates me to learn of the rituals each person goes through to get a reed to sound 'just so' or in some cases, simply to sound.

My colleague Chiaki Hanafusa is a classical soloist and a reed aficionado.  She will coax all she can out of each piece of cane. I am much more lazy and sort of a 'wet it and play it' type of guy.  I do very little breaking in, curing, or filing, and if a reed doesn't feel right in a few seconds I'm pretty much done with it. I remember one extremely gig-happy year I spent nearly $1,000 on reeds. Luckily, I was self employed at the time and claimed most of that as a business expense (special props inserted here to music accountant extraordinaire Alan Friedman who just happened to be my college roommate and band-mate).

All that being said, I was anxious to learn about and try the new Rico Reserve and Rico Jazz reeds that Kurt and Kristen McKeon at D’Addario made available to us, and I promised to let them know what we thought.

I opened the box of Rico Select Jazz reeds (unfiled) and put one in a cup of water for a few minutes.  The first few notes were so stuffy that I actually checked to see if my Francois Louis ligature was seated properly.  I re-wet the reed, made a small adjustment on the mouthpiece (moving the reed a smidge lower), tightened the ligature, I tried the reed again. Better but it was still not the ‘lightning fast’ response I was hoping for. I placed the reed on a flat surface an noticed it was slightly bowed so I took some old reed rush to the back and made a few passes down the shoulder and vamp (basically the top sloping section of the reed) toward the tip.

Voila! Even though this was a bit more work than I would normally do on any given reed, I wanted to be fair to everyone at D’Addario. The reed is hearty and nicely responsive. I played it later in the evening during a faculty performance here at DSM and it seemed to get even better.  Now, a few days later I am playing it again after being stored in my reed case. It’s holding up nicely and still sounds great. I chose this reed randomly out of the box of ten and if the rest are similar, I’d say they have a winner on their hands. I will sample the Reserves and more of the Jazz reeds then follow up with Chiaki and share our thoughts next time. 

Thanks again to D'Addario's Kurt and Kristen!

Technology and the Music Educator

"I just invent. Then I wait until man comes around to needing what I've invented."

-R. Buckminster Fuller

Now more than ever before, music educators have the opportunity to expand the horizons of our profession.

The benefits of learning music have been widely publicized, and it seems new reports and statistics are released just about every week that prove studying music can help foster intellectual curiosity, stimulate creativity, and promote discipline. Most often, these studies are used as ammunition by organizations, teachers, and frustrated parent groups who are facing cuts to their local school band, choir, or orchestra programs.  And it's no surprise that advances in technology that allow for unprecedented communication, file sharing, and information delivery may be seen as an impending threat to those who teach music in schools or in a private setting. But we do not agree.

I recently read a blog that argued 'technology in music education can never replace the care and nurturing of a great educator'. That's like saying 'the microwave oven can never replace the delicate palette of an executive chef'.  It's an invalid argument and moot point at best. The microwave will not make anyone a great chef - but most all great chefs have one in their kitchen and know how to use it to their advantage. Technology is only as good as those plying it - it won't make a poor teacher any better.

But what technology can do is allow educators to reach new markets and encourage more learning at all levels - from the causal enthusiast to the most advanced performer. Educators can also use technology to create a sense of community among learners and allow for ideas to be shared between students, educators, and peers. Technology can also help make music teachers become better communicators and keep learning material, practice notes, and digital files neatly organized and accessible in one location.

The beauty of applying technology to music education is that we as educators have an opportunity to share our expertise with more potential music makers than ever before. And more people playing music and enjoying its benefits means a boost for instrument manufacturers, print music publishers, recording artists, concert halls and yes... teachers! We believe that more people (especially adults) becoming interested and involved in music making will undoubtedly lead to a more passionate concern for the importance of music in our schools.

Technology is here to stay. An entire generation now presumes and expects it to be part of nearly every aspect of their lives. As music educators, we need to be open to using technology to present our ideas in current and relative formats. Let's not be the last profession to 'come around'!