Instrumental

Introduction As a practising instrumental and singing teacher, you have to be a jack of all trades! From accountant to child psychologist, teaching oneto-one and in groups and yes, since wider opportunities, 30 children together in a classroom – all these skills may need to be called on.

You have to be able expertly to teach music theory as well as train someone’s aural skills to identify chord sequences and not to crack when having to sight-sing (even if singing is not their thing!).

Luckily in our own careers we’ve had lots of brilliant music teachers around us who have shared their talents and given us hints and tips on the way. With over 60 years experience between us, we’ve successfully taught lots of lessons (and sometimes not – we have at times learnt the hard way!). Our students have also taught us much! We sincerely hope that How to Teach: Instrumental and singing lessons will make your working life just that little bit easier; that it will provide a pocketful of ideas that will help your students achieve their musical potential, and that when you feel like you’ve tried everything to help them learn all those scales or master their performance anxiety, an idea within these pages will help shed new light on the situation.

These are just ideas. You as the teacher really are the expert on how best to use them within your teaching, but at every turn we would ask you to consider our two fundamental ideas: Is my teaching MUSIC-focused? Is music at the centre of my teaching, so that at every possible turn I am teaching music through music and developing a joy of it in my student?

Is my teaching STUDENT-focused? Am I teaching based on the individual needs of each of my students? Is it helping my students achieve their musical potential whilst also meeting their personal needs and ambitions around music? Is my teaching all about my student and not all about me?

We all have the privilege of working with students at a very formative time in their lives; you can make a real difference to their confidence, resilience, adaptability and ability to work on their own (skills they can use throughout their lives). Do look after yourself too!

Good luck!

Penny and Karen

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How to use this book Dip into this book whenever you want a flash of inspiration to improve and inspire your instrumental/singing teaching.

The ideas in this book are organised by theme – these are given at the foot of each page. Each idea follows a very simple format: Title: the catchy title sums up what the idea is about.

Quote: the opening quote from a teacher or student captures the essence of the idea.

Overview: the quick overview of the idea will help you select a new idea to read or re-find an idea you found useful on a previous flick-through.

Idea: the idea itself.

Hints and tips: additional teaching tips, suggestions for ways to take the idea further, anecdotes and bonus ideas are provided throughout.

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Communication

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“My teacher really cares about me and always makes me feel as if I’m the most important person!”

Communication is a two-way process that can affect a student’s whole development. It is not just about exchanging information, but sometimes reading the emotion behind the information in order to fully understand the meaning of what is being said.

Be reliable Have a standard form for all students/parents to complete which includes all contact details: home phone, work phone (for emergencies only), mobile number, email addresses, home address.

Use a simple ‘old-fashioned’ filing system so you have a back-up when you lose your mobile phone!

Involve parents and carers Face-to-face contact is easier and regular contact ensures nobody feels ‘left out’. Invite parents to pop in for the last five minutes of lessons so that you can keep them in touch with progress – or ask for some practice support if needed.

Always strive to inspire Don’t just send out factual information – we all stop reading those emails! – email parents/students about exciting events/concerts too, especially if you can negotiate cheap tickets.

Always try to have time to listen. Although it can sometimes be difficult, dealing with a situation immediately can prevent things festering. ‘Nip it in the bud’ is very sound advice.

Stay professional

Top tip

With the current ability to transmit information instantly online, ensure all communications are strictly professional. Scream at the wall if you need to, but don’t put it in print!

Keep in touch Arrange to see old students whenever you can. They always appreciate a cup of tea and a chat and it keeps the lines of progression open for the future.

The importance of being a good listener is paramount: make whoever you are talking to feel valued and listened to by giving good eye contact and having a relaxed body posture.

Qualities of the instrumental/singing teacher

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Teaching about performance

“The most helpful thing any performer can be given is confidence in their ability to succeed.”

Teaching an instrument is not just about the basic necessity of learning the notes, it is about teaching someone to be a musician.

Help your students become performers from the start and make learning to perform part of your teaching.

Here are some ideas to get you started: Start early: Build up a positive attitude to performance from the very first eight-bar piece so that your students see it as a regular thing that they do. Encourage playing in front of an ‘audience’ (from just other students up to larger groups) to instil a sense of performing.

Check that the instrument is in good condition: Worrying about a string that might break or a dodgy reed immediately before a performance is an unnecessary extra in the worry list.

Make accuracy a given: If the preparation and practice has been good, then confidence and accuracy should be high. A good performance comes when your students are able to leave thoughts about accuracy behind and concentrate on ‘painting a picture’ for the audience.

Anecdote I once accompanied a young cellist in their final lesson before an important performance. The playing was pretty grim so I was staggered to hear the teacher say that she was sure it would be a wonderful concert.

Later she told me, ‘The night before a concert I can’t change anything so I try to give a confidence boost’.

Memory is good: Playing from memory is, for some, something that you just ‘do’.

However, it does need to be taught. Work to build up the ‘memory bank’ for all your students from the very early lessons.

Build an understanding of ‘what ifs’: ‘The shakes’ can be caused simply by a burst of adrenalin when excitement kicks in.

Understanding that this is a short burst and will quickly dissipate if allowed to flow away, can help.

Compliments are good: After the performance, ensure comments are always positive (the place for reflection on the performance is in the next lesson, not the foyer). Particularly beware of the overly critical parent who can all too easily destroy your good work.

10 Qualities of the instrumental/singing teacher