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Gretchen Saathoff

~ Collaborative Pianist/Vocal Coach ~ forging partnerships, making memorable music together

Monthly Archives: August 2012

Untempered criticism: does it have a place in music lessons?

31 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in friend, learning, listening, motivation, perception, progress, singing, teaching, tools

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

arts, Education, effective criticism, Music, student, teacher

Thumbs down icon

Thumbs down icon.  Picture credit:  Wikipedia.

During dinner with a good friend on Monday evening, the conversation turned to effective methods of personal interaction between the person in charge and those she is supervising.

My dinner companion works as a facilitator in various group homes for developmentally disabled adults.  Like most people, these residents like to test their limits.

She has found that the residents respond much better to positive feedback and helpful direction than to “No!”  When they hear “You can’t do that,” they actually hear what the no-no is, but not “you can’t.”  And then, you guessed it… they go ahead and do exactly that.

If you are the supervisor, what do you do next?  Say “no” again?  That could spiral downward all day long!

Later that evening

After I arrived home, I found myself returning to our conversation.  Since my experience is in the field of music, not social services, I began running “yes” and “no” scenarios in my head.

Throughout my life as a student, from age 6 through graduate school, I had several different piano teachers, each with her/his own interpersonal skills or lack of same.

Speaking for myself, positive feedback and direction were so much more effective in my own lessons as a student.  That is also the approach I hope my students experience when I am their teacher.

Untempered criticism

I know several excellent musicians who were criticized severely in every lesson as students.  Yet they now have busy careers.

In addition, I have experienced students being yelled at by their teachers when I played for their lessons.

My conclusion, based on at least this much experience, is that sometimes untempered criticism can work.

Possible reasons for its success

  • Maybe the student has a thick skin.
  • From time to time, the teacher is so extraordinarily talented that the student is all ears regardless, giving the teacher a “pass” for his/her approach.

One teacher whose students I played for a few times would swear in every lesson.  This began with the very first mistake the student made, no matter how minor.  (If the student used a different fingering from the one the teacher thought to be optimal, that was considered a mistake.)  In this case, the teacher was so brilliant (in his late 80’s, knew the entire repertoire for the instrument, memorized, fingerings included) that I can understand why students put up with the bad mood.

In a different studio, the teacher would yell at her students.  She had a system for singing which involved assigning a number to the size of one’s mouth cavity.  The space increases as the singer goes up in range.  During lessons, the teacher would be seated behind the piano bench.  She would scream “HOW can you be at a 2 when you SHOULD be at a 7?”  Her piercing sound had no relation to where the singer was regarding the phrasing.  I jumped every time the teacher started in.  I see no use for that approach at all, ever.  How can a singer progress when the teacher is screaming?  Singers need to be relaxed!

Possible causes of unpleasant moods in a teacher

  • Sometimes, teachers are so talented that they never had to figure out how to make things work.  Even when asked to explain something, they can’t.
  • Another possibility is that the teacher has been in the business so long that they have forgotten what it was like when they first started.
  • Maybe the teacher has an ego problem.  Believe me, this happens a lot.
  • Or maybe the teacher has a headache.  Hopefully the next lesson will be more pleasant.

How have you experienced criticism?  How do you offer criticism to your students? 

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

This is the perfect opportunity to jump-start your practice, just in time for Fall!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 9 countries!

Review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Shifting gears

28 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in general observations, perception, priorities

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change of seasons

Clock Guts - Gears.

Clock Guts – Gears. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of my college roommates had a unique way of waking up every morning.

After the alarm rang, she would stay in bed for another 10 to 15 minutes, moving one muscle group at a time.  She liked to avoid the shock of the cold floor.

At the time, I thought she was, well, overdoing it.  But now I think she had a point.

The change from summer to the school year is all around us.  Young parents walk with their children on the street, each clutching a bag of school supplies.  One couple, out to dinner, was accompanied by 3 children.  2 looked to be school age.  The preschooler was playing with a replica of a yellow school bus.  A few leaves are turning.  Some have even fallen.  The days are cooler, and at night it’s almost time to close the windows.

Where I live, in an area with 5 colleges, moving out of and into apartments started weeks ago.  All the leases at my apartment complex begin September 1st, so the biggest U-Haul days are August 31st and September 1st.  Need furniture?  Just stop by.

New scheduling information is appearing more and more frequently in the paper, in radio announcements, in newsletters, and on websites.

How do you deal with that?

Upheaval makes me feel unsettled.  Never mind that I have a place to live.  I guess all the times I’ve moved in the past are coming to the surface.

What are your plans?

My ambitions and reality could mesh better.

Initially I had thought I would be way ahead choosing church music by September.  I’m not.  But today I chose anthems for the month of September.  That’s progress!

I often feel overwhelmed.  After a while, it becomes easier to break big ambitions down into small tasks.  For example, today I needed to make several phone calls.  It worked really well to gather the information I needed, my appointment book, my phone, a pen and paper to take notes on, then sit on the couch until the list of calls was completed.  Looking around for separate information for each call would have taken much longer.

This is what I’ve discovered during August:

  • I’m not perfect.
  • I needed some rest after several busy months.
  • If I keep the big picture in mind, accomplishing small parts of that works.

My goal for now

My first busy day, as far as I know, will be Wednesday, September 5th.  I want to feel ready to go, not like I’m suddenly in the deep end of the pool.

So I’m knocking off one thing at a time this week, including 2 appointments, fitting in dinner with a friend (because later on we’ll both be busier), completing forms and copying a pile of attachments to update a prior application, looking ahead at church bulletins (even if I don’t actually choose music), and practicing more.

I’m also making sure to get enough sleep.  And there’s always the US Open!

How do you make the transition between seasons?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

This is the perfect opportunity to jump-start your practice, just in time for Fall!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

Review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Happy Birthday to Dame Janet Baker

21 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in a tribute, article, integrity, singing, video

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Dame Janet Baker, Dido, Purcell

Today is Dame Janet Baker’s 79th birthday.

This afternoon, NEPR played a recording of her singing “Dido’s Lament” (“When I am Laid in Earth”) by Purcell.  Included were the recitative before and the entire section following the aria.  Dame Janet, chorus and orchestra were all wonderful.

I was quite moved by the vocal beauty, intelligent musicianship, and emotion conveyed.  I began crying, then turned off the radio.  I didn’t want to listen to anything else.

Thank you, Dame Janet.  Happy Birthday.

Related articles
  • Janet Baker: A life in music (guardian.co.uk)      This is a wonderful interview, very well written.

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New program

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in build repertoire, career, choosing program, concert, music, performing, piano, something new, variety

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Bach/Busoni, Grieg, Shostakovich

2000 Russia 2 rub 50 kopeks stamp. Dmitri Shos...

2000 Russia 2 rub 50 kopeks stamp. Dmitri Shostakovich (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that there’s time, I am learning a new solo program (piano).

I have chosen 35-40 min. of music so far, and will need more for longer recitals.

Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland ~ Bach/Busoni

(Now comes the gentiles’ Saviour)

From Holberg’s Time ~ Grieg

Originally for piano, this suite was orchestrated a year after it was composed.  It is often called the Holberg Suite.  Ludvig Holberg, in whose memory the suite was written, was a Danish-Norwegian poet who was born 200 years earlier.

4 Preludes (selected from the set of 24) ~ Shostakovich

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Are you planning to play something different this season?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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How did it get to be the middle of August already?

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in general observations, goals, music, priorities

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August

Hello Everyone,

This has been such a busy summer!  Planning our July concert series took an enormous amount of time.  And during the 1st two weeks of August, I’ve been catching up on paperwork.

Now the paperwork is done, I’m happy to say.  It’s all up to the post office now.

We have about 2 more weeks of summer.  Things around here get going again during the 1st week of September!  I feel like the impending fragmented (as freelancing tends to be) Fall schedule has snuck up on me.

Right now in Amherst, there is the usual ill-timed construction blocking traffic and creating detours.  The buses are filling up.  U-Hauls are everywhere.  And parents are dropping off their college-age children early.  So the relative peace and quiet of summer is already changing.

The lines at the store checkouts, banks, and post office will reappear soon enough.  The new people in town will add to the frustration level.  (With 5 colleges in the area, there will be several hundred new people at the beginning of school.)

The 2-week plan

I tend to globalize things, resulting in feeling overwhelmed.  When I can sit back and be more realistic, then a logical plan emerges.

This morning, I felt overwhelmed thinking about the last pile of paperwork that needed to be tackled, completed, copied, and put in the mail.  In addition, the soloist for Sunday backed out at the last minute, so there are a new soloist and music to finalize soon.  Add to that a new solo program and 4 interview transcriptions, and you get the idea.  My goal is to finish all that and have time to read a John Grisham book before school starts.

The paperwork came first today.  The 12 pages of forms looked intimidating.  However, only a few lines needed to be filled out.  Add several pages of documents to be copied, and that takes care of it.  The entire package was done in about an hour.  After that, I went to the post office first because it was most convenient geographically.  With postage on the package, I then went to the copy store.  On to the mailbox!  That felt good.  There was still time to pick up the cleaning and The New York Times, after which I had dinner.

Upon arriving home, I emailed the church office about the Sunday bulletin.  It may be done already, in which case there is no need to update the music listings.  We’ll see….

Next come the transcriptions.  They take several hours to complete, so doing them before distractions pile up is important.

I had wanted to learn all the notes to my new solo program before the end of August, but will allow more time.  There is no reason to rush it, so why create more pressure?

Do you have a plan?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

This is the perfect opportunity to jump-start your practice, just in time for Fall!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

Review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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El Sistema USA needs you!

06 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in goals, inspiration, learning, links, motivation, music, new approach, teaching

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El Sistema, Gustavo Dudamel, José Antonio Abreu, Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar

tux Venezuela

tux Venezuela (Photo credit: artemuestra)

El Sistema, the outstanding, transformative music program for children, so successful in Venezuela, has come to the United States!

Please read about the program, see video clips, and contribute whatever you can.  It would be difficult to cite a music program has shown similar results.

El Sistema USA

With thanks to Dollena Campbell for sending this link.

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