Encouraging the enjoyment of performance gives students of every level a lifetime of rewarding musical experiences, not only in their own playing, but also in a better appreciation of performances by others. This may seem obvious, but it’s sometimes hard to keep in mind when the realities of learning music intervene.
For example, if learning music becomes too much about whether the student can avoid mistakes, or if it becomes a test of whether the student can follow through on a commitment, or is built around whether they can win a competition or succeed at an audition, performance isn’t so enjoyable even if the student succeeds in all these tests.
In this post, I’ll take a look at the benefits of mixing performance with participation. In a TV culture, performance can seem especially scary if it’s viewed as suddenly being on the inside of the television–the object of criticism by imagined viewers vegetating on their TV couches or making wry remarks as they watch. But if it comes out of a culture of participation, it can feel more like taking turns among friends.
One piano teacher I know requires private students to also take some group lessons in which the groups of students work out duets, trios or even quartets on two pianos. They also play their solo recital pieces for each other, and following the example of the teacher, they are supportive and appreciative of each other in a genuine and friendly way. At recitals, the teacher introduces students, accompanies some of them, turns pages, the audience is mostly parents and families, and there’s a reception with goodies and drinks. The atmosphere is safe and the efforts sincere.
In folk music there’s the opportunity to build student playing around sessions, where players play tunes together. But choosing which tune to play requires that somebody start playing. It’s fun to see students get comfortable with starting tunes, knowing others will join in. At first, some students regard even those few notes that have to be played to get a tune started as if they are scary solo performances, but I make clear to my students that those few notes are merely a musical way of saying “Let’s play this tune now,” rather than verbally announcing the title of a tune and getting everyone to start together, which disrupts the music in favor of verbal direction. Students get used to joining in and playing together. Sometimes there can be mavericks who have a hard time playing together with others, mainly because they try too hard to play everything correctly, or in a way they imagine to be correct. For the sake of these, I emphasize that “it’s better to be together than to be correct.” This frees everyone up to be more aware of the group than of only themselves.
I also set up the rule that whoever starts a tune gets to choose the tempo, and everyone has to watch and follow them. This gives players of all levels the freedom to play a tune at their level and requires everyone to be engaged and help keep the ensemble together. By avoiding verbal directions, such as when to start or how fast to go or how many times to play a tune, people have to tune in and pay attention to each other.
I notice a big difference in attitude between students who have only taken private lessons and those who have taken classes or participated in sessions. The group experience is very helpful to musical development, especially if the players have a chance to take on some responsibility and not just follow others.
It would be very interesting to hear from teachers such as yourself about how you bring participation into your teaching and what effect you find it has on your students–please add a comment below, and read the comments of others!
