Expectation

When approaching my daily playing I first try and ready myself for days playing by setting an expectation. How am I going to sound, how hard will I work on the various segments of my playing day. Some days I need to focus less on solo literature and work on fundamentals, others I get more out of working on phrasing and trying to emphasize a singing approach. Each day brings it's own challenges and staying aware of that can make the practice session (or sessions) much more successful.

An example of this would be coming back from a break of several days. I recently had lessons with a number of students that had been away from their instruments for a period of roughly a week. Most just slapped the metal to embouchure and tried to resume where the left off. Ouch! As a remedy I had them try a combination of visualization (thinking about how they should sound as they play) and re-focusing on playing with the best fundamental physical approach they could muster. All made some level of improvement. One player had been away from his horn for two weeks. By paying attention to his breathing and simply expecting his best he made huge improvements in all areas. It was still evident that he'd lost some muscle tone but because he knows how to get a good sound and clean attack he was able to get on track again by understanding his own expectation of good playing.

"I'm going to play just like xxxxxxxx !!" is probably unrealistic. "I'm going to play as well as I can today!" is as good a way to start as any.

Next time you get out the instrument, set your own expectation before you play a note or even work on your breathing.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read or leave a comment.

Turning the focus.

I've mentioned what I expect from a prospective student (albeit briefly) and suspect that there might be questions as to what a student should expect from a prospective teacher.

Here are a few thoughts:

The prospective teacher should be proficient on their primary instrument and at least familiar with the other instruments that they teach. Being a great player doesn't mean being a great teacher but bad playing (outside of a few specific physical disorders) is a red flag. If the teacher is giving a recital by all means, go! I've had the opportunity to hear a number of performances by University Faculty, it is usually a treat and I've heard many fine performances. If members of the studio are playing on the recital? So much the better, it allows you to hear the spectrum of improvement that comes with working with a well qualified teacher for an extended period.

The teacher should be approachable. This can be a very individual thing, one person's approachable is another persons aloof or silly or overly familiar. Much more important that you are able to talk with the person than someone you know finds them approachable and you aren't able to speak with them in a comfortable manner. Part of this is based on that fact that you'll be spending a bunch of time with your studio instructor in a very intense setting. Part of it is that you will be setting life goals based on that interaction.

The teacher should be honest and compassionate. You will be walking in to learn, the studio teacher should be willing to see you as a person first and a set of problems to overcome never. A teacher who can diagnose playing issues is good, a teacher who can help you use the strengths and skills you already posses to grow, gain skills and overcome the issues you face through your journey is best.

Just a few thoughts.

*edit 3/15/12*

A link regarding the same basic thoughts, used by permission:

http://yeodoug.com/resources/faq/faq_text/teacherstudent.html

With thanks to Mr. Yeo. Very intuitive and quite practical.