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Lessons in university

I taught guitar in university for ten years. Since there were playing exams at the end of every term, I devised a curriculum that I could test. This involved the students learning chords, arpeggios, scales, etc. and being able to use this material playing pieces and improvising.
By the middle of the term, students knew pretty well everything they needed for the exam. All they needed to do was work on it to bring it up to a high standard. Students came in each week to check with me that everything was going ok.
Except for one guy who would reliably miss lessons just before the exam. One term he missed five in a row.
My obvious concern was that he would fail the exam. This caused me quite a bit of stress; I really want my students to do well.
He came into the exam and totally nailed it. Other students who reliably showed up for lessons didn’t do as well. One of them failed. What was going on?
Well, two things. First of all, this guy practiced. He came to lessons until he was sure that he had all the information he needed, and then he just worked on it. And he worked on it a lot if the exam results are any indication.
The second reason was more compelling, at least for me: my lessons weren’t interesting enough to show up for. I was basically drilling students on what they needed to know, and giving feedback.
But there was no creative work. I wasn’t discussing ideas, having them write their own exercises, or expand on the material I gave them. None of it was theirs. It was just me saying “Do this,” and then standing in judgement.
For some students, drilling is what they need. In a university environment with timelines and tests and grading, the drilling/feedback model makes sense. Some students just want to get the mark and get out.
But music is about expressing yourself and making things, whether you’re improvising or writing pieces. It isn’t hard to make that part of every lesson. All you have to do is ask, “How would you do this?” Get them to think. Get them to make things.
For some people, it takes longer to buy into this; thinking is harder than just doing what you’re told. But once it kicks in, students come to lessons more engaged and energized. They know that they have responsibility for what they’re learning, and they know that i’m going to give them support and encouragement for the work (or is it play?) they’re doing.
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