Lesson Philosophy
LESSONS: PERFORMANCES OR PRACTICES?
Classical music and sports share several similarities when it comes to the level of dedication and commitment needed to be successful. However, there are also some very important differences between them as well.
In many ways, the roles and responsibilities of a teacher parallel that of a sports coach and referee/umpire:
Coach: An athletic instructor or trainer: a tutor who gives private or specialized teaching.
Referee/Umpire: An official who watches a game or match closely to ensure that the rules are adhered to.
The music teacher, like the coach, gives specialized instruction, and like the referee or umpire, the music teacher watches closely to see that the student plays with proper technique, or "plays by the rules". Aside from the obvious connotations, these names may be used interchangeably. In fact, in classical music, teachers who work with chamber music ensembles are called "coaches".
There is a difference, however, between sports and classical music when it comes to practice versus performance:
Just as sports athletes practice individually and then with the team to get ready for a single game through drills and running scrimmages, music students practice individually to give a performance in their lesson, essentially giving a performance each week. A music student should never treat a lesson like a practice. The lesson is where the student performs to show proficiency and mastery over concepts practiced throughout the previous week.
Music students, then, experience an additional performance that athletes don't.
Process For Athletes:
Individual Practice-->Team Practice (drills/scrimmages)-->Game (Performance)
Process For Musicians:
Individual Practice-->Lesson (Performance #1)-->Concert (Performance #2)
A successful lesson, then, is a performance that demonstrates mastery over the concepts hat have been assigned in the previous lesson, and have been practiced over the previous week. New concepts and ways to practice them are then assigned to be learned and performed by the student for the next lesson.