One of the most difficult things for young teachers to master is the ability to properly pace a lesson and to not talk too much during time designated for activity. I knew that I could not possibly be immune to this, and it was a serious challenge for me this week. It was a serious struggle to try and cover both of my pieces within the ten-minute time period as well as address and practice relevant concepts with the students. Even though I set out specific times in my lesson plan, one problem was running into unexpected problems and knowing how to address them. As a teacher, one has to be able to discern which problems are worth fixing, and which are so minor that they do not need to be picked over. This practice is definitely something that I want to work on. I want to make sure that the students are comfortable with the music before we leave it behind, but I know that I can't spend 8 minutes on one piece and two on another.
The theme of the week was eighth note practice, and this was relevant in my ensemble lesson as well as in my case study. My student, for some reason or another, was swinging her eighth notes, and even playing some as sixteenths on repeated rhythms. We broke down the rhythms, I did some modeling and she repeated after me, and we looked for patterns in the music to help her remember how it should sound when she works on it at home. I also advised that she practice with a CD at home and focus on internalizing the quarter note beat. One thing that she's really improved upon is her tone production. Whereas she was having serious trouble before playing high E-flats, F's, and G's consistently, now it's almost second nature! I'm sure she'll continue to improve as we focus on more complex rhythms in the coming weeks.
The theme of the week was eighth note practice, and this was relevant in my ensemble lesson as well as in my case study. My student, for some reason or another, was swinging her eighth notes, and even playing some as sixteenths on repeated rhythms. We broke down the rhythms, I did some modeling and she repeated after me, and we looked for patterns in the music to help her remember how it should sound when she works on it at home. I also advised that she practice with a CD at home and focus on internalizing the quarter note beat. One thing that she's really improved upon is her tone production. Whereas she was having serious trouble before playing high E-flats, F's, and G's consistently, now it's almost second nature! I'm sure she'll continue to improve as we focus on more complex rhythms in the coming weeks.
"Swinging her 8th notes?" Let's sign her up for jazz band!! Anyway...I am glad you notes her progress in tone production..VERY important at this stage as the students are forming the embouchure and settling into habits. Also, I liked how how you point out the rhythmic patterns in the music as well!
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