Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Tacye- I can’t imagine any harpist who plays beyond an intermediate level not doing this, but I guess the point of my post was to ask if it is consciously taught, and what other teachers call it. I find it particularly useful in playing Bach, but frankly, as I said in my original post, since learning the technique a long time ago, there is almost no place that I don’t use it.
David- Just for clarification, when you say ‘shooting’ the fingers down the proper strings, are you talking about placing high and then sliding down the string into position? Or do your fingers place on the strings exactly where they will play?
Julie- Your mention of student arrogance really touched a nerve. I’ve never had to deal with that kind of student, but over the many years that I have been involved with the harp world I have seen several enormously gifted male harpists(all American) who ultimately were undone by their very self-centered and arrogant attitudes. Each one should have had a major career but did not, partly because they stopped studying too early and partly I think because they were each difficult to deal with, and that came across very quickly.
It can happen on any instrument. Years ago, when I was in graduate school, a harpsichord student went to compete in the Brugge Competition. He was very talented but undisciplined, with erratic tempos, unconventional approaches to the music etc. He went to Brugge absolutely convinced that he was going to win first prize. He was eliminated in the first round and literally had a nervous breakdown. Talent does not mean that the student is always right, and talent by itself is no shortcut to hard work and humility.
Kay- I don’t have any specific suggestions for you because I almost never teach that level anymore. But I do want to make a few suggestions. If the girl is doing it for her enjoyment, then be very sensitive to her likes and dislikes. When it’s time to assign a new piece, give her a choice of two or three different pieces at the same level. The one she likes is the one she will work hardest on. Also, keep the pieces short, like one or two pages. There’s a greater sense of accomplishment that way. And keep an eye on possible performance opportunities for the pieces you assign. Student recitals, church, etc. That will give here goals to work towards and a greater motivation to finish the piece she starts. And one more thing. Don’t ever be afraid to withdraw a piece you assigned her if it’s not going well. I’ve got a very good student at the moment and assigned him the First Arabesque of Debussy a couple of months ago. After 3 lessons on it, he told me that he just didn’t like the piece and could we do something else. I pulled out the Tournier Theme and Variations, which is quite a long piece(15 pages I think). He loved it and we’re almost finished with it. He memorized the whole thing and has all but the last two or three pages at performance level now. It’s not worth flogging a dead horse.
Kari- Thanks for the information. I read the article. it really doesn’t say anything there about music study, but maybe his book goes into that more. There are some interesting theories in the article, but I don’t see them relating to music very well at all. I may look for more information about him.
Heide- I think it depends on the stage of development of the student. If the student is very advanced technically and wants to see another teacher, particularly one whose speciality is polishing difficult repertoire, then a student might occasionally go to another teacher to get a different viewpoint of a piece. But if the student is at the lower levels and has a good teacher who he is working well with, then it makes no sense to see another teacher. Each teacher at those lower levels is going to have their own ideas about how to develope the student’s technique, or even what form that technique should take. There is a very high risk in that case of two different teachers giving contradictory information to the student.
In light of a private email I just got, I’d like to add one more thing. If a harpist sub-contracts out a wedding to another harpist, the the harpist who subcontracted it out is responsible for the entire transaction.
For example, the harpist who actually plays the wedding will get an agreed amount from the harpist who sub-contracted it out, not from the bride. If the bride decides to ask the harpist playing the job to go into overtime, then it is the job of the harpist who originally contracted the job to collect the overtime fee from the bride and to pay that additional money to the harpist who played the job. It is the obligation of the harpist contracting the job to have an overtime clause in the contract, so the bride knows up front how much overtime will cost. In any event, the harpist who contracted the job originally owes the harpist who played the job all of the money due, including overtime. It is no concern of the harpist who played the job whether or not the harpist who contracted the job was able to collect the overtime fee.
I agree entirely with Janet too. The contractor took the responsibility of getting the money. He then contracted each of the musicians. So whether or not he gets the money from the Pole, he owes everybody the money he promised. If you know the other musicians who were in this too, you should all put up a solid front and tell the contractor that if he doesn’t pay up, he’ll never contract anyther job again. You should then take legal action against him, not the Pole, and also inform the Musicians Union. He’s no friend if he does this to the musicians he contracts.
Julie- That sound like the kind of course harp teachers need. I have always said that one of the most important things the National Conference of the American Harp Society can do is offer seminars and masterclasses on the art of teaching, since most of the people who attend a conference teach. It was with that in mind that I gave a seminar about 8 years ago on the use of etudes in building technique. It was very well attended and there were a lot of college level teachers there taking notes furiously. The feedback that I got from that seminar convinced me that more needs to be done in this area.
Julie- That sound like the kind of course harp teachers need. I have always said that one of the most important things the National Conference of the American Harp Society can do is offer seminars and masterclasses on the art of teaching, since most of the people who attend a conference teach. It was with that in mind that I gave a seminar about 8 years ago on the use of etudes in building technique. It was very well attended and there were a lot of college level teachers there taking notes furiously. The feedback that I got from that seminar convinced me that more needs to be done in this area.
Julie- That sound like the kind of course harp teachers need. I have always said that one of the most important things the National Conference of the American Harp Society can do is offer seminars and masterclasses on the art of teaching, since most of the people who attend a conference teach. It was with that in mind that I gave a seminar about 8 years ago on the use of etudes in building technique. It was very well attended and there were a lot of college level teachers there taking notes furiously. The feedback that I got from that seminar convinced me that more needs to be done in this area.
Julie- I don’t believe that ‘good’ or ‘bad teachers are good or bad people. The fact is, most of the bad teachers I have observed are really very nice, sincere, and friendly people. But I think my original designation of good or bad needs clarification.
I think that good teachers are good because they get good results: their students make progress in all areas of playing the instrument and develope a flexible technical basis that works well for any music they play.
A bad teacher gets bad results: their students simply can’t play the instrument with any level of competence and struggle with everything they play. They have no sound, no dexterity, may not even read music very well. And if the student happens to be talented is actually held back by the bad teacher.
It may be possible to improve anyone’s ability to teach a musical instrument(I’m not sure about that) but I don’t know where that is being done. Taking courses in child psychology or child development does not teach a person to be a better harp teacher. Maybe some music schools offer a harp pedagogy course, and if they do, I’d be interested in knowing what exactly is taught in such a course. But my own observation over the years is that there are a lot of bad teachers even at the college level. So how are they going to teach their students to be good teachers?
I don’t know if musical instrument instruction on other instruments(clarinet, violin, trumpet, etc) is as generally bad as it is on harp, but I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who knows.
Julie- I don’t believe that ‘good’ or ‘bad teachers are good or bad people. The fact is, most of the bad teachers I have observed are really very nice, sincere, and friendly people. But I think my original designation of good or bad needs clarification.
I think that good teachers are good because they get good results: their students make progress in all areas of playing the instrument and develope a flexible technical basis that works well for any music they play.
A bad teacher gets bad results: their students simply can’t play the instrument with any level of competence and struggle with everything they play. They have no sound, no dexterity, may not even read music very well. And if the student happens to be talented is actually held back by the bad teacher.
It may be possible to improve anyone’s ability to teach a musical instrument(I’m not sure about that) but I don’t know where that is being done. Taking courses in child psychology or child development does not teach a person to be a better harp teacher. Maybe some music schools offer a harp pedagogy course, and if they do, I’d be interested in knowing what exactly is taught in such a course. But my own observation over the years is that there are a lot of bad teachers even at the college level. So how are they going to teach their students to be good teachers?
I don’t know if musical instrument instruction on other instruments(clarinet, violin, trumpet, etc) is as generally bad as it is on harp, but I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who knows.
Julie- I don’t believe that ‘good’ or ‘bad teachers are good or bad people. The fact is, most of the bad teachers I have observed are really very nice, sincere, and friendly people. But I think my original designation of good or bad needs clarification.
I think that good teachers are good because they get good results: their students make progress in all areas of playing the instrument and develope a flexible technical basis that works well for any music they play.
A bad teacher gets bad results: their students simply can’t play the instrument with any level of competence and struggle with everything they play. They have no sound, no dexterity, may not even read music very well. And if the student happens to be talented is actually held back by the bad teacher.
It may be possible to improve anyone’s ability to teach a musical instrument(I’m not sure about that) but I don’t know where that is being done. Taking courses in child psychology or child development does not teach a person to be a better harp teacher. Maybe some music schools offer a harp pedagogy course, and if they do, I’d be interested in knowing what exactly is taught in such a course. But my own observation over the years is that there are a lot of bad teachers even at the college level. So how are they going to teach their students to be good teachers?
I don’t know if musical instrument instruction on other instruments(clarinet, violin, trumpet, etc) is as generally bad as it is on harp, but I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who knows.
I grew up in Kent and went to the Housatonic Valley Regional High School. By the way, two weeks ago I went to my 8th grade class reunion(class of ’61! Do the math) and the teacher who taught us in both 6th and 8th grade was there! It wasn’t just incredible that she was still around to share the evening with us, but she was really our favorite teacher in grade school, so it was an incredible thrill to have her there.
