Time out!(managing time for learning music)

How many times have we heard, "I didn't have time to practice my scales" and "I didn't have time to do my theory assignment this week"? Our student's lives are filled to capacity with school, sports, music and a busy social life. As teachers, we know how frustrating it is to hear the words, "I didn't have time to practice," and we are forced to fill lesson time with practice that should have been done at home during the week.

But aren't we just as guilty as our students? How often have we told our students that we didn't have time to look for that other edition of Beethoven Sonatas we had promised to show them? How often do we commiserate with other teachers about how little lesson time there is to teach technique and repertoire, let alone cover aural skills, sight reading and theory? With so much material to cover, festivals for which to prepare and exams to take, I believe we occasionally lose touch with the most important component of the lesson--our students. Maybe we need to take a step back and find the time that has gotten so far away from us. And maybe, along the way, we can even reawaken the joy of music in our students and ourselves.

Time to Listen

So much emphasis is placed on the development of hand position, finger technique and arm weight that we often forget to develop one of the most important factors in our musical education--the ear. Although some students are naturally gifted with perfect pitch or an ability to play by ear, most students need guidance learning how to recognize sounds. We do take time for aural training, especially if it is a requirement of an exam series, but do we ever take the time just to listen to music with our students? We often ask our students to listen to recordings of the pieces they are playing but cannot guarantee they will be able to find an appropriate recording let alone actually do the listening we suggest. And if they are listening to the piece, how many distractions are facing them at the time? Is the phone ringing? Are siblings in and out of the room? Are they doing homework at the same ...