Simpedia

Natalie P., Australia

I would like to add to what Neil has said about “Writing Notes” and “Managing Projects” by sharing my experiences of these issues in the hope of helping new teachers.

WRITING NOTES

I was a “traditional” piano teacher before becoming a Simply Music teacher. When teaching traditionally, I filled exercise books with copious notes for my students; going into realms of detail about technique, scales, exercises etc. When I became a Simply Music teacher I found it very difficult not to continue in the same vein.. Before TP2, Simply Music teachers were required to write the “Notes” for individual pieces in the students Notebook. I just couldn’t resist adding that little bit extra!!

e.g. “Start with R.H. thumb on C.”
“Finger 5 and 1 on C and G-L.H.”
“Practice separate hands.”
“Slow Down” etc. etc.

My students’ Notebooks looked crowded and messy.

When I look back I know exactly why I felt the need to do this. At that stage I didn’t trust the Simply Music process 100%. I didn’t trust that if I unfolded the songs as exactly as required that my students would always understand and remember what they needed to do. The spin off from this lack of trust was that my initial students didn’t believe that they could go away and process a piece without some extra clue or written instruction from me. Some of them would ask me, “Could you just write that down for me. I don’t think I’ll remember that.” They weren’t experiencing the success of Simply Music as they should, they weren’t developing their ‘Memory Muscle’ or the wonderful freedom of a purely ‘hands-on’ relationship with the instrument. I was missing the whole point; that Simply Music is more than playing some great sounding songs on the piano it is “learning a way of learning”.

As I learnt more about Simply Music, developed as a teacher and let go of the need to write lots of instructions for my students the transformation was amazing for myself and for my students. Students stopped asking me to write down more for them and simply trusted that they would “get it” and remember.

I believe that a fear, problem, issue, weakness etc. in a student is a direct reflection of something the teacher is doing or failing to do. This can be difficult to face but also a wonderful opportunity to develop as a person and as a Simply Music Teacher. It wouldn’t even occur to my new students now to ask me to write more instructions. I fully trust the process and my students feel the effects of that trust and commitment to “learning a way of learning”.

Of course with TP2 I believe there is very little need to write many notes at all. With the resources of video, audio recordings, and Notes we don’t need to clutter students thoughts and learning with more instructions. My notes are extremely sparse now and I really use them as a tool for myself.  When I open my students Notebook I can see in an instant what I worked on last lesson and I always review those pieces. My students know this is going to happen, so it gives then a very clear sense of what they need to practice and what will be happening in their next lesson.

MANAGING PROJECTS

Related to our Note Writing is the number of pieces we are working on with a student. Obviously, if we have a lot on the go then we will have more need to write notes; perhaps overwhelming our students and cluttering their thoughts. I learnt this one the hard way also!!!

When I began as a Simply Music Teacher I believed my worth as a teacher would be measured by how quickly I could teach my students a huge number of pieces. I absolutely flew through the pieces; with lots on the go at one time. Initially this was great. My students were progressing well but I found by the time we got to pieces from Level 3 and 4 their progress would become much slower. Suddenly Simply Music seemed a bit of a struggle rather than easy like before. I could feel students becoming disgruntled and lessons became a confusion of keeping up everything in their playlists and working on lots of new material. I would have a piece from every style”Classical, Blues, Accompanimnet etc.” on the go at once and it all felt a bit messy.

I have now learnt to slow down and of course it is like the old “Hare and Tortoise Race” Story. My new students are progressing at an even and steady pace; experiencing each step of the way as a victory of ease and simplicity. My delivery of pieces is very careful and slow; one thought process at a time. I only ever have 1 new song on the go at one time for Levels 1-4 and I am constantly reviewing the Play List. I don’t feel panicky if a student is not flying through the Levels now. There is plenty to keep our students developing with our variations and arrangements.

I hope the above is of some benefit. I used to get really upset and “down” on myself as my mistakes became glaringly obvious to me. I now realize that it is part of the wonderful Simply Music journey; where there is a freedom to “give it a go” and be fully supported when you realize that you should do it differently next time. I have just started teaching groups in a school setting which I know will provide a whole new learning curve for me. I look forward to sharing more of my “mistakes”!!