Slow it down...
Count/subdivide...
First establish a pulse...
Keep your hands low...
More wrist, less arm...
Exaggerate the dynamics/phrasing/etc...
Watch your hands...
I have a wonderful studio of outstanding young percussionists that I'm honored to teach and mentor. In fact, it was at the conclusion of four great lessons that I thought about common threads from one lesson to the next. Each of these statements were finished with a "why." And then I began contemplating how many times, since 1993 (when I started teaching lessons), I have spoken the above words and many more phrases eluding me after five hours of rehearsals and four hours of teaching lessons... Who knows how often?
To be clear, this is not a rant, but a place to collect commonly uttered phrases in lessons. A collection of observations and instructions that may need to be turned into more efficient teaching strategies... ideas that can lead students to these discoveries without the need for an instructor to make statements or have a question asked of them. Essentially, a way to make myself obsolete.
Or perhaps I can record each statement and press the appropriate button when necessary.
Focus on the second note of the diddle....
Take a half step back from the marimba/snare drum/etc...
Relax your index finger/shoulders/etc...
Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
1 comment:
oooh! I like this! What I also find interesting, is how many times I say the things Tracy would say to me: More air, blow, etc :)
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