Music lesson

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A teacher using a blackboard to illustrate a music lesson in New Orleans in 1940 Music Class at St Elizabeths Orphanage New Orleans 1940.jpg
A teacher using a blackboard to illustrate a music lesson in New Orleans in 1940
Juilliard School of Music Chamber Orchestra. While lessons are often individual (one teacher and one student), group lessons or coaching sessions are also done. Juilliard Chamber Orchestra.jpg
Juilliard School of Music Chamber Orchestra. While lessons are often individual (one teacher and one student), group lessons or coaching sessions are also done.

Music lessons are a type of formal instruction in playing a musical instrument or singing. Typically, a student taking music lessons meets a music teacher for one-to-one training sessions ranging from 30 minutes to one hour in length over a period of weeks or years. Depending on lessons to be taught, students learn different skills relevant to the instruments used. Music teachers also assign technical exercises, musical pieces, and other activities to help the students improve their musical skills. While most music lessons are one-on-one (private), some teachers also teach groups of two to four students (semi-private lessons), and, for very basic instruction, some instruments are taught in large group lessons, such as piano and acoustic guitar. Since the widespread availability of high speed. low latency Internet, private lessons can also take place through live video chat using webcams, microphones and videotelephony online.

Contents

Music lessons are part of both amateur music instruction and professional training. In amateur and recreational music contexts, children and adults take music lessons to improve their singing or instrumental playing skills and learn basic to intermediate techniques. In professional training contexts, such as music conservatories, university music performance programs (e.g., Bachelor of music, Master of music, DMA, etc.), students aiming for a career as professional musicians take a music lesson once a week for an hour or more with a music professor over a period of years to learn advanced playing or singing techniques [1] . Many instrumental performers and singers, including a number of pop music celebrities, have learned music "by ear", especially in folk music styles such as blues and popular styles such as rock music. Nevertheless, even in folk and popular styles, a number of performers have had some type of music lessons, such as meeting with a vocal coach or getting childhood instruction in an instrument such as piano.

Posture

Manhattan School of Music professor Timothy Cobb teaching a bass lesson in the late 2000s TimothyBCobb.jpg
Manhattan School of Music professor Timothy Cobb teaching a bass lesson in the late 2000s

For vocal lessons, teachers show students how to sit or stand and breathe, and how to position the head and mouth for good vocal tone. For instrument lessons, teachers show students how to sit or stand with the instrument, how to hold the instrument, and how to manipulate the fingers and other body parts to produce tones and sounds from the instrument. For wind and brass instruments, the teacher shows the student how to use their lips, tongue, and breath to produce tones and sounds. For some instruments, teachers also train students in the use of the feet, as in the case of piano or other keyboard instruments that have damper or sustain pedals on the piano, the pedal keyboard on a pipe organ, and some drums and cymbals in the drum kit such as the bass drum pedal and the hi-hat cymbal pedal. In addition to teaching fingering, teachers also provide other types of instruction. A classical guitar player learns how to strum and pluck strings; players of wind instruments learn about breath control and embouchure, and singers learn how to make the most of their vocal cords without hurting the throat or vocal cords.

Teachers also instruct students in achieving correct posture for most efficient playing and to prevent injury. For all instruments, the optimal way to move the fingers and arms to achieve a desired effect is to play with the least tension in your hands and body. This prevents habit formation that can injure the skeletal frame and muscles. For example, when playing the piano, fingering—which fingers to put on which keys—is a skill slowly learned as the student advances, and there are many standard techniques a teacher can pass on.

There are many myths and misconceptions among music teachers, especially in the Western classical tradition, about "good" posture and "bad" posture. Students who find that playing their instruments causes them physical pain should bring this to their teachers' attention. It could be a potentially serious health risk, but it is often overlooked when learning to play an instrument. Learning to use one's body in a manner consistent with the way their anatomy is designed to work can mean the difference between a crippling injury and a lifetime of enjoyment. Many music teachers would caution students about taking "no pain, no gain" as an acceptable response from their music teacher regarding a complaint of physical pain. Concerns about use-related injury and the ergonomics of musicianship have gained more mainstream acceptance in recent years. Musicians have increasingly been turning to medical professionals, physical therapists, and specialized techniques seeking relief from pain and prevention of serious injury. There exists a plurality of special techniques for an even greater plurality of potential difficulties. The Alexander Technique is just one example of these specialized approaches. [2]

Theory and history

To fully understand music being played, the student must learn the basics of the underlying music theory. Along with musical notation, students learn rhythmic techniques—like controlling tempo, recognizing time signatures, and the theory of harmony, including chords and key signatures. In addition to basic theory, a good teacher stresses musicality, or how to make the music sound good. This includes how to create good, pleasing tone, how to do musical phrasing, and how to use dynamics (loudness and softness) to make the piece or song more expressive.

Most music lessons include some instruction in the history of the type of music that the student is learning. When a student is taking Western classical music lessons, music teachers often spend some time explaining the different eras of western classical music, such as the Baroque Era, the Classical era, the Romantic Era, and the contemporary classical music era, because each era is associated with different styles of music and different performance practice techniques. Instrumental music from the Baroque era is often played in the 2000s as teaching pieces for piano students, string instrument players, and wind instrument players. If students just try to play these Baroque pieces by reading the notes from the score, they might not get the right type of interpretation. However, once a student learns that most Baroque instrumental music was associated with dances, such as the gavotte and the sarabande, and keyboard music from the Baroque era was played on the harpsichord or the pipe organ, a modern-day student is better able to understand how the piece should be played. If, for example, a cello player is assigned a gavotte that was originally written for harpsichord, this gives the student insight in how to play the piece. Since it is a dance, it should have a regular, clear pulse, rather than a Romantic era-style shifting tempo rubato. As well, since it was originally written for the harpsichord, a light-sounding keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked with quills, this suggests that the notes should be played relatively lightly, and with spaces between each note, rather than in a full-bodied, sustained legato.

Technical exercises

Although not universally accepted, many teachers drill students with the repetitive playing of certain patterns, such as scales, arpeggios, and rhythms. Scales are often taught because they are the building blocks of melody in most Western art music. In addition, there are flexibility studies, which make it physically easier to play the instrument. Percussion instruments use rudiments that help in the development of sticking patterns, roll techniques and other little nuances such as flams and drags.

There are sets of exercises for piano designed to stretch the connection between fourth and fifth fingers, making them more independent. Brass players practice lip slurs, which are unarticulated changes in embouchure between partials. Woodwind players (Saxophone, Clarinet, and Flute) have a multitude of exercises to help with tonguing techniques, finger dexterity, and tone development. Entire books of études have been written to this purpose.

Repertoire

Teachers typically assign the student pieces (or songs for vocal students) of slowly increasing difficulty. These may include études, solo, or chamber repertoire. Besides using pieces to teach various musical rudiments (rhythm, harmony, pitch, etc.) and teach the elements of good playing (or singing) style, a good teacher also inspires more intangible qualities—such as expressiveness and musicianship. Pieces (or songs) may be more enjoyable for students than theory or scale exercises, and an emphasis on learning new pieces is usually required to maintain students' motivation. However, the teacher must not over-accommodate a student's desire for "fun" pieces. Often the student's idea of fun music is popular vocal selections, movie soundtracks, and TV show theme songs, etc. While some of these "fun" pieces can be performed, pieces should also be selected for pedagogical reasons, such as challenging the student and honing their skills. In addition, for students to be well rounded they must play many types of pieces by composers and songwriters from different eras, ranging from Renaissance music to pieces from the 20th and 21st century. A varied repertoire increases the student's musical understanding and skill.

Examinations

A popular measure of progress, especially for children, is external assessment of the progress of the pupil by a regular examination. A number of exam boards assess pupils on music theory or practice. These are available for almost every musical instrument. A common method to mark progress is graded examinations—for example from grade 1 (beginner) to grade 8 (ready to enter higher study at music school). [3] Some teachers prefer other methods of target-setting for their pupils. The most common is the pupil's concert, which gives experience in playing in public and under a certain degree of pressure, without outright criticism or a more or less arbitrary marking system. Another is the graded system of books followed by teachers of the Suzuki method, in which the completion of each book is celebrated, without a system of marking or ranking of pupils.

Extra-musical benefits

Jean-Marc Nattier, The music lesson, (1711) Jean-Marc Nattier, La Lecon de musique (1710).jpg
Jean-Marc Nattier, The music lesson, (1711)

Some studies suggests that music lessons provide children with important developmental benefits beyond simply the knowledge or skill of playing a musical instrument. Research suggests that musical lessons may enhance intelligence and academic achievement, build self-esteem and improve discipline. [4] A recent Rockefeller Foundation Study found that music majors have the highest rate of admittance to medical schools, followed by biochemistry and the humanities. On SAT tests, the national average scores were 427 on the verbal and 476 on math. At the same time, music students averaged 465 on the verbal and 497 on the math – 38 and 21 points higher, respectively.[ citation needed ] However, the observed correlation between musical and mathematical ability may be inherent rather than acquired. Furthermore, it is possible that the correlation between taking music lessons and academic ability exists because both are strongly correlated with parental income and education. Even if music lessons had no impact on academic ability, one would expect to see a correlation between music lessons and academic ability. An article from Inc.com titled "The Benefits of Playing Music Help Your Brain More Than Any Other Activity" says that studies show that learning a musical instrument expands neuronal cell body capacity in numerous brain areas. [5] It also reinforces the long-range links between them. Even more research shows that musical pedagogy can amplify verbal memory, spatial reasoning, and literacy skills.

Skills learned through the discipline of music may transfer to study skills, communication skills, and cognitive skills useful in every part of a child's studies at school, though. An in-depth Harvard University study found evidence that spatial-temporal reasoning improves when children learn to make music, and this kind of reasoning improves temporarily when adults listen to certain kinds of music, including Mozart. [6] This finding (named The Mozart effect ) suggests that music and spatial reasoning are related psychologically (i.e., they may rely on some of the same underlying skills) and perhaps neurologically as well. However, there has been considerable controversy over this as later researchers have failed to reproduce the original findings of Rauscher (e.g. Steele, Bass & Crook, 1999), questioned both theory and methodology of the original study (Fudis & Lembesis 2004) and suggested that the enhancing effects of music in experiments have been simply due to an increased level of arousal (Thompson, Schellenberg & Husain, 2001).

A relationship between music and the strengthening of math, dance, reading, creative thinking and visual arts skills has also been reported in literature. (Winner, Hetland, Sanni, as reported in The Arts and Academic Achievement – What the Evidence Shows, 2000) However recent findings by Dr. Levitin of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, undermines the suggested connection between musical ability and higher math skills. In a study conducted on patients with Williams syndrome (a genetic disorder causing low intelligence), he found that even though their intelligence was that of young children, they still possessed an unusually high level of musical ability.

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Classical period was an era of classical music between roughly 1750 and 1820.

Playing or learning by ear is the ability of a performing musician to reproduce a piece of music they have heard, without having seen it notated in any form of sheet music. It is considered to be a desirable skill among musical performers, especially for those that play in a musical tradition where notating music is not the norm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music</span> Form of art using sound

In the most general of terms, music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise expressive content. Definitions of music vary depending on culture, though it is an aspect of all human societies and a cultural universal. While scholars agree that music is defined by a few specific elements, there is no consensus on their precise definitions. The creation of music is commonly divided into musical composition, musical improvisation, and musical performance, though the topic itself extends into academic disciplines, criticism, philosophy, psychology, and therapeutic contexts. Music may be performed using a vast range of instruments, including the human voice to sing, and thus is often credited for its extreme versatility and opportunity for creativity.

Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Arabic, or other languages – the medium of sheet music typically is paper. However, access to musical notation since the 1980s has included the presentation of musical notation on computer screens and the development of scorewriter computer programs that can notate a song or piece electronically, and, in some cases, "play back" the notated music using a synthesizer or virtual instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Czerny</span> Austrian composer, teacher and pianist (1791–1857)

Carl Czerny was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and his books of studies for the piano are still widely used in piano teaching. He was one of Ludwig van Beethoven's best-known pupils and would later on be one of the main teachers of Franz Liszt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Composer</span> Person who writes music

A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conducting</span> Directing a musical performance

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way that reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and "shape" the phrasing where appropriate. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton, and may use other gestures or signals such as facial expression and eye contact. A conductor usually supplements their direction with verbal instructions to their musicians in rehearsal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">César Franck</span> Belgian-French composer and organist (1822–1890)

César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sight-reading</span> Performing music at first sight

In music, sight-reading, also called a prima vista, is the practice of reading and performing of a piece in a music notation that the performer has not seen or learned before. Sight-singing is used to describe a singer who is sight-reading. Both activities require the musician to play or sing the notated rhythms and pitches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzuki method</span> Music teaching method

The Suzuki method is a mid-20th-century music curriculum and teaching philosophy created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. The method claims to create a reinforcing environment for learning music for young learners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of Music</span> First graduate degree in music awarded by universities and music conservatories

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Music examinations are a method of formally assessing the accomplishments of pupils learning musical instruments.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musical technique</span> Ability of musicians to exert optimal control of their instruments and/or bodies

Musical technique is the ability of instrumental and vocal musicians to exert optimal control of their instruments or vocal cords in order to produce the precise musical effects they desire. Improving one's technique generally entails practicing exercises that improve one's muscular sensitivity and agility. Technique is independent of musicality. Compositional technique is the ability and knowledge composers use to create music, and may be distinguished from instrumental or performance technique, which in classical music is used to realize compositions, but may also be used in musical improvisation. Extended techniques are distinguished from more simple and more common techniques. Musical technique may also be distinguished from music theory, in that performance is a practical matter, but study of music theory is often used to understand better and to improve techniques. Techniques such as intonation or timbre, articulation, and musical phrasing are nearly universal to all instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vocal coach</span> Person who helps singers prepare for a performance

A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach, is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often also helping them to improve their singing technique and take care of and develop their voice, but is not the same as a singing teacher. Vocal coaches may give private music lessons or group workshops or masterclasses to singers. They may also coach singers who are rehearsing on stage, or who are singing during a recording session. Vocal coaches are used in both classical music and in popular music styles such as rock and gospel. While some vocal coaches provide a range of instruction on singing techniques, others specialize in areas such as breathing techniques or diction and pronunciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isidor Philipp</span> French pianist, composer and pedagogue (1863–1958)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simply Music</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finger substitution</span> Musical performance technique

Finger substitution is a playing technique used on many different instruments, ranging from stringed instruments such as the violin and cello to keyboard instruments such as the piano and pipe organ. It involves replacing one finger which is depressing a string or key with another finger to facilitate the performance of a passage or create a desired tone or sound. The simplest type of finger substitution is when a finger replaces another finger during a rest; the more difficult type is to replace one finger with another while a note is being played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano pedagogy</span> Study of teaching piano playing

Piano pedagogy is the study of the teaching of piano playing. Whereas the professional field of music education pertains to the teaching of music in school classrooms or group settings, piano pedagogy focuses on the teaching of musical skills to individual piano students. This is often done via private or semiprivate instructions, commonly referred to as piano lessons. The practitioners of piano pedagogy are called piano pedagogues, or simply, piano teachers.

Group piano is the study of how to play the piano in a group setting. This contrasts with the more common individual/private lesson. Group piano originated at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and continues to be a widely-used method of piano instruction. Group lesson formats include master classes, university classes, and pre-college music lessons. These classes typically have between 3 and 16 students. Benefits of the group lesson format include the development of independent learning, ensemble playing, critical listening skills, and exposure to a wide range of repertoire. Group piano instruction may require more space and equipment, increased preparation per class, and more attention to scheduling and group interaction than when teaching individual/private lessons.

References

  1. Parkes, Kelly A. (28 March 2019), Brophy, Timothy S. (ed.), "Assessment in the Applied Studio in Higher Education", The Oxford Handbook of Assessment Policy and Practice in Music Education, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, pp. 765–791, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190248093.013.33, ISBN   978-0-19-024809-3 , retrieved 24 March 2024
  2. Occupational Hazards In Music
  3. Lesson Plans
  4. Adams, Dianne. "The Positives of Learning About Music". Shine Music. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  5. Rampton, John. "The Benefits of Playing Music Help Your Brain More Than Any Other Activity". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  6. Rauscher, Frances H. (14 October 1993). "Music and spatial task performance". Nature. 365 (611): 611. doi:10.1038/365611a0. PMID   8413624.