Re: [Harp-L] Teaching Kids



Hi Aaron, 

It's quite challenging to teach kids to play the instrument, though on the other hand it might be interesing and rewarding cause you will learn from them too. I taught a couple of kids, including my 9-year old daughter. I believe to really do a great job in this area one has to know things in many fields and should be able to play the harmonica quite decently to set the level of performance the kids would be willing to achieve. But as a starting point I guess the following will be of help: 


1. WIN THE HEART OF THE KID 
- play a couple of tunes in different styles 
- play some sound effects, do some funny noises too
- play blow and draw chords together

TUTOR'S HIDDEN AGENDA
- do the above to demonstrate the capabilities of the harmonica - not showing off but rather presenting - your task is to bring the sparkle and motivate the kid. 
- it's better to have a short story or joke behind each tune or sound effect so the kid can have better understanding of what it is all about, what to expect and where to climb. 
- playing together simple chords (blues harp) makes the kids happy, which adds to the positive learning experience, increasing motivation and passion to learn
- do remember that learning process is all about the nerve system - and kids might have some difficulties to cope with your teaching method and approach, so
- in order to plan your teaching you are to define the character of the kid - type of his/her nerve system (slow, fast, quickly/slowly grasping the material, careful during instruction, not careful, good memory, short memory, relying on oral explanation or visual or both, or it's better to show and let him/her along to practice, does the kids get tired fast or not, what is more desirable - songs, simple tunes, stylish licks, etc.). 
- get to know the kid - ask about interests, styles of music, maybe some influencial wel-known musicians/performers - to have an idea of where his or her potential interest would be. 

*once you have a big picture of who your audience is, you'll be able to better plan your teaching course.

**please note that with kids it's difficult to plan, so don't try to be bureaucratic in this sense - don't expect the kids would follow your detailed agenda every time you meet for a lesson. I remember when I brought my daughter after the summer break to the school of arts - second grade (class of violin) - and it turned out that my kid forgot the names of some notes - to which the tutor quietly said: "don't worry, we have 99 percent of kids forgetting simple things after the summer break, she will regain her strengh quickly". It was a shock for me cause we spent the whole year together learning simple tunes and my kid could tell any note in any order and it was also shocking to know that most kids do forget things. And when you know that what is happening is more or less natural then it ceases to be shocking, which in it's turn helps better understand the reality. And as they say when you have the right map, you'll get to the destination with no problem, so draft and follow the map which is close to reality. 


2. DEFINE THE GOAL AND SCOPE OF WORK

- ask the kids what he or she would like to do with the harmonica skill. it may be a difficult question cause even adults do not always know it, they just follow the call of the mother nature - some click in their head - and they come to you saying they want to play with no further details. so, in this case, it's better to help them and suggest setting the goal together - for the beginning do have in mind something feasible and relatively simple to make the ball rolling. For instance, *to learn 2 tunes, learn 3 sound effects, lean how to bend on hole #4 (draw bend on the blues harp) - and use all the effects in those 2 tunes. 
- explain the kid that what he or she hears as a final product - nice harmonica tune -  is a complex combination of several skills and tricks (breathing in and out while playing, bending, vibrato with hands, etc.), so in order to play one tune as necessary, it's important to acquire new skills and spend some more time on workouts (rutine work to be done to have the skilsl engraved in brain and ready and availabe when needed). 
- show the scope of work to focus on - in the form of map is better (check www.mindjet.com - great tool to map your ideas and work to be done - ask me off line, I'll help to conquer the bist): how to hold, posture, breathing, chugging patterns, single notes, bending, vibrato, etc.
- after such presentation, ask the kids what effects and tricks he or she would love to use in chosen tunes. it might happen that kid choses some 5 or 10, but be aware that feasibility is your friend and even if the kid insists on everything do keep in mind a couple of favorite effects to focus on first. 
- when you went through the above mentioned process, you can build your teaching course. i'm now presenting my ideas in the bureaucratic way - I'm convinced it helps better understand the things talked about when details and examples are give. But you are to read all the above and interect with the kid as a human not as a bureaucrat - so, have a flowless communication, make jokes, but have in mind your agenda. 

TUTOR'S HIDDEN AGENDA
- it's important that kid understand the whole process and interrelationships between several skills. once kids know what it is all about, it's easier for them to move on
- have the kid decide what to do, your role is guidance. once the kid is careful anough and absorbs the material well, then you can use the student's approach with detailed homeworks, etc. 
- in general it's important to make the learning process fun with no burden to learn something extremely difficult. 
- it's better to set one big goal and some smaller goals - something like a waw-waw effect or a draw bend on hole 4. But think of such smaller goals in terms of some tune (it can be simple as well), cause practicing draw bend itself or some separate effect aside from the tube may seem boring, etc. 

3.   THINGS TO REMEMBER
- it's possible to have attention of your audience on subject for not more than 10-15 minutes, the rest of time will be wasted if you push to the limit - law of nature and the nerve system.
- so, plan your lessons in such ways that you would spend some 10+10+10 minutes on the subject and some 10+10+10 on something else - drawings, cars, dress, food, etc. (better in relation to the subject, but most often it's important to distract the kid from the subject so that he or she is ready to further absorb the subject with no tiredness) 
- bring something new to the lesson - idea, tune, harp, mic, etc. 
- have the kid perform for you - whether it's a vibrato effect or draw bend, make it as an event - from the beginning to the end it should sound as a separate performance
- correct mistakes along the way and don't allow to play and most importantly practice with mistakes
- for that divide complex phrases/effects into smaller pieces and work on separate parts, then all together
- start slowly and gain the speed slowly too
- human's mind and body are based on the nerve system, so what you record in it by doing doing things on a regular basis - with mistakes or without - you'll have it afterwards available in your RAM memory to work with, so it's better to program with no bugs (BTW don't watch the movie called BUG, it's waste of time:)).
- teaching kids is difficult, but try to have fun while doing it
- set a goal to learn from kids too - for your own experience as a player and for further opportunities as a teacher
- it's better to talk to kids as if they're of your age 
- and of course one of the best advice I ever had - explain a simple instruction approach - you are not the person standing on the other bank of a river, you are with the kid on the same bank of a river and you have things in common, same passion for instrument, mistakes in the beginning, etc., so tell them you're not a smart instructor to teach them, you are just the person some steps ahead in terms of skills, etc., and you are there not to teach but... to share. you are not an evil teacher - but rather a friend. even if they know it, it's better to make a point as they'd appreciate that anyway. and tell them it's possible to reach the level you have and even get better in a relatively short period of time.

 

Hope that helps. Send you feedback if any. 

thanks, 


Alex






>>> Aaron kazmer <gripwillie@xxxxxxxxx> 15.08.2007 21:09:57 >>>
Hi all,

I have been asked if I would teach a 10 yr old how to
play harp and was hoping you great people can help me
out with some ideas on where to start. The kid has a
music back ground as he is in the school band (how
much he knows I don't know as of yet). But any info on
books exercises, lesson plans extra would be of great
help.

Thanking you all in advance.

Aaron "Willie" Kazmer



       
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