Re: [Harp-L] Learning, Grammar and Theory

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

Sam's whole post was pretty good.
 
As far as this sentiment below, it encapsulated my current direction and  
fascination with teaching. I've been able to educate musically illiterate adults  
and give them a basis for understanding and - more importantly - a thirst for 
 learning more theory.
 
However, my method is sneaky and the approach is more user friendly than  the 
traditional way. It does differ from student to student, as I also take the  
individual into consideration and adapt my teaching technique directly.
 
Sometimes it mixes music theory with Zen, self-awareness, the internal  voice 
of the ego and how this is a distraction in music, and silly real time  life 
exercises.
 
One example is an exercise I assign to those students that seem to be  
impatient in learning - those that, when given a musical phrase that uses  
technique, run right to playing the phrase before they've really digested the  
technique, resulting in a really poor sounding phrase. They are impatient.
 
The exercise is to go to a grocery store on a busy day, buy your items, and  
at the check out line, scan all the possibilities and choose to stand in the  
longest, slowest line. It can't be a day in which one is pressed for time to  
make an appointment; rather, just an ordinary day. It's called "Doing the  
Longest Line" and runs totally upstream to everything one is comfortable with.  
While "Doing the Longest Line", experience all the thoughts and emotions that  
run through you (impatience, anger, frustration, antsy ness, etc) and ponder 
on  why one feels this way. When the initial rush passes and you are still left 
 standing, resisting the impulse to run to a shorter line, try to understand 
how  useless this emotional habit truly is. Learn to relax into these feelings 
and  dissipate them.
 
Students seem to get a handle on their impatience in dealing with music and  
learn a little valuable understanding about themselves through this  exercise.
 
The Iceman
 
 
 
In a message dated 3/14/2009 2:48:21 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

My point  here is that for you folks, Richard Hunter, et al, who understand
and use  theory to inform you playing and performance experience, it may be
hard for  you to design instruction ( and I know this probably isn't what you
want to  do anyway) the works for musically illiterate adults because you
already  get it. 

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