tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7048025771349159983.post6169576819515067155..comments2024-03-22T06:38:04.697-04:00Comments on Beyond the Notes: Discovering what teaching is all about Erica Ann Sipeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13526622607656348353noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7048025771349159983.post-76504262950786221612014-01-28T20:55:37.606-05:002014-01-28T20:55:37.606-05:00Isaac,
As always you are asking good questions! I...Isaac,<br />As always you are asking good questions! I've been thinking of how I might answer you and here's what I've come up with. It's nothing fancy but it's a mode of thinking/practicing I am constantly engaged in.<br /><br />Yes, I think we need a good share of "How" questions but I like to balance them with the more creative "Why" questions. To my the why takes us out of analytical land which at least for me can cause me to lose touch with the music behind what I'm trying to do. I think I've talked with you about "practice performing." It's when I intentionally throw thought out the window and try to just live the music as I try to do when I'm performing. This can be hard to do but when I tell myself to "sing" along with the music that tends to cut out the analytical/critical chatter that can throw my right back into a more detail-oriented, technical place. When I'm practicing, for instance, I might spend a good 15 minutes doing detailed work, asking a lot of questions, figuring out what I can do physically to make the music I hear in my head happen. As soon as my mind starts to drift, however, I switch gears for a few minutes and put myself in "Practice Performing" mode for that spot I just worked on. It's a good way to ensure that I don't get stuck in analysis and lose touch with the music. <br /><br />Hope that helps! Let me know if I'm not making sense. <br /><br />EricaErica Ann Sipeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526622607656348353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7048025771349159983.post-83129056336666860912014-01-14T07:53:42.369-05:002014-01-14T07:53:42.369-05:00Great teaching philosophy Erica! This answers a qu...Great teaching philosophy Erica! This answers a question I was going to ask you about being stuck "going through the motions" of practicing. I haven't been practicing with intent for a while now and feel like last semester I scraped by and didn't grow. This reminded me about how to practice diligently and a reminder to always be asking questions about the music and discovering its inner clockwork. <br /><br />Often times I get caught asking too many How questions: How do I play a sfz, How will I make a soft entrance work. To me, these How questions are like asking yourself "how will I pronounce the word Mississippi today?" We all know how to pronounce it. I know how to achieve the musical nuances, I just need to shift the focus from how. Any thoughts on how (haha!) to do this?Isaac Brinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11958800770244182563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7048025771349159983.post-73973235106554270692014-01-08T17:55:08.317-05:002014-01-08T17:55:08.317-05:00The composing etc. is my mental downtime, though; ...The composing etc. is my mental downtime, though; my job is not at all musical. If I'm continued to teach the subjects I'm qualified to teach, I'd be either in the classroom or grading and have no time for the things I'd like to do in my own private time. Teaching really is a way of life.Janisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7048025771349159983.post-20578723578258098682014-01-07T20:57:33.664-05:002014-01-07T20:57:33.664-05:00Right, Janis. I like the fishing metaphor althoug...Right, Janis. I like the fishing metaphor although I know nothing about fishing. And worms? Ewwww...<br /><br />Anyway, so I have to chuckle here. You decided not to teach because you wanted "mental downtime" after work? Yet you go home regularly and compose your own music. And practice? And write? You amaze me! Something tells me you would be a fantastic teacher. But you're right, it is all-consuming which is why I feel I never have any more brain cells left at the end of the day to try to communicate effectively over the computer via this blog. Sigh...someday perhaps.<br /><br />Thanks as always for reading and for chiming in, Janis! <br /><br />All the best,<br />EricaErica Ann Sipeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526622607656348353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7048025771349159983.post-78216005313930904432014-01-07T14:11:38.231-05:002014-01-07T14:11:38.231-05:00It's like the "teaching them to fish"...It's like the "teaching them to fish" metaphor. You're trying to turn them into teachers, of themselves. Not just how to answer your questions, but how to figure out which questions to ask of themselves before you ask them.<br /><br />Your opening sentence reminded me of why I pruned the possibility of being a teacher from my career tree: I wanted mental downtime after I got home from work. Now of course, I don't often get it. I'm a workaholic and EVERY job I've ever had has gradually swallowed up my off time to some extent.<br /><br />But teaching seemed to swallow it ALL -- it really is a vocational 24/7/365 thing in a lot of ways. I admire people who do it, and especially who manage to find a way to do it with the thoroughness with which it needs to be done AND successfully cordon off some little quiet part of their minds for just themselves at the same time. That's a balancing act I never managed when I taught.Janisnoreply@blogger.com