Facilitate a great conversation

1. When 2 or more students learn the same piece, there is potential for students to learn from one another as well as from the teacher. The key to a successful active listening exercise is to make this a developmental exercise. This is to say that students should not merely listen to one another ”once” - they should come together a second time, after the piece has been performed publicly or shared in an adjudicated environment.

2. Facilitate conversations that allow students to dig deep. Have them reflect meaningfully on their own performances. Don’t allow the student to be satisfied with vague generalizations. Encourage them to be specific - for example, they may share: I had to practice this section more than another section. Then ask what it was about the “easier” section that made it easier. They will be reluctant to answer, but don’t give in and lead them to an answer (even if you know the answer!). Lead them to answer the question with a prompt - such as the adjudication form and adjudicator comments. Consider also how can you set the stage for this activity when you are introducing the piece to the student.

3. Introducing a piece to a student is an important moment. You are the agent of how the student will perceive the piece, as well as develop their understanding of the piece. Avoid merely telling them how to shape a phrase. Have students discover basic essentials - together, let’s identify every instance where the “tonic” chord appears. Now, look at where there seem to be “no tonic chords” in the score. Ask if this could be an indication of a modulation / key change? What chord seems to be most prevalent here - is this the tonic of the new key?

   Setting the stage in ways like this allows the student to understand more deeply why a particular section may have been easier or more difficult to learn.

Favorite Performances

Valentina Lisitsa - Traumerei - Schumann