Today, I Confess: I Am Easily Distracted.
Sometimes one off-hand comment changes the entire trajectory of a lesson. Gather 'round, my friends: it's story time. π€
Yesterday, I was settling into a lesson with an exemplary intermediate student. As he was finishing his warmup, I began writing on his assignment sheet.
I chuckled at myself because - instead of writing SCALES, I started writing SONATINAS. (This felt especially random because this student is not currently working on a sonatina. He's declared himself to be all-Christmas-all-the-time for the moment.)
I could have just scratched the word out and moved on, but fate intervened. π
I said, "Why on earth did I just write Sonatinas!?"
He said, "I don't know...maybe you're going to assign me a Christmas Sonatina?"
Here's where being a certified Music Hoarder comes in handy:
I said, "I HAVE CHRISTMAS SONATINAS!", to which he rolled his eyes and said, "Of course you do". π
I grabbed him this book (which has sat on my shelf for years because it's not exactly a studio favorite), thinking he would sightread a movement and be ready to move on.
Instead, after playing one movement, he asked to try others in the collection. We spent most of his lesson doing just that... and had a blast.
Here are some Teacher Takeaways from this story:
At one point this student asked me, "What constitutes a Sonatina, anyway?" Despite having played many sonatina movements (quite well!) throughout his piano studies, this unplanned activity opened the door to firming up knowledge I *thought* he already had.
We spent a lot of time identifying classic elements in these Christmas Sonatinas and connecting them back to other works he's played. We squared up some confusion he had around the concept of "movements".
I've talked about form, style, and technical expectations as they apply to Sonatinas with this student multiple times but this lesson was an excellent reminder that we don't get to control what students remember.
We are fooling ourselves if we think students remember everything we've worked on (or everything we've said). We often let ourselves "off the hook" because we think we've done our part. In reality, part of our Teacher Duty is to circle back through concepts and provide students opportunities to prove what they've been taught. This builds confidence and competence.
I'm optimistic these ideas finally "stuck" yesterday, largely because my student became such an active participant in the learning process. Connecting the dots between previously-studied pieces and this sightreading material challenged him to apply my instruction in new ways.
We should always be on the lookout for these types of opportunities.
I said it on the podcast this week, and I'll say it again here: Sometimes we need to deviate from the "traditional" multi-step lesson plan and concentrate on a singular idea.
Sometimes we accomplish more by doing less.
I hope this story inspires you to create more breathing room in your lesson plans. Students need time and opportunity to ask questions. Let's take time to enjoy the music this week.
(Oh, and by the way, my student asked if he could KEEP the Christmas Sonatina book! It was a morning full of wins.)
π₯Cheers to us for doing difficult work: Seeing ALL the things students need to be successful yet doling them out in manageable amounts. Sometimes it feels impossible, but stay the course, my friends! It's worth it. π₯