What Are The Fundamental Musical Skills?, you would like your pupils to learn? Options

[funkiepiano]

Some of my pupils do not progress in the way I would like them to; some do little or no practice, and do not apper to be "learning" anything, for whatever reason. They're usually either young beginners with very little grasp of what is involved, or disaffected teenagers who think being able to play will happen by magic. I'd like to know how these sorts of pupils can take something positive away from their lessons and gain general musical skills that will stick with them for life, even if they only come to me for a few months. I'd like to spend more of my lessons working on these musical "life-skills" rather than going over pieces that they haven't practised and maybe can't see the value in, time and time again. Aural skills could be part of it, rhythm games another. Any other ideas anyone???

[gtmus2002uk]

I'm thinking exactly the same ... I spend way too much time going through pieces with my students, and hardly ever get a chance to do general musicianship with them. And I have to say, it makes so much more of a difference in more advanced students, that I've gained from other teachers, when they have a musical ear and can sightread well. I've been spending more time on notereading - using the first couple of minutes of each lesson with flashcards, and sightreading - Paul Harris has some great books. Need to get stuck in with aural though - apart from the Associated Board examples, are there any good aural resources? I've got the Improve your Aural by Paul Harris, which would be great for my students to use at home, but I'd prefer something that I can use at the piano myself, which involves us both working together?

[SueHM]

I used to do all my aural work sitting playing the piano, but I've recently started using the Paul Harris IYA books in lessons and I'm finding them really useful - sitting playing I found that I was watching the music instead of the pupil and was perhaps missing subtle cues from them ('I don't get this' or whatever). Using CDs is a great way of freeing you up to do things with the pupil, joining in or modelling activities for them and watching their responses much more carefully.

I'm slightly dubious about using them as homework - those who have a good sense of rhythm etc will do fine, but the ones who struggle could get lost or not realise when they are getting things wrong. The answers are in the back, so you have no way of checking that they really understand unless you do it with them in the lesson.
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[maggiemay]

good question funkiepiano - it can be all too easy, can't it, with any non-progress-ers, to wonder if we are leading them to feel that music is not for them.

Are we talking a keyboard instrument here? if so, I sometimes I explore a bit of simple keyboard harmony. It really only works if the pupil has at least the beginnings of reading, so it's not so useful with a very young child who's not really got off the starting blocks. But with a little bit of reading from one clef, or the ability to add bass notes, or, better still add some simple chords, it can be good fun. You need a stock of fairly simple one-stave melodies of the right level. If you can produce your own with a computer and printer, the possibilities are much more flexible.

I sometimes move into "messing around" mode if I have a non-practiser who I suspect isn't that keen and where there might be good reasons to try to keep going. A bit of basic song-writing is sometimes worth a try with a slightly older child.

[Violinia]

To me the most important musical skill I like a student to have is to be able to hear when they're playing out of tune. To this end I'm revising my teaching methods from now on and will be spending the first six months with any new student getting them to listen, repeat and play by ear. Notation will come afterwards; after all, what's six months?

I'm going to start by plucking open strings, then adding first, second and third finger. First sitting down in banjo position, then standing up. Then they'll learn the bow hold and repeat what we did before. Once they can play simple tunes by ear on every string using first, second and third finger I will then introduce notation, starting with the same pieces, or variations on them.

I'm also going to make CDs for them to take home, with all the pieces played on violin for them to work with at home, as in the Suzuki method.

They won't be allowed to move on to the next fingered tune until they can play the previous one perfectly in tune. As everything will be learnt by ear there's far more chance of good intonation than learning straight from notation, because aural skills - ie listening - will be a crucial feature right from the very start.

They will also be required to sing all the tunes within their range! Then all my pupils will be equipped with the skill I consider the most important - to be able to play in tune!!!

Well that's the plan anyway.

[Robodoc]

When I was a child my sister & I were given no illusions: We WOULD learn to read music, just as we learnt to read English, whether we liked it or not. Once we could read music we could do what we wanted with it. I loved it & still do. My sister didn't, but as a result of being taught to read music she found that when she grew up she could, and did, sing in the church choir, sing in choral societies, sing in scratch Messiahs etc. She is so grateful that she was made to learn to read music that she has a touch of the evangelicals on the subject.

[neilthecellist]

Some of my pupils do not progress in the way I would like them to; some do little or no practice, and do not apper to be "learning" anything, for whatever reason. They're usually either young beginners with very little grasp of what is involved, or disaffected teenagers who think being able to play will happen by magic. I'd like to know how these sorts of pupils can take something positive away from their lessons and gain general musical skills that will stick with them for life, even if they only come to me for a few months. I'd like to spend more of my lessons working on these musical "life-skills" rather than going over pieces that they haven't practised and maybe can't see the value in, time and time again. Aural skills could be part of it, rhythm games another. Any other ideas anyone???

I'm a teenager myself. While I don't have that problem ("...think being able to play will happen by magic...") I do understand your viewpoint and have some advice to give:

Give them the lecture. Maybe start incorporating music history/theory into the lesson.

[chocolatedog]

With many of my pupils I teach them to read basic guitar chord symbols so that they can later take a songbook and if they can't play the actual accompaniment written they could have a go at the melody and the chords......reminds me, I haven't done this in a while.....must get my songbooks out...... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)