TEACHING STATEMENT

Music is a process, not a product, so it is essential for students to seek and teachers to provide opportunities to engage the process. In addition to theoretical and academic music study, musicians need hands-on application. This means creating a safe, supportive environment for students to learn by performance. Consequently, the music classroom needs to simulate the bandstand as much as possible.

 

Demonstrated learning through performance fosters an environment in which feedback can be provided in real time and received with trust. Students in this setting can take lessons to heart because they observe an immediate benefit to their own playing. Through trial and error, musicians rapidly instill good habits and leave behind bad ones.

 

Rather than assigning a topic for practice, I start with a concept and encourage students to “try this” in the moment. Students who take this approach seriously will develop a familiarity with musical risk taking. 

 

This places an onus of responsibility on the student to consider how their performance should inform their practice going forward. In other words, spontaneous pressures help students adopt a posture of humility towards the content and the ability to self-assess. This facilitates long-term growth and disciplined habits of practice.

 

Ultimately, performance-based study inspires students to imagine what is possible within their own playing and practice with intention.