The Importance of Private Music Lessons Part 3: One-On-One Attention

Private lessons go much deeper than band, orchestra, or choir classes at school because of their one-on-one attention. A doctor takes the time to meet with each patient individually. Would you want a doctor trying to diagnose your own potentially serious illness in a room full of clamoring patients? Playing in a large ensemble is a great way to incorporate what is being taught in the private lessons, and the student learns how to play in a group. Ensemble directors do a fantastic job under the circumstances; however, they likely won’t notice individual problems like wrong fingerings or poor hand position because their attention is spread among the whole ensemble. It is the private instructor’s job to notice and help correct these issues because the private instructor can focus 100% of his attention upon the individual student for the duration of the lesson.

Attention is an innate human need. It validates that we matter in some small way and that we are not lost and aimless in the bigger picture of the universe. The job of the private instructor is to focus 100% of his attention on the student for the lesson’s duration to determine what that student needs to improve as a musician. The attention of a private instructor can play a crucial role in a child’s development. Children need to see multiple ways of doing things so they can choose the best way for themselves. It may not be their parents’ way.

My father is highly opinionated. He expresses his opinions forcefully and with absolute authority, even when he has no idea what he’s talking about. It drives me nuts, so early on as an undergrad, I decided I wasn’t going to have any opinions. That drove my girlfriend nuts. Much to my disgust, I discovered that I did have opinions when I argued with her about music. My private oboe and saxophone teachers shaped those opinions. Their influence played a large role in molding me into the musician and person I am today. I wouldn’t be writing this blog if I still had no opinions.

The Importance of Private Music Lessons Part 2: Music Teachers Are Like Doctors

Music teachers are like doctors. Medical doctors collect information about a patient’s health problem through their own observations, the patient’s description of the symptoms, and the results of various tests. They interpret that information to diagnose the problem and prescribe a treatment plan. Music teachers gather information by listening to and watching their students play. Private instructors interpret what they hear and see to diagnose problems and tell the student how to fix them.

From a purely musical perspective, the purpose of private lessons is to help students better express themselves through music. Instructors accomplish this by teaching students how and what to practice on their own, and the lesson essentially becomes a guided practice session. The teacher makes the student aware of things he should be listening for and correcting in his own practicing. These things include tone production, pitch, correct notes and rhythms, fingerings, phrasing, and stylistic considerations. One goal of private instruction is to teach students how to diagnose and treat themselves.

I started the oboe relatively late as a sophomore in high school. I had studied jazz on the saxophone and had almost no classical background.  Because I needed to learn quickly if the oboe was to be my major in college, Vladimir Lande, my first oboe teacher, had to tell me how to do everything. Without understanding or realizing it, I came to rely on Vladimir to tell me how to play everything. I played much more expressively in my lessons when he was actively encouraging me, which consisted of him jumping up and down and waving his arms (Vladimir is an outstanding and accomplished conductor), than when he was silent and motionless as he listened.

Mark Weiger was the complete opposite when I went to study with him at Iowa for my Master’s degree. Mark either told me nothing or gave me all sorts of options for how to play a certain passage. I didn’t know what to do. I dealt with it by trying to determine what Vladimir would’ve told me to do. What option would he have chosen? That’s the option I chose. I eventually progressed to determining what I wanted to do (to heck with Vladimir!). I learned how to think for myself musically and that I was already capable of doing so. I learned how to diagnose and treat myself. I was becoming a doctor.

The Results of My Private Lessons as a Child

The Importance of Private Music Lessons Part 1: “It’s More Fun When You’re Good”

While I was an undergrad at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, I played briefly in a community jazz band called the Southern Maryland Swing Band. We weren’t sounding so hot at one of the rehearsals. I don’t remember the name of the bass player who led that rehearsal, but I remember what he said: “it’s more fun when you’re good.” His point was that we needed to put in the time, effort, and care to sound good. Then, it would be a lot more fun. Taking private lessons with a good instructor is the best way to help your child stick with music, practice more, and improve; additionally, private lessons promote the development of four crucial life-skills: self-discipline, work ethic, time-management, and responsibility.

Your son or daughter has picked an instrument and joined the school band, orchestra, or choir. Maybe you’ve even invested in a brand new instrument. Congratulations! Everyone is excited…He hardly ever practices. You pull out your hair trying to make her. Then, he finally does. Squeak! Honk! Screech! At least she was done in three minutes. How will I get him to practice more? How long before she sounds good? He quits. That’s it? We spent all that money on the instrument. She was so excited. Why isn’t it fun anymore? What happened?

I skimmed through an oboe student’s elementary band method book at his lesson last week. Overall, it looked like a nice beginner’s method book; however, I noticed several things in it that would make playing more difficult instead of easier. For example the embouchure described creates unnecessary tension and promotes biting, both of which will cause poor tone quality and sharpness of pitch. The book also presents an alternate fingering for the note F, what oboists refer to as the forked F, as the primary fingering. The forked F is an awkward fingering, and the book makes it even worse by adding an extra key to the fingering. This fingering does sound better on a student oboe that lacks both the left-hand F and F-resonance keys, but I would not recommend it to a young oboist. A quality private teacher can help the student correct these types of issues to make playing easier and more fun.