‘Try a hysterical vibrato,’ was my assignment. I tried to challenge my student to create a slightly less mechanical vibrato. ‘My previous teacher said I had to master this exercise perfectly before moving on,’ was his response. Vibrato is an important topic for my student. Right from the first lesson, he wanted to know everything about it. Clearly, something else had to happen before I could hear some spontaneity.
Of course, it happens more often. As students, we often follow our teachers’ instructions as precisely as possible. As a teacher, we sometimes don’t realize that a previous instruction can have a longer-lasting effect. In the case of this student, I had to first tell him that the previous exercise was successful enough to move on to the next step. The previous teacher couldn’t confirm that the exercise was now ‘perfect,’ while this student was waiting for confirmation. So, I had to do that first.
It happens to me too. Sometimes I move on without even thinking about the previous assignment or suggestion I gave. Or sometimes I write something and people take it very seriously. We all have our own truths, right? When you take lessons, especially as an advanced student, you’re allowed to challenge that truth. For example, I wrote a blog about using plugs to close the open keys. The gist of the story was that using those plugs has a negative effect on the sound of an open key flute. I met one of the readers of the blog at a flute festival. She almost apologized for still using the plugs. She tried it, but it was too difficult. That’s totally fine! I just shared my perspective and something to consider.
I remember encouraging another student to blow more into the flute and provide better support. It took a few years to find the right balance. We even reached a point where the student had become too proficient at speeding up the air, following my instructions perfectly, and it became too powerful. The student was confused when I told her to ease up a bit. She had always been told to blow more, and now I was giving a contrary instruction.
Teaching is all about guiding a process, and that’s what makes it so interesting. We often tell students how things should be done, and they often take it as an absolute truth. But sometimes we forget that the process is flexible. An instruction may be right for that moment, but a different instruction may be better for another moment. It’s all part of the journey!
Flexibility, listening to what is needed, that’s the only way 😉
