Well hello there, my studio teacher friends! Welcome to your weekly dose of Teacher Solidarity; otherwise known as the Beyond Measure podcast. Christina Whitlock here: your host and Anytime Piano Teacher Friend. This summer, I’m sharing some of my favorite past episodes of the show with you, and I have another good one for you today. You know in the musical Hamilton, how Aaron Burr says, “Talk less. Smile more.”? Well, today’s Encore Replay riffs a bit on that. Talk less, play more. It’s a very solid mantra that will transform your teaching. Talk less, play more… and, for fun, I’ll add: Listen MOST. That’s the main message of today’s episode, friends. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks again for listening – and re-listening – to The Beyond Measure Podcast.
Okay. So. We’re talking today about the importance of being succinct with our words in lessons. I actually think one of the most important skills we can develop as teachers is how to communicate what we need in as few words as possible.
Why does this seem so hard sometimes? Well, if you haven’t noticed, a large number of teachers – including yours truly – like to talk. J Some of us like to talk so much, we even sit in our closets and record words into microphones to share on the interwebs. J
I know there ARE quieter teachers out there… but I would imagine they feel a little out-numbered in our profession (and probably find themselves wishing we would all chilllllll out once and awhile, right?).
Anyway – what’s so important about being conservative in the number of words we use? Well, there are many reasons why we should work to explain concepts in as few words as possible…. But it basically all boils down to this: cutting out the fluff.
I’ll tell you a story about the first time I submitted a proposal to speak at the MTNA National Conference. This was back in 2016, for the San Antonio conference. I was incredibly excited when my proposal was accepted… but my heart also sank when I realized they’d assigned me to a 20-minute session, and not the full 60 minute session I’d planned for.
Now – many of my presenter friends have been met with the same fate, and many of us know how hard it is to take an ax to your research and cut it by 2/3rds… but you know what? As much as I whined about it, and as HARD as it was to widdle down that content to 20 minutes, it’s also one of the most successful presentations I’ve given. I had to painstakingly consider what content was absolutely essential. I had to cut out every ounce of fluff. I was 6 months pregnant at the time and I wanted to make a joke about my swollen ankles and I just COULDN’T. There was no time. I couldn’t waste time even making a comment about how little time we had. Every second was too precious.
The end result? A well-rehearsed presentation that was fully-packed with content, content, content.
And, honestly, as a conference attendee, I often find the 20-minute sessions to be some of the best BECAUSE of the prep work involved. I happen to think MOST things in life are better succinct. I’m thinking about sermons, news coverage, journal articles, you name it. Give me one or two GREAT ideas and send me on my way. That’s one of the main reasons I’ve always worked hard to keep these episodes around 20 minutes. I know I’m better in my craft if I make myself focus in.
Lest you think this is easy for me…. It’s not. I’ve been a sucker for long-winded responses since at LEAST the fourth grade. In grades 4-6 we used a social studies curriculum where every test ended with an essay questions. The essays were my pride and joy of my elementary school experience. I dumped the contents of my brain in each of those essays. Always needing an extra sheet of paper. Always eliciting beaming responses from my teachers. And, of course, that established a long-embedded idea in my head that more-verbiage was better, right?
Well, ahem… I think most of us have figured out that, yeah… more words are generally NOT better.
And, there are a million times in our profession when it pays to optimize our word usage.
I mentioned this in my episode…. I believe it was Episode 24… on Adjudication Strategies. When you are judging a performance event, your #1 job is to consider what 2-3 things you can tell that young musician to help them grow as a performer. Plain and simple! It’s not your job to provide them with a laundry list of mistakes and oversights… No way. You think “big picture”, you choose your words carefully, and you move on with your day.
Likewise, in our OWN studios, think about this: when it comes to lesson assignment notes, many teachers will send them home an assignment listing the pieces and exercises to be done for the week, along with a point or two to focus on. If you try to include every detail you want a student to be mindful of, you’ll be writing all day! And, of course, your students would likely be completely overwhelmed by the amount of information being sent home that they would probably be even LESS likely to read it than they already are, right?
The same concept applies to the feedback we give in a lesson: When we listen to a student play, there are likely numerous things about their approach to the instrument that would benefit from our attention. However, if you try to bring attention to everything, you end up focusing on nothing.
We can’t dive in and fix every single thing we hear and see. Don’t you think a HUGE part of our job is to prioritize what we are hearing and make quick decisions as to what to address first?
Let’s play a game: Here’s a hypothetical – all-too-common – scenario for you: A student comes in, plays a piece with tense shoulders, lumpy rhythm, and a few wrong notes. Where do you begin? I’m not here to tell you which is the correct answer. I’m sure you can make a case for any of them being addressed first. I’m MORE curious to know if you’ve ever stopped and considered your own personal hierarchy of what you tackle first?
Do you count physical tension and freedom in movement as our #1 priority? Clear understanding of pulse, meter, and rhythm? Accuracy of pitch? You tell me! The important thing is you’ve given consideration to what feels most important to you.
As you determine what concerns to address first, we must also be mindful of the words we use. When you understand the art of playing your instrument as deeply as you do, it is all-too-easy to get carried away with overly-verbose explanations.
Let’s think for a moment about beginner-beginner students. When I’m trying to help a new piano student find a healthy use of arm-weight as they explore non-legato sounds… I can talk until I’m blue in the face about all kinds of things…. Or I can just SHOW them.
I can TELL them what proper posture looks like, or I can …yeah… SHOW THEM.
I can describe the way different articulations sound – and the physical gestures behind them – or… you guessed it… I can SHOW them. I probably don’t have to tell you which one is more effective.
If I were to give you a homework assignment today – it would be this. Think about the one thing you feel like you say over and over and over again in lessons, but wish you didn’t have to. We all have them. What do you say so often it makes you want to give a heavy sigh every time you repeat it? For piano teachers, sometimes that’s “no, your LEFT hand. Left hand. Yes. No. No. Your LEFT hand.” J Or whatever it may be….
Do you have something in mind that you say ALL the time and wish you didn’t have to?
Okay. Now, I want you to consider for a moment if there’s a more demonstrative way for you to communicate that message. At the very least, you need to come up with a different way of phrasing that request… but seriously, is there a way to communicate the directive without words? I think it’s a great exercise for our own teaching skills if we can ponder more ways of demonstrating ideas to students, rather than talking ourselves in circles all day.
A principle I teach my pedagogy students is this: Talk Less. Play More. Listen Most.
Talk Less. Play More. Listen Most.
I say this often, because – of course! – our tendencies as educators is to talk. We have a LOT of knowledge in our brains… and we are generally wired in a way that compels us to SHARE that knowledge. But, yes, in my own friendly twist on Aaron Burr’s famous line in the Hamilton musical, we should ALL think about how to (1) Talk Less, (2) Play More – that goes for both our students AND ourselves for the record, and (3) Listen the most. That includes listening to our students as they play AND as they speak.
And, in an effort not to add superfluous verbiage to this episode, I’m going to wrap us up today with a toast right now.
Music teacher friends of the world – let’s take a moment and just give ourselves a nice pat on the back for the wealth of knowledge swirling around our brains, shall we? Seriously…regardless of how many years you’ve been teaching, or how long you’ve played your instrument, we all bring a uniquely impressive amount of experience to our teaching. And – even better – those of you listening are OBVIOUSLY committed to learning more and bettering yourselves as teachers. And I’m RIGHT THERE with you, friends. So, as we journey together towards being better for our students, may we consider how to use our words most effectively. May we work to speak only when necessary. That way we’re working towards my master plan of Talking Less, Playing More, and Listening Most. Cheers to that, my multi-talented teacher friends. Here, here.
Well, there we have it! Episode 42 is in the books. I’ll just echo again how much I appreciate your encouragement in this little podcast project of mine. We’re having a good time over on Instagram so make sure you follow Beyond Measure Podcast over there. You can also find Beyond Measure Podcast over on Facebook.
Until we meet again, let’s all agree to work hard, rest well, and be nice. Thanks, friends!
