Momentum in Practise

[Danny Poole]

A student’s momentum in playing and practice will help you evaluate their interest in playing.

When teaching, the lesson is broadly divided into two sections:

• “Hands On” or “Contact Time”. This is when you show a student how and what to play by demonstration or explanation
• Student Analysis; This is when the student practises what was shown in the previous section (Hands On or Contact Time)

Both of these sections are important, the “hands on” section of the lesson is self explanatory and is essentially what the student is paying you for. The “Student Analysis” section is where you can analyse the student learning capabilities. Here you can correct any mistakes or bad habits employed from their learning the previous task.

Student analysis is where you judge their momentum. I have found that a student with low momentum will often stop after one practise through on their task then wait to be shown more. This can sometimes be like pushing a square rock on sand, as soon as you stop the demonstration the student stops with you. This can mean a couple of things,

• The student is not interested in the exercise or song shown. To resolve this,
  • Ask the student if they are pleased with the song they’re learning and if they would like to continue.
  • Give the student a list of your selections of songs they should be learning at their level
  • Let the student select 10 to 20 songs and you the teacher can sort in order of easiest to hardest.
• This is the way the student thinks the lesson is structured and is waiting for the next example.

Either way, just explain to the student that this is the way lessons are structured and they must continue until you think they have it to a stage where they will remember it when they get home.

A student with high momentum will keep on practicing until they are asked to stop and move to the next task, like a boulder rolling down a hill. This is the ideal student as they are generally enthused about what they are doing and will retain what they are shown when practising at home. As a teacher you should be careful not to let the student go on for too long as this is a waste of their time when they could move on to another task. Remember they don’t have to get it perfect, just to a stage where they can retain what they have learnt. Home practise is for perfection!

Another variable to this is when a student will stop playing the exercise or song shown and start playing something else. This generally means that they are not interested in what they are learning or find it too hard and want to reassure themselves with an easier, well learnt piece.

Remember, always ask yourself… WHY!... Teaching is about problem solving.