A chamber music coaching session lasts 50 minutes. It is expected that the session begins when all students are in their seat and tuned. They also need to be ready to mark scores with a pencil. The teacher started the session with commenting on the music piece to play and asking questions on the composition. The music composition for the observed coaching session was “Verbunkos”, the first movement of “Contrasts” (1938) for violin, clarinet, and piano composed by Bela Bartok. The teacher asked about students’ knowledge regarding the history of the piece, the context, and the purpose of writing the composition. The teacher noted that knowing the history of creating “Contrasts”, students can understand the mood of the piece better. This approach is effective to prepare students for playing the concrete piece.
The next step was the review of scores. Students were expected to learn the scores before the session. The teacher commented on the unusual tonal range in the piece marked by students, on highlighting key phrases, and on focusing on unusual colors of tones (Booth 22; Cotter-Lockard 19). Before starting to play musical instruments for the first time, the teacher asked students to focus on such elements as the tone, rhythm, phrasing, and sound production. When students were playing, the teacher effectively coordinated them with the help of verbal and non-verbal cues (Burnard and Murphy 42). It is important to state that the teacher commented on the work using positive words (Kaplan 54). Additional notes were made on the aspects to improve. The teacher focused on the role of hand movements while playing the violin in following the rhythm of a pizzicato. Having analyzed the tonal features of the piece, students were guided by the teacher to mark musical scores.
Before starting playing for the second time, the teacher asked students to remain focused on the tone, rhythm, and phrasing, but try to look at other students once per bar and listen to other students’ parts to play in tune, feel the rhythm, and develop skills in musical collaboration. When students stopped playing, they were asked to share opinions on successes in listening to and following each other (Seddon and Biasutti 396). The teacher asked to improve the technique playing the piece one more time. The used technique is effective because much attention was paid to abilities of a violinist to lead the rhythm and the pianist’s abilities to collaborate with the violinist (Barrett 200). The teacher commented on the achievements, and students were asked to play the piece several times to master their technique of collaborating and improve expression.
Then, the teacher gave the positive feedback on the work and asked students to play the musical piece in a different register while focusing on the rhythm. The students were coordinated with the help of verbal and non-verbal cues again. In spite of the fact that students claimed they lacked confidence playing in a different register, the teacher encouraged them to try again because the technique allowed manipulating tone colors. Then, students were asked about their experience in playing “Verbunkos” in a different register. This approach is usually good to enhance students’ skills in expression (Booth 38). Finishing the session, the teacher positively commented on the students’ performance and achievements while providing suggestions for improvement.
Focusing on the pedagogical tools and methods used by the teacher during the coaching session, it is important to state that the teacher’s style based on encouraging students and provoking the dialogue was effective to motivate players to achieve higher results. The teacher successfully used such techniques as the work with the scores, inquiry sessions, positive feedback, listening to and looking at the colleagues, post-playing discussions, and playing in different registers. As a result, students were able to develop their skills in phrasing, rhythmic precision, responding to cues, and collaborating with the chamber music group.
Works Cited
Barrett, Margaret. “‘Creative Collaboration’: An ‘Eminence’ Study of Teaching and Learning in Music Composition.” Psychology of Music 34.2 (2006): 195-218. Print.
Booth, Eric. The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible: Becoming a Virtuoso Educator: Becoming a Virtuoso Educator. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Burnard, Pam, and Regina Murphy. Teaching Music Creatively. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Cotter-Lockard, Dorianne. Chamber Music Coaching Strategies and Rehearsal Techniques That Enable Collaboration. Santa Barbara, CA: Fielding Graduate University, 2012. Print.
Kaplan, Burton. Practicing for Artistic Success: The Musician’s Guide to Self-empowerment. New York:Perception Development Techniques, 2004. Print.
Seddon, Frederick, and Michele Biasutti. “A Comparison of Modes of Communication between Members of a String Quartet and a Jazz Sextet.” Psychology of Music 37.4 (2009): 395-415. Print.