These days I spend my life commuting between Australia and New Zealand and in both countries I have students scattered far and wide. My students range in ability from almost complete beginners through to University students preparing for graduation recitals.
My students at Auckland University seldom see me as when I am in New Zealand I am in the South Island yet they are some of the most motivated students at their institution and obtaining good grades.
Young Matthew in Karamea on the far north western corner of the South Island has completed his first clarinet tutor book and has started on the torturous high register however I have only met him once in person.
Margaret in remote Mungindi on the border of NSW and Queensland is enjoying playing her 6th Grade pieces and it is less than three years since she started to learn to play the saxophone.
Michelle in beautiful Governors Bay on Banks Peninsula has the majority of her lessons without leaving home. Michelle will be sitting her Grade 8 clarinet exam in November and I am very confident that she will gain an excellent grade.
I am in the process of setting up a major teaching programme for 2009 in regional NSW yet I will only see the students every 6 weeks.
How is this possible?…
Before I give you my secret answer I want to list the six things that I think make for a successful lesson
- A warm greeting at the start of the lesson so the student feels special and of course this human warmth and genuine interest has to continue throughout the lesson
- Remembering what you did in the previous lesson and what homework was set so there is a sense of continuity
- Good follow through so both the student and you can see how things are progressing
- Let the student play enough so they too can see what is still wobbly under pressure
- Give clear instructions and goal setting for what needs to be achieved by the next lesson
- Energy and inspiration by the bucket load
So my secret answer is that I feel I can achieve all of the five things listed above by using my webcam over the internet or when the internet connection is not good enough by old fashioned telephone.
At the moment it is exam time in both countries and I have sat on the end of the phone testing my students and I find that the students respond no differently to me than they would if they were in the room.
Michelle is Governors Bay will probably do well in her Grade exam because I have spend so much time in front of my computer monitor saying ‘Let’s hear F sharp melodic minor scale one more time’.
Of course many teachers will say ‘What about the poor sound quality?’ etc etc etc ….. well, I find I can adjust my ears to whatever I am listening to and I can work out exactly what the students are doing correctly and what they need to improve on. However, in the end, my students’ enthusiasm and the results they achieve is all the evidence I need.
After each internet lesson I like to send them a quick email summarizing the lesson we have just had and encouraging them onto the next stage of their playing.
Yesterday as I was about to leave NZ I had a text from one of my NZ students asking if they could have a lesson at 8pm that evening. I texted her back and said ‘sorry I will be in Australia by then but I could give her an internet lesson’. Her text back said “cool” … and we did have a lesson via the internet and this was the follow up email I sent her ….
Hi Alex,
I was very pleased with your lesson last night – we got a lot done.
Just to confirm that we will have another lesson tomorrow at 8.15 your time and I would like to hear your new piece again and the scales – maybe a bit more from memory and really try to produce a cleaner more beautiful sound. Remember the exercise of trying to start a high C and then hold it steadily for 8 beats.
Well done.
M
Energy, expertise and enthusiasm is what it takes.
Mark Walton