When assigned to present a five-minute lesson on a band instrument, I had no idea where to begin. I've been an "orchestra kid" since fourth grade, and a singer from even earlier, but I have very little experience in a band setting. Luckily, I was assigned to teach clarinet, which I studied (very briefly) at summer camp, many years ago. At the time, I had learned the basics of the instrument, and how to play "Edelweiss," from The Sound of Music, to perform for Parents' Weekend at the end of the session. I had a vague memory of the basics, and I used various websites to refresh my memory.
But what turned out to be my problem was not lack of knowledge but lack of time. I had no idea how long five minutes actually lasted. I wrote a lesson plan detailing parts of the clarinet, how to assemble the instrument and how to hold it, and proper playing posture. However, that lesson could easily run to 90 minutes or longer, without ever making a sound. And that would be no fun for a sixth-grader. So, after seeing how some of my classmates started, I decided instead to focus only on the mouthpiece. My first lesson would start with a small amount of background of the instrument, and then move on to assembling the mouthpiece and trying to make a sound, preferably without squawking.
And despite the fact that I changed a large portion of the lesson at the last minute, and the fact that I have a very limited working knowledge of woodwind instruments, I think the lesson went rather well. Although I would wager that it would have been drastically different with an actual sixth-grader, rather than a role-playing course instructor.
Incidentally, it was quite interesting to see the way my colleagues began their lessons, and what errors they made or what good tips I could take from them. Since I presented in the middle of the group, I think my lesson also benefited from those who went earlier.
This is good to hear, because I too had thought my first lesson would be strictly assembly. After contemplating, I put myself in the shoes of that fifth grader... If I were in my first music lesson and didn't get to make a sound, I would leave frustrated and uninspired - I'm sure of it! I'm glad we both adapted our plans. Regarding timing, I had the luxury of trying this lesson out on a student of mine, and timed myself. The first time I hardly made it through mouthpiece assembly before time was up. It was really beneficial to try this beforehand and adapt accordingly... Just another example of how much we can learn from our students.
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