Knowing / Blowing / Paralysis / Analysis - LEARNING

[JayKosta]

I'm starting this in response to a recent thread from a young player who might be having trouble due to NOT having a good foundation of 'embouchure technique'. (edited to change 'blowing technique' to 'embouchure technique').

I realize there are many ways to teach someone to DO proper technique.
I would like this discussion to not be about the teaching methods, but more about what (and how) the student learns.

MY view is that it is important for the student to:

Develop
Recognize
Remember
Repeat what was good

the physical feelings that are present with good technique - not necessarily being able to identify the physical or mechanical details.

What have you found to be effective for your own learning, and what seems to help students with their learning?
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[bg]

The better one can truly understand the aspects of one's technique, the more repeatable they become. With repetition comes habit formation.

Without understanding, we flounder.

The "end result" teaching of today will be seen by future generations as the dark ages of trumpet teaching.
_________________
Brad Goode
www.bradgoode.com

[Robert P]

Something I've found useful is watching yourself in a mirror to get an idea of what's going on relative to physical sensations. Often you can get a misguided notion of what you're doing. Recently in here someone talked about how their horn angle was perpendicular to the plane of their face - when they posted video they realized that wasn't the case at all.
_________________
Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C

Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo

Chinese Flugel

[dstpt]

[Nathan.Sobieralski]

Don't overlook the possibility that some students may not competently hear what they are doing, and therefore can not make a self-guided assessment or implement any meaningful change over time. The feedback loop of the ear, mind, and physical body must function correctly first!
_________________
Dr. Nathan Sobieralski
www.s-mute.com
Principal Trumpet, Sequoia Symphony
Department of Music (Trumpet)
California State University, Fresno

[stuartissimo]

[rdpyle]

[stuartissimo]

[rdpyle]

[trumpetteacher1]

[abontrumpet]

[Steve A]

I don't think the "learning styles" differentiation model as it's commonly presented (either for or against) is a great proxy for learning or teaching the trumpet. When we talk about teaching by way of giving sound models vs. explaining physical sensations or interactions, we tend to frame the discussion in terms of the type of input different students require to learn, when the real difference is the material itself the students need to learn.

Sound-based instruction is definitely the most efficient way to teach many of the topics that fall purely within the domain of musicality (phrasing, vibrato, tone colour, etc.), where trying to describe things verbally or in tactile terms is often vague and massively complicated, but it's, at best, a scattershot approach to teaching solutions for embouchure problems. If someone happens to learn to play with a setup that uses a big aperture and a ton of pressure to close it to ascend, just telling them to listen to great sounds and imagine great sounds until they make one might happen to work sometimes (after all, even a broken clock is right twice a day...), but it's basically a really bad way to fix embouchure problems. (If you have any doubt about this, take a stroll over to the Reinhardt, or BE, or Callet forums and ask how many people strongly considered quitting the trumpet after being told sound was the solution to every problem, so when they didn't get better, they weren't doing it right.)

The issue isn't learning styles that require the same material to be presented in different ways - it's that there are a lot of quite different things that we have to do at the same time to be successful playing the trumpet, and people have problems with different parts of it.

[Wilktone]

[Billy B]

[Billy B]

[Billy B]

[Wilktone]

[Steve A]

[delano]

Some thoughts:

What they call ‘educational science’ is in the end more a collection of opinions than real science;

IF there is some science in it it has to do with education to big groups like schoolclasses in some form;

I have 40 years of experience in handling ‘experts’ in educational science in endless sessions, the results are seldom proven let alone beneficiary;

Even serious products of what they call educational science are often abused by managers who us selective shopping out of those writings for mostly financial purposes;

Teaching to individuals, especially teaching a craft is completely different from teaching in a more collective form;

Posts on this forum are often products of well-meant hobbyisme but lack often background, knowledge and relevant experience;

So IMO those posts are in the end based on a serious lack of responsibility.

Experienced members on this forum know which posters here have good understanding and knowledge in this field. I am more worried about new members with serious problems who take all the answers here seriously.

BTW I am not at all qualified for teaching trumpet playing so I will never, never give anybody advice here on this subject.. My only wish is that others who are more or less in the same position would do the same.

[Billy B]