Wise words, Franz
Whilst still at Conservatory, we had the opportunity of having lessons
with many of the great musicians in early music. Not all were great
teachers. But if we prepared ourselves well, we could get the best out
of any lesson by asking the right questions and preparing the right
pieces. Know your audience and prepare yourself for them. In other
words, a good lesson can be like giving a good concert.
David
On 15 December 2013 05:46, Franz Mechsner <[1]franz.mechs...@gmx.de>
wrote:
A quick addition to my earlier note. When I taught at the
university I
now and then was confronted with students who would not agree to
my
fundamental views, or even had an attitude toward science which I
considered superficial and ill-educated. Obviously I tended to
consider my own decade-long efforts a guarantee that I was
certainly
right and these students wrong. So my attitude towards the
problem was
"These guys are not so intelligent and dedicated as it should be,
and
therefore I will not work with them" rather than "These guys
would not
follow my way, and therefore I am angry." In any case, a
dismissive
attitude against some students would certainly send a signal to
all
students to behave obediently in order to please me. Bad thing of
course, as my intention was to stimulate own thinking and
creativity
thus doubting and contradicting the teacher should be encouraged
and
even embraced rather than implicitly forbidden. So I had to
educate
myself to always take the student seriously, even if I think he
or she
is not worth the trouble. You can always ask the student why he
or she
holds a certain view or act a certain way and learn from it
or/and
explain your own view in a friendly manner.
I think Segovia had dedicated so much genius and effort into his
views
on music, interpretations, fingerings etc. that he was unable to
imagine that a student could have done better, or simply could
have
done what is best for him at that point in his or her
development. Some
teachers think, students should follow them first then develop
their
own ideas, while others consider developing the students own mind
so
important that they should dare to think and get better in this
over
time - you have to start after all, allow yourself and be allowed
to
make errors of course - no need to be perfect from the beginning,
and
no justification to be looked upon for own thinking and being
gratified
for obedience. To support and encourage the students here even if
it
leads to that they may contradict you is certainly one of the
great
challenges for a teacher.
Best
Franz
--
References
1. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
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