WHAT ABOUT THE
TRANSFER STUDENT?
by Mary Gae George

Left to their own devices, many students will work in the following unproductive “notes first” order:

1. Play first to figure out what notes to use.
2. Then add the rhythm.
3. Then play many times to learn how to play the notes and the rhythm, using uninformed technic in the process.

• Notice that the first step is not based on the organizing force of rhythm, and that the student is playing out of rhythm and certainly not in a meter.
• Fingering may or may not be a consideration.
• In adding the rhythm, the tempo is unlikely to be steady because of difficulties encountered without productive planning.
• The student repeats this dull performance until it is thoroughly learned.
• The student comes to too many lessons in this state, and the teacher spends much of the lesson time correcting errors and then, later, coaching the student about how to make the piece sound better.

Do you agree that this is a rather bleak experience for both student and teacher? The next time you interview a transfer student, your questions about how the student practices will often reveal a similar process.

This is why it is advised to form a special class or music camp that will give transfer students the opportunity to review and to build a new foundation for their music making by going through the INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC. You can promise your new students, and yourself, much faster progress and greater enjoyment as a result.

Many teachers new to the INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC opt to engage their present students in such a Summer Camp, as this teacher wrote recently:

“Thanks for your help!  I was planning on doing just that -- having a summer class for all my current students and then starting from scratch for any new students after that.”

Is it time to review the PowerPoint presentation on:

THE POWER OF POSITIVE PEDAGOGY?

[CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION]