A Mouse House Isn't Enough

A teacher cannot break something down too much and can never be too creative or inventive in finding ways variation in doing it.  There are so many parts to our complex actions.  Suzuki taught the one point lesson, through different activities and exercises he focused on one point, keeping it interesting and intriguing throughout.  I'd love to find this virtuosity.

Today in Dalcroze we improvised with partners.  One person sang in A-flat Phrygian while the other used four different hand motions to dictate what rhythms they should use.  Our teacher is so creative in this class.  He settled upon this method because everyone was too shy to sing solo in front of everyone, and he played the tonic so that we wouldn't slip into the the foreboding A-flat major which might scare us with right and wrong implied harmonies.  He morphed into this solution and we all participated safely and grew from it.  

Teaching seems a bit like improvising with people.  There are various different parameters--age, experience, personality, environment--and one has to soar with the possibilities, and find counterpoint with the barriers, rather than feel restricted by them.  And so to dance around the tiniest minutia, to find intrigue in the most mundane part of playing and to alter it, to turn it to a new angle, seems to be one of the most important parts of teaching.  Today I realized that I need to find more intrigue in the bow hold.  There is a whole world for me to discover again.