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Demystifying Concepts

Many students spend years held back and frustrated by festering misinformation. This is often a result of unclear explanations where the only antidotes are countless hours in a practise room or waiting for the right information to land in one’s lap. This phenomenon has given rise to students believing their lungs are located behind their bellybutton, not realising their tongue is meant to stop touching the reed at times, and many other unhelpful errors.

Thankfully, playing music isn’t rocket surgery, nor is it brain science. The books are underpinned by the belief that any aspect of music literacy or instrumental technique can be taught to any student, regardless of age or experience, as long as it’s explained well enough. One example from book 1 is: when discussing sound, the chapter explores the meaning behind commonly used but rarely explained words such as resonance and projection.

In Australian music education, many musicians are expected to teach instruments that are not their specialty. Through no fault of anyone involved, this can result in students fighting against the instrument through a lack of effective technique. While the books contain much more text than your typical beginner workbooks, this content is predominantly for teachers to deliver to the students in lessons. Students can simply refer to the photos outside of lessons for a clear illustration of effective technique. Particularly motivated or self-taught students will find that the content is sufficiently descriptive yet concise enough to become proficient in new concepts individually.

Directed Listening

While there are natural musicians who are fascinated by the details and intricacies of sounds, there are many more who need to be taught how to listen. Often students will play in lessons with teachers thinking, ‘are you even listening to what you’re playing?’ A student’s response would likely be, ‘I am!’ What they mean is that they are in fact checking the notes and rhythms, while the teacher might be listening to issues that feel obvious to them like tone or articulation.

Too often, exercises or works are prescribed to students without them understanding the purpose. The series invests the time to explain as well as direct the listening of students. This is done by drawing parallels to speech or providing clear descriptions of exactly what aspect of the sound to listen for.

Answering the ‘Why?’

With contact time with students being limited, teachers often feel like there isn’t time to explain the number one question of ‘Why?’ While there are times where it truly isn’t worth answering (particularly with younger students), it is worth making time to answer these questions when it’s related to music. This is especially true for the question of, ‘why does this matter?’ By understanding the importance of the work being done or the concepts being explained, students retain concepts with purpose and they take ownership over their own progression.

Book 1 commits to explaining the purpose underpinning concepts that students often find trivial. Things like:

• Why we practise scales and what we should be listening for to get the most out of them
• Finger technique to achieve legato and why it sounds great
• What articulation adds to music
• How to listen and practise with a metronome and it’s benefits

An Effective Progression

The order that concepts are introduced has been thoughtfully curated to create the mildest difficulty curve while expediting the learning process. Even the layout of the text, exercises, illustrations and pieces in the book have been carefully structured making it easy for students to thoroughly learn and retain concepts quickly.

For example, each chapter ends with a clearly denoted ‘Homework’ section. This section consists of only the amount of content that a student should reasonably cover within one week of practise, making setting homework a breeze.

Hummable Tunes

Students are often made to play many pieces with no memorable or engaging tunes. This results in students losing motivation and initiative. By curating only appealing and enjoyable tunes, students maintain their engagement over months of practise. This also means students will always have a work that they can proudly present for a performance, no matter the chapter.

Pieces with Purpose

Beginner workbooks will often present a concept, then offer scarce opportunities across pages of bars to practise it.

In the Essential Technique series, each piece is written like a study, but with a melody that isn’t mind numbingly repetitive. That is, every single work is written to expose students to a new challenge and provide multiple opportunities to build their mastery of the concept. Gone are the days of sifting through pieces to find learning opportunities. This simplifies the homework setting process, as every piece is worth playing.

Ensemble Opportunities at All Levels

Playing ensemble music is not a privilege only reserved for the most dedicated, nor is it a unattainable skill for those that haven’t become proficient at the entirety of the instrument. In fact, it can be an inspiring force to encourage students to reach this level while inadvertently reinforcing rhythm, aural skills and musicality. Ensemble playing appears as early as the fourth lesson due to Andrew’s belief that these opportunities are the most fulfilling experiences offered by studying music.

Duets, canons and works with piano accompaniment are abundant throughout the book. The duets and canons shine particularly in group lesson settings. There is no ‘teacher’ line; every part is written to be playable by students who have made it to the given chapter. Melodies are often shared between parts. However there are also occasions where one part is consistently easier than the other. This provides material for a range of situations whether it be two students that are equally capable and engaged, or one student that is further ahead and needs more of a challenge.

Rapid Advancement

All chapter content is written to be as succinct as possible while remaining effective. Andrew holds the philosophy that proficiency with the instrument doesn’t require hours and hours in the practise room, just enough efficient practise of the right content.

Most students are not going to become professional musicians, but getting better at something is fun, and it’s made all the more enjoyable when frustration and tedious repetition are minimal. Because of this, music studies need to fit within the hustle and bustle of modern life. Take the example of Book 1. With three short practise sessions a week for 20 weeks, a student could go from being a complete beginner, to possessing fluency of every note of the chalumeau register, rhythmic proficiency and a strong foundation of musicality.