Music Educators' Energiser

After a long holiday, the first weeks' teaching can be depressing. Many once-capable students revert to creaky finger-work, floppy muscle tone, and puny sound. New students rock in with alarming technical deformities.

As a clarinet teacher, my bête-noir is embouchure. Wind and brass teachers agree it's hard to repair this basic element of technique because they can barely see what they do wrong - let alone right.

Mirror, mirror... In lessons we can angle two mirrors to show a profile view so they get the idea - but for how long?

A half-hour lesson = 0.3% of a student's week.

Here's one way to motivate during the other 99.7% (# see more below)

Seeing - and hearing - is believing: After I've demonstrated the tone and pitch differences between a crumpled and a pointy chin, I zip out my secret weapon, my mobile (cell) phone camera and take before and after pics.

Cover your back! Oops, you say, that's fraught with issues. (So email your experiences and advice to share with the list.) First I do ask the student's permission; I've already checked policy with the school music director.

Involve parents; My introductory parent email has explained the benefits, explained the photo is part-face only and asked them to reinforce the 'boring' long notes and slow scales which will enable students to make a habit of the new position. Then they can move onto interesting material ASAP (dangle carrot of a fun piece). If appropriate, I can email the pics to parents (and students) to include them in the process and fast-track success. (OK, there are parents and there are parents...)

Share your Techno Teaching Tips. How do you manage potential issues?

Hit reply to comment on our Topic of the Month; I'll post a pdf file of responses.

#This theme runs through my new Practice Journals - which also give scope for parent involvement. See http://ruthbonetti.com/Teacher_Resources.pdf

Download my article on Fixing Bung Embouchures at http://ruthbonetti.com/WEB%20ARTICLES/ClarinetEmbouchureRepairs.pdf