Paul Harris - do teachers need to practise?

Paul Harris:
Do teachers need to practise?
Pupils often find it perplexing that their teachers should ever need to practise.
‘You’re a professional – you don’t need to practise!’ And we may think ‘I’ve taught
that piece a hundred times – I don’t need to practise it’.
Hard-working full-time (or even part-time)
teachers often find fitting regular practice
into their busy schedules quite a challenge.
We need both time and mental energy: two
luxuries often in short supply. So it’s only fair
to ask whether it really is worth finding that
time and energy. After all, we know most
of the pieces we teach pretty well. But the
answer is still a resounding yes – it’s very much
worth the effort.
Here’s why...
We need to experience how the piece or song feels, and have time to think about
the kind of challenges our pupils may encounter.
We need to have all the ingredients clearly in mind; we need to explore and
cultivate appropriate metaphors; we need to think about possible opportunities for
improvisation; and we may even have the time and creative energy to write some
useful or fun exercises based on certain aspects of the piece.
We could also search for a suitable piece of music (with similar ingredients) to sightread
or play as a duet.
Last but not least, it’s very important to experience the sheer joy of simply playing
the piece of music or singing the song through from beginning to end.

A practice menu for teachers
Apart from actually practising the pieces there are other ways we can refine our
teaching skills:
The internet
There are many articles, blogs and websites that are full of interesting, stimulating
and up-to-date information, all freely available. If you don’t do so already, spend
some minutes trawling the internet on a regular basis.
Listening to music
It’s easy to find music to listen to, and there is so much freely (and legally) available
online. Listening to music is very much part of the practice process – enjoy listening
and thinking!
Thinking (and talking) about teaching
We teach – so let’s think about it; and let’s talk about it to others who do, too.
Sharing thoughts and ideas, worries and concerns is very therapeutic.
Re-energise
Reading, visiting art galleries, theatre, cinema, cooking, writing, the list goes on...
Teachers need re-energising on a regular basis.
Publications
You can discover more teaching
and practice advice in Paul Harris’s
acclaimed teaching resources, The
Virtuoso Teacher, Improve your
teaching!, The Practice Process
among others.
Available to buy from
fabermusicstore.com and all
good retailers