Teaching Problem Solving In Practice

8/10/2019 Teaching Problem Solving In Practice

1/6

MENC The National Association for Music Education

Teaching Problem Solving in PracticeAuthor(s): James L. ByoSource: Music Educators Journal, Vol. 91, No. 2 (Nov., 2004), pp. 35-39Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.on behalf of MENC: The National Association for MusicEducation

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2/6

Teach ing

r o b l e m

S o l v i n g

n

r a c t i c e

By

James

L.

Byo

dexterity.

They

practice

to maintain

good perform-

ance,

to

sight-read

better,

to

memorize,

and

simply,

to

enjoy

music

making.

There are other motivations

for

practice,

but

one,

more than

others,

is a

catalyst

for

consequential

change

in

musical

development-practicing

to

solve

performance

problems.

This article

examines

problem solving

in

instrumental music

practice

and

is

based

on the notion that too

many

students,

too

much of the

time,

look and feel

inadequate

when

they attempt

to

problem

solve.

Consider,

for

example,

two

practice

scenarios.

Student

1

finds the music

in

measure

12

awkward,

and

every

time

he reaches

the

measure,

he slows down or

stops.

He should drillthis

measure-and

only

this measure-but left to his own

devices,

he

ignores

the

problem

and moves

on;

or he starts from the

beginning,

even

though

he can

play

the first eleven measures

flawlessly;

or he

drills

the measure

by playing

it over and over-six times incorrect-

ly,

the

last time

correctly.

Then he

moves

on,

convinced that he is

doing

the

right

thing.

He identified a

problem,

and he

repeated

the

section

until he

got

it

right-but

six times

wrong

and

one

time

right

is not

the kind of

repetition

that

will

make

him

successful.

..

CD

CD

Improving ractice echniques

will lead to faster

learning nd more enthusiastic tudents.

Teaching roblem-

solving

kills

and

testing

hose skills

withassessment

tools

can

help young

musicians

ecome

moreeffective

practicers.

James

L.

Byo

is

professor

of

music education

at Louisiana

State

University

in

Baton

Rouge,

LA.

He

can

be reached

at

[email protected].

NOVEMBER 2004 35

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3/6

Student

2,

on

the other

hand,

rec-

ognizes

measure

12

as

a "work

place"

because a

pattern

has

developed;

every

time

he

plays

this

measure,

he

hesitates,

stops,

or

thinks

"it

just

doesn't sound

good."

He

knows

that

by

devoting

extra

time to measure

12,

he

may

not

get

through

the entire les-

son or

etude

during

this

practice

session-but that's acceptable. The

student slows

down

and finds an

errorless

starting tempo.

With a

metro-nome,

he

plays

the work

place

twice

in

a row

with no

mistakes,

ignoring

the slur

and the

crescendo.

Before

increasing speed,

he

plays

the

measure with

expression

and

no

mis-

takes twice

in

a

row.

Next,

he

increas-

es the

metronome

four

beats

per

minute and

plays

the measure with

expression

and

without

mistakes

twice in a row. When he inches the

metronome

up

another four

beats

per

minute,

he has trouble

playing

the

measure

correctly,

so he reduces the

difficulty

by

isolating

the

two

prob-

lematic

notes within

the

measure.

He

plays

them

very

slowly,

thinking

about his

finger

movement.

He

rehearses the

movement

silently

until

he feels

ready

to

play

the entire meas-

ure

with the

metronome

twice

in

a

row without

errors.

Finally,

he

puts

the measure

back into

the

music,

playing

it with

the measures

that

precede

and follow

it.

He

plays

this

larger

section

twice without

errors,

marking

this

tempo

in

his music.

The

Accomplished

Practicer

Music teachers who

try

to envision

students

solving performance

prob-

lems

as described above are

doing

what

expert

teachers

do when

they

plan

for

instruction.

Expert

teachers

ask,

"What

do I

want

my

students to

look like as

accomplished learners?"'

Expressed

differently, hey

ask,

"What

do

I

want

my

students to know and

do when

they

take the test?" Music

teachers

might

ask,

"What

do I want

my

students to look like as accom-

plished practicers?"

In

this

case,

the

"test" is a home

practice

session six

weeks from

now After six weeks of

instruction,

will a student left to his

or her own

devices choose to

problem

solve,

and

if

so,

what will the

prob-

lem-solving process entail? Expert

teachers ask

these

questions before

Figure

I. Work

Place

Practice Protocol

U Level

I.

Choose

a "work

place"

(a

section of music that

makes

you

hesitate

or

stop,

or

just

doesn't

sound

right).

Professionalmusi-

cians do

it.Why

shouldn't

you?

U Level 2. Slow down

Find

a mistake-free

tempo.

You'll

probably

have

to slow

down more

than

you

think.

O Level

3. Set

the metronome.

The metronome

is the

"truth

machine."

U Level

4.

Play

the

work

place

two times

in a row

mistake free.

The

optimal

number

of times

depends

on the

nature of the

challenge,

but

twice

in a row

is a

great place

to start.

U Level

5.

Play

the work

place

expressively

two

times

in a row mis

take free.

Including

he

expressive

elements is a new level of

difficulty.The

goal

is to

play

or

sing

beautifully

lways,

not

just

as the audition

nears.

O

Level 6.

Inch forward.

Increase

difficulty

n small

steps.While

you

might

feel like

leaping

orward,

remember

that it takes a concerted effort

to

change your

thinking.You

re

teachingyour

mind and

body.

Don't be in

a

hurry.

Give

it

a chance

U Level 7. Leap back. Sometimesyou haveto decrease the level of diffi-

culty

to

jump-start

correct

repetition.

U

Level

8. Put

the work

place

back

into the

music. This can be

a new

level of

difficulty.

U Level 9.

Record the

final successful

tempo.

Document

the

tempo

for

tomorrow.

Practicing

n

consecutive

days

is

always

a

good

idea.

instruction

begins.

They

work

hard to

develop

a clear

answer,

even

if

it

involves some

struggle

in

revising

and

refining

ideas

that

are

initially

incom-

plete

or

unclear.

Finally, they

set

out

to

make it

happen

with their

stu-

dents.

Music eachers

might

ask,

'What do

I

want

my

students

o look

ikeas

accomplished

racticers?"

On the

surface,

the

guidance

on

problem solving

in

practice

that

many

music teachers offer their students

looks

much

like

the

approach

of

Student

2.

They

urge

students

to

iso-

late

and

simplify

difficult

passages,

caution

students about

incorrect

rep-

etition,

and demonstrate

proven

practice

techniques

in the

hope

that

students

will choose

good

problem-

solving

strategies

when

practicing

at

home. This

approach

is

clearly

well

intentioned,

but it

lacks

an overarch-

ing

structure

and

precise

definition.

Further,

it

focuses

on what

the

teacher

does

(urge,

advise,

demon-

strate)

rather than

what

the student

does

in

terms

of

practice.

It

leaves to

chance

how the student

will

practice

away

from the

lesson.

The Work Place Practice Protocol

shown

in

figure

1

is one

example

of

an

overarching

structure

in

problem

solving

that can

be

adapted

for

use

by

students

of

any

age

or

maturity

It

provides

a

starting point,

an

ending

point,

and

a

sequence

of in-between

steps

that

address common

questions.

When does

one set the

metronome?

After

a

mistake-free

tempo

has

been

found.

When does

one

play expres-

sively?

Before

the

inching

forward

process begins. Students need to

know that

this structure

can and

36 MUSIC

EDUCATORS

JOURNAL



4/6

should

be

applied

to

difficult

passages

in

all

music,

not

just

to the

particular

piece

being

studied.

Ifproblem

olving

n

practice

s

important,

hen

it

must

be a

planned

part

of

the

lesson.

Students

benefit

from

being

taught

precise

meanings

of

the words

"iso-

late and

simplify,"

"slow

down,"

and

"repetition."

"Isolate" s

a

process

that

extends far

beyond

the

admonition,

"Take a

small

section of

the

music

and work

on

it."

Teachers

should

define

"isolate"

in

specific,

what-to-

do

terms.

By

defining

"slow

down"

as

slow

enough

for

errorless

perform-

ance and

by

defining

repetition

as

repeating

a

section

correctly

before

increasing

the level of

difficulty

in

incremental

steps,

teachers

set the

stage

for

students to

reap

maximum

gain

from these

techniques.

But defin-

ing

is one

thing;

getting

students to

do

these

techniques

is

another.

By

working

on

the

techniques

during

the

lesson,

teachers

can teach

students

to

value

efficient

problem

solving

as a

practice

priority.

Teaching

Problem

Solving

in

Practice

Teaching

problem

solving

in

prac-

tice

begins

with

answering

the

ques-

tion,

"What do

I

want

my

students to

look like

as

accomplished

prac-

ticers?"

A

teacher

need

not

adopt

or

even

agree

with

the

approach

to

prac-

tice

explained

in

this

article.

Herein

lies

the

beauty

of the

question;

answers

may

vary.

Teaching

problem-solving

skills

involves

an

initial

heavy

investment

of lesson or rehearsal time-perhaps

as much

as

half of

the

total

time

in

the

early

stages Strategies

should

include

advising,

urging,

and

demon-

strating,

but

the focus

should

be

on

student

decision-making

in

practice

with

students

demonstrating

the

practice

techniques.

If

problem

solv-

ing

in

practice

is

important,

then it

must be

a

planned part

of

the

lesson.

Students

must

show

that

they

are

able to problem solve in the presence

of the teacher.

If

they

are unable

to

do

so,

there is little

reason to

expect

them to

problem

solve

away

from

the

lesson.

Subsequent

monitoring

and

testing

of student

practice

is less

time

intensive

but no less

important

because

it

helps carry

a

well-defined

"practice"

theme

across all

lessons

and rehearsals

and connects lesson

or rehearsal

activities with

home

activities.

A

short-term

decrease

in

repertoire covered is minor when

compared

with

the

potential

for

long-

term

gain

A

program

of assessment

can

facil-

itate the

teaching

of

problem

solving

in

practice

in a number

of

ways.

The

tasks

and

assignments

with

assess-

ments shown

in

figures

2

through

7

structure

opportunities

for

students

to

practice practicing.

The

experi-

ences teach

students that

certain

approaches

to

practice

have

pre-

dictably positive results, which create

feelings

of

accomplishment.

The

assessments

provide

information

about

how students

are

doing

with

the instruction

and

experiences pro-

vided.

This

information

helps

the

teacher

determine

pertinent

correc-

tive instruction.

Testing problem

solv-

ing

in

practice encourages

students

to

view

both

problem solving

and

the

process

of

problem

solving

as

priori-

ties.

The tasks and assignments in the

figures

feature

problem-solving

opportunities

that are

increasingly

Figure

2. Practice

Protocol:

Lesson

Task

Level

I.

Choosing

Work

Places

During

he Lesson

I.

Play

he

assigned

piece.

2.

Identify

a

work

place.

3. The teacher

will evaluate

your

choice of work

place

and

the

amount

of

isolated

material.

4. The

teacher will use

this

opportunity

to discuss

your

choice

of

work

place

and its

length.

Grading

Novice:Your

response

is not that of an

accomplished practicer.

Developing:

our

response

is that of an

accomplished practicer

at

times.

Distinguished:

our

response

is

that of an

accomplished

practicer.

Figure

3.

Practice Protocol: Ensemble

or

Lesson

Assignment

Level

I.

Choosing

Work

Places at

Home

I. On

practiceday

I,

tape

record

yourself

as

you practice

the

assigned

piece.

2. Ask

yourself,"Where

do

I

make

mistakes?Where does

it

sound

wrong?

Where do I

stop

and start

again?

Where

do

I

hesitate?"

3. On

your

music,

neatly

circle two of these work

places.

4.

Rewind

the

tape

to the

beginning

of

the

first work

place.

5.

Label he

tape

with

your

name.

Grading

5

points:Tape

ubmitted on

time,

rewound,

and labeled.Choice

of

work

place

and

amount of isolated

materialare

appropriate.

3

points:

Tape

submitted on

time, rewound,

and

labeled. Choice

of

work

place

and/or

amount of

isolated material

are deficient.

0

points:Tape

not submitted.

NOVEMBER 2004

37



5/6

Figure

4.

Practice Protocol:

Ensemble

or

Lesson

Assignment

Level 2.

Finding

Mistake-Free

empo

I. One time this

week,

tape

record

yourself

as

you practice

the

assigned piece.

2.

Choose

a

work

place.

3. Find

a

tempo

at which

you

can

play

he work

place

mistake

free.

4.

Play

he work

place

twice in a row without mistakes.Ask

yourself,

"Am

I

playing

he notes

correctly?

Am I

playing

he

rhythms

cor-

rectly?"

f

you

make

a

mistake,

practice

until

you

can

play

t twice

in

a

row without mistakes.

5.

Find his

tempo

on

your

metronome

and

write

the number on

your

music.

6. Rewind

the

tape

to the

beginning

of the work

place.

7. Label he

tape

with

your

name.

Grading

5

points:

Tape

submitted on

time, rewound,

and

labeled.

Choice

of

work

place

and

amount

of

isolated materialare

appropriate.Work

place

was

played

wo times

in

a

row without mistakes.Metronome

tempo is written on the music.

3

points:

Tape

submittedon

time, rewound,

and

labeled.One or

more of the

following

is

deficient: hoice of

work

place,

amount of isolated

material,

rrorless

tempo,

or documentation of

tempo.

0

points:Tape

not submitted.

Figure

5.

Practice

Protocol:

Ensemble

or

Lesson

Assignment

Level 6.

Inching

Forward

I.

One time this week,

tape

record

yourself

as

you practice

one solo

piece.

2.

Choose

a

work

place.

3. Finda

tempo

at

which

you

can

play

he work

place

mistakefree.

4.

Play

he work

place

twice

in a row

without mistakes.

If

you

makea

mistake,

practice

until

you

can

play

t twice

in

a row

without

mis-

takes.

5.

If

you ignored

the

expressive

elements,

put

them back

in

now,

and

play

t twice

in

a

row without mistakes.

6. Inch

forward

in

four beat

per

minute increments and

repeat

the

above

steps

until

you

reach a

tempo

of

twelve beats

per

minute

faster than

your

original empo

or the

optimal tempo

for this

piece,

whichever comes first.

7.

Find

his

tempo

on

your

metronome andwrite the number on

your

music.

8. Rewindthe

tape

to the

beginning

of the

practice

piece.

9. Label he

tape

with

your

name.

Grading

5

points:

Tape

submitted on

time, rewound,

and labeled.Choice of work

place

and

amount of

isolated material

are

appropriate.Work

place

was

played

expressively

twice

in

a row

without

mistake.

Process

was followed

to

an

increase of twelve

beats

per

minute

or to

the

optimal

tempo.

Metronome

tempo

is written on the

music.

3

points:

Tape

submitted

on

time, rewound,

and

labeled.One

or more of

the

following

was

deficient: hoice of work

place,

amount of iso

lated

material,

rrorless

tempo, expressive performance,repeti-

tion at

increased

tempos,

or

documentation of final

tempo.

0 points:Tapenot submitted.

more advanced.

They

break down the

practice

protocol

of

figure

1

into

its

various

steps

with

each task

focusing

on

a

single step

of the

protocol.

Some

tasks

are

designed

for

private

instruc-

tion,

others

for the

ensemble

experi-

ence. Some

are intended for use

dur-

ing

the

lesson or

rehearsal,

others for

students

to

"take home"

experiences

begun in the lesson or rehearsal for

continued

study

Figure

2

shows

a

task

that

provides

opportunity

for novices to

practice

choosing

work

places

during

the les-

son

in

the

presence

of

the teacher.

Figure

3

presents

an

assignment

that

similarly challenges

the student

in

choosing

a work

place,

but

in

the

home

setting,

where the student

audiotapes

his

or

her

practice

for a

record of

what

happens

when the

teacher is not present. Figure 4 is a

more

advanced

assignment

because it

assumes

the

student is

able to choose

an

appropriate

work

place.

The

objec-

tive

is to

find

a mistake-free

tempo.

The

assignment

in

figure

5

covers the

"inching

forward"

tep

of the

practice

protocol.

The

lesson or rehearsal

task

shown

in

figure

6 involves

a

simple

yes/no

evaluation form.

Students

go

in a

predetermined

order

to a

practice

room

where audio- or

videotape

equipment

records

each

practice per-

formance.

One student waits "on

deck" outside

the

testing

room

ready

to

enter

immediately

following

the

previous

student.

When

students

are

taught

to exit

and

enter

the rehearsal

set

unobtrusively, testing

can occur

with

minimal distraction.

Figure

7 is

a

paper-and-pencil

test

that asks

the

student

to list the

problem-solving

steps.

To be

independent

in

using

the

process,

students must know

the

steps

in the correct

order.

Grading

criteria are

provided,

allowing

students to know from

the

beginning

what is

expected.

For

the

sake of

illustration,

various

grading

options

are

provided,

though

teachers

may

have their own

preferences

for

grading.

It

is also

important

to

note

that

while this article addresses

prac-

tice

focused on

targeting

and master-

ing

difficult

passages,

the

problem-

solving process

is

applicable

with

minor variation to other

skill-develop-

ment areas,such as embouchure,hand

position,

air

support,

and

tonguing.

38

MUSIC

EDUCATORS

JOURNAL



6/6

Figure

6. Practice Protocol:

Ensemble

or

Lesson

Assignment

Level 7.

Lesson/Rehearsal

Practice

Challenge

You will be

presented

with

a

work

place you

have not seen

before.

You

will

practice

it for four

minutes,

and then

your

teacher will

evaluate

you

based on the

following questions.

Did

you

I.

find an errorless slow

starting empo

on the Yes No

metronome?

2.

play

he work

place

two times

in a

row with

Yes

No

out mistakes?

3.

play

he work

place expressively

wo times

in

Yes

No N/A

a row without mistakes

f

you initially

ignored expressive

elements?

4. inch forward

in

four beat

per

minute incre

Yes

No

ments and

repeat

the above

steps

until

time

was

up

or

you

reached the

optimal

tempo?

5.

decrease level of

difficulty,

f

necessary?

Yes

No N/A

6.

write the final

empo

on the music?

Yes No

Figure7. Practice Protocol: Ensemble or

Lesson

Assignment

Listthe Work Place Practice

Steps

in order.

Conclusion

The

path

to

solving

a

performance

problem

need

not be

mysterious.

Students

need not feel

inadequate

when

they

attempt

to

problem

solve

in

practice.

There

are

paths

that lead

students

to

experience

tangible

progress

in

the

short

and

long

terms

as well

as more

frequent

feelings

of

accomplishment. One such path is

suggested

in this article.

It entails

ask-

ing

what an

accomplished

practicer

is,

devoting

significant

lesson or

rehearsal time

to

teaching

students

how to

problem

solve,

and

developing

a

program

of

assessment-even a

very

modest one-to

enhance

instruction.

Notes

1.

Robert

A.

Duke,

"Intelligent

Assessment

in

General Music:

What

ChildrenShould Knowand (BeAble to)

Do,"

General

Music

Today

13,

no.

1

(1999):

12.

2.

James

L.

Byo,

"Designing

Substantive

Playing

Tests-A

Model,"

Music Educators

Journal

88,

no.

2

(2001):

39-44.

0

o

m

w

O

23N3Vd

MENC

Resources

The

following

MENC resources cover various

practice

techniques.Visit

the

MENCWeb

site

(www.menc.org),

call

800-828-0229,

or check

with

the

reference librarian t

your

local

college

or

university

ibrary.

"

Growing

ourMusician:A racticalGuide

or

Bandand

Orchestra

arents,

by

Tony

Bancroft. 004.

#1678.

Includes

wo

chapters

on

practice,

"What Is

Practice?" nd "PracticeSmart:

Strategies

for

Young

Musicians."

"

Brooks,

Ricky

W."Mental

Practice and the

Musician:APractical

Approach

to Practice."

UPDATE:Applications

f

Research

n

MusicEducation

3,

no.

2

(1995):

4-8.

"

Kenny,

William.

"ThinkingCritically

n

the Practice

Room."Music

Educators

Journal

5,

no.

I

(1998):

21-23.

"

Pedrick,

David."Effective ractice MakesSuccessful

Performance."

Music

Educators

ournal

85,

no.

2

(1998):

33-35.

"

Peterson,

Beth."Three

Ways

to Practice More

Creatively."

Music

Educators

journal

88,

no.

3

(2001):

46-50,

71.

ccess

dvocacy

Materials

t

aoSS

NOVEMBER

2004

39


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Teaching Problem Solving In Practice