Category: Pedagogy
Back To School, Part 2......Getting What You Came For.
Published September 13th, 2013 by Brad Jenks
My teacher, on his piano, had a tiny wicker basket, the bottom of which contained a cutout piece of paper that said, “Deposit Brain Here”. And while this anecdote will ring true in the ears of any teacher who has taught a know-it-all, it must be balanced against the reality that we are instructing people […]
Read Post Back To School, Part 2......Getting What You Came For.Back To School, Part 1.......Knowing Why.
Published August 21st, 2013 by Brad Jenks
Much like the terrible person who regularly attends church, there are plenty of people who leave school rather stupid. Affiliation with an institution may be an indication of a possible something, but is a guarantee of nothing. One of the rarely spoken truths about academia is that a degree is decidedly not the same thing […]
Read Post Back To School, Part 1.......Knowing Why.Betrayed by our own language.......
Published July 10th, 2013 by Brad Jenks
Language is a tricky thing. I don't mean the study of languages, I mean our use of words. They are incredibly useful tools. They paint pictures that communicate things. They can communicate both the vague and the incredibly specific. But they can also communicate things we don't realize. Our choice of words can communicate things […]
Read Post Betrayed by our own language.......That is definitely the best approach.....and so is that.
Published May 26th, 2013 by Brad Jenks
A couple of years ago I was coaching some music with a friend of mine, a wonderful coach. In the course of the hour, I observed, “Y’know, I have recently been thinking a lot about the relationship between a hook-up (another term for “support”) and legato, and how....” “...They are the same thing?” “Well, sorta. Not exactly the […]
Read Post That is definitely the best approach.....and so is that.That's a lovely image.... but how?
Published May 16th, 2013 by Brad Jenks
“Remember to bring the top down” - “Bring it forward, get a more forward sound” “Try to get it into the pocket” - “Sing in the mix” “Don’t bring the chest too high” - “Turn it over. Flip it” - “Focus the sound” “Try to find that higher placement” - […]
Read Post That's a lovely image.... but how?A Sing-Along Culture
Published March 14th, 2013 by Brad Jenks
Oh, if only life could truly be like it is in the movies........ Well, maybe not. For one thing, life would be a lot shorter. “Cut to....” takes out quite a chunk. But what is being cut? Answer? Real life. In my time as a teacher, a student of singing, and frankly, as a person […]
Read Post A Sing-Along CultureNow official: Academic stamp of approval on.... almost anything.
Published February 16th, 2013 by Brad Jenks
I recently attended an academic seminar where I heard a teacher speak at length about a variety of things to do with voice, technique, pedagogy and style. Needless to say, there were some things with which I agreed, and some things with which I disagreed. But as he addressed questions of technique as it related […]
Read Post Now official: Academic stamp of approval on.... almost anything.The Digital Pupil.....??
Published December 19th, 2012 by Brad Jenks
While not a new idea to me, I have recently become conscious of the prevalence of lessons-via-media, specifically the Skype lesson. It seems that they are not just an "option" as they once were. They have apparently become positively mainstream. Personally, I am wary of this phenomenon. Perhaps more than wary. In […]
Read Post The Digital Pupil.....??