The Better I Got The Less I Talked
I recently attended a band rehearsal and watched the marching tech fun a basics block where they did 4 exercises in 5 minutes. The rest of the time he was talking, waxing poetic about the finer concepts of each step they were taking.
This is a completely human mistake to make. We love to hear ourselves talk and we can easily get lost trying to fully explain to our students what we are wanting them to do. But in marching basics, it’s the reps that really count. More doing, less talking!
I was a high school band director for 10 years and with each year that passed, I found that I talked less and less. The better my band got, the less I had to tell them. I think I got better on the podium, but I also think THEY got better at self correcting. As I taught them how to listen around the ensemble, I found myself spending a lot less time talking about tuning or clean ensemble playing.
I remember many times when the band would have a rocky moment and I would simply stop and say “You know what happened, let’s just do that again.” And then on the next time through it would be fixed, or at least greatly improved. They were learning to play better TOGETHER without me having to take their time to explain it.
Our students are in our bands because they want to play. They are on the field because they want to play and move. Teach them to be more self-sufficient, to be an independent learner, and you will find yourself talking less and making more music.
For a great explanation of this, please watch this conversation:
Those Who Do The Work, Do The Learning with Dr. Mary White
Podcast version
Tim Hinton
September 30, 2021
