My last post was about the Sunday Scaries (check it out if you haven’t already read/listened to it). I got some great feedback from you on how helpful it was, beyond just teaching music lessons! Thank you so much for listening and responding, and hopefully this will continue a helpful train of thought for you.
So let’s say you did all of those things, gave your week some structure, prepared well for lessons, etc. but then your lessons went horribly and now you’re back to anxiety-ridden beginnings to the week!
Today I want to tell you about something you can avoid so that you can teach the best possible lessons:
The Curse Of Knowledge (intense thriller-movie music plays here)
So what is it? To be honest, the first time I saw those words put together in that sequence, I thought “yeah, like ‘I’m so smart it hurts’ or something”. Put simply and in this context, the curse of knowledge is when you’re teaching and you assume that your students know exactly what you’re talking about at all times.
Here are a few examples (I’d watch the video here for the full effect):
- Guitar Teacher: “You played the correct frets, but you were supposed to do that on the E string.”
- Guitar Student: “The what string.”
- Guitar Teacher (frustratedly): “You played it on The A string, it needs to be the E string…”
- Guitar Student: “I’m not sure if I even know the alphabet.”
or
- Drum Teacher: “You technically played the correct notes, but it needs to groove more.”
- Drum Student: “It needs to what.”
- Drum Teacher: “You know, like DIG IN to the song…”
- Drum Student: “…uh huh…”
If you’re a student and you’ve been in that situation before you know it sucks! It’s so hard to communicate with ANYONE who assumes that YOU know exactly what THEY are talking about.
SO HERES THE SOLUTION:
Be prepared to break down whatever you’re teaching to the foundational level.
I’m not saying do this ALL THE TIME for ALL OF YOUR STUDENTS, that might be even more obnoxious! But practice this with whatever song or pattern or exercise you’re going to teach next.
For example, let’s say your teaching the Shrek…I mean Rufus Wainwright version of “Hallelujah”:
First of all, slow it down! Then, make sure you can explain, clearly and efficiently, each thing that happens in order.
- Piano Teacher: “Ok here’s how the song starts, ring finger with your right hand plays E4, thumb with your left plays C3, then thumb with your right hand plays G3, then pointer with your right hand plays C4.
It’s that simple. And it’s better for your student to leave a lesson feeling confident about practicing 6 notes (they can work on speeding them up as well) than feeling confused about a whole sheet of music that they may or may not be able to get through once they leave your studio.
Lastly, I’m going to keep repeating these things but make sure you write down exactly how far your student played so you know where to pick up with the next lesson!
Thank you again for your feedback so far - if this has been helpful for you, please share it with another teacher, and let me know about it!
