March 19th, 2021

The Progress Spectrum

Expectations change over time…or at least they should. You should not expect the same product from a music student in their first lesson of a piece compared to their third lesson. Similarly, you should expect the second time you bake chocolate chip cookies to taste better than the first. You learn from your experiences and then you adapt. This is, in a very basic form, how people get better at things. Often, our first experiences with something are more about experience than product. With each attempt, we naturally expect to be better at what we do; to make a better product.

This idea reflects a teaching philosophy I call the “progress spectrum.” In an overly simplified form, it is a gradual change of expectation for my music students. On one end of this spectrum is effort, while the other extreme is product. At the beginning of any learning process, I care about equipping my students with the tools needed to perform at the highest level. This is where a majority of my information is given and I cover all basic skills. We go over technique, approach, touch, coordination, balance, how to practice properly, what to practice, etc. The idea is the give students information and allow them time to process the information. This often includes repeating the same ideas multiple times. In this phase of the learning process, I care about the student’s effort in using that knowledge to improve. I want to know that they are thinking about the right things and trying to achieve. Success, while not ignored, is not my main concern at first. This beginning end of the spectrum includes the first day of a marching band season, first lesson on a new piece, or a first rep on a new concept. 

If the student stays with me and puts in a solid effort, they will eventually create a successful product or performance. At this other extreme end of the spectrum, I’m not as worried about what the student is doing to succeed. What they play simply needs to sound awesome! I’m not going to ignore the effort (sometimes that is the root of the problem), but it usually means there is not enough time to fix educational concepts, especially ones I have already covered multiple times. This later extreme usually occurs the day of performances, juries, or competitions.

Failure at the later end can be broken down to two points: I didn’t provide the right tools or feedback, or the student did not put in the right effort. Obviously, this is only true in a vacuum. There are plenty of reasons for a lack of success that should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. It is still my job to make sure students have all the information they need. I constantly check to make sure students understand the expectations, even if that means to slow things down momentarily. I cannot blame students’ lack of progress if I do not provide them the tools they need. Should I ever fail in that way, I take it as a lesson, adapt my teaching, and move on with the progress spectrum of my career. 

The idea of this spectrum is gradual change. If you chart out the spectrum over time, you will see a diagonal line moving from effort to product. There will be hills and valleys, and at no point will there ever be zero expectation on effort or product. The line on this chart would also look different based on the experience level of the group. Younger students need much more time on the effort side of the spectrum, where as a world-class drum corps battery may cover the whole spectrum in three reps. Younger students largely benefit from experience. Using positive reinforcement, guide them in their efforts and praise them for following the correct process. Frequent and intense demands for a perfect product, especially too quickly, are a deterrent from music. 

            Using a marching band as an example, the full spectrum represents the entire season. Day one of auditions, I am teaching students how to mark time, what our approach is, what the exercises are, etc. I’m not that worried if 8-on-a-hand is spotless. I want to make sure student are thinking about prep strokes, good technique, correct height, and solid foot timing. By band camp, my expectation is that students can do all of those things and we have moved on to other things. The students may need a random reminder here and there and we have moved more towards product side of things, but not out of the range of effort yet. At a mid-season competition, there might be a short spike toward the product side only to slide back towards effort for the next rehearsal. In warm up for our championships show, any form of dirty playing is unacceptable. By this point, they should know what to do and how to do it, so I care that it sounds fantastic. 

            For private lessons, the spectrum may begin when I hand out a new solo or etude and the process happens much more quickly. Students may only have weeks to learn a solo before performance or moving on to a different piece. I might assign multiple etudes building on a similar concept. My expectation of the product would increase with each etude. Sometimes, I may care more about specific aspects of the product, such as technique, depending on my goal for the work being performed. In these cases, I specify where the effort should go to make a better product.

            The progress spectrum is based on the idea of building knowledge upon what student already know. I use this spectrum to do more than just teach drumming. I want my percussionists to get better at “music.” This means knowing how to read music, how to be expressive, why we do the things we do, etc. Adapt the progress spectrum to each individual situation. Ask yourself: 

·      How much time is there until a performance? 

·      What is your end goal? 

·      What knowledge have you equipped your students with?

Using this information, you can now establish goals and teaching concepts to guide your students to superior performance. 

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