Carrie Paechter (my wife, and Professor of Teaching and Learning, R.A.M.)
and John Wallace (Head of Brass Faculty, R.A.M.)
planning the 1995 Art of Teaching Course.

The Art of Brass Teaching course at the Royal Academy of Music is designed to incorporate and integrate issues of brass playing with those of teaching and learning. When John Wallace first became Head of Brass at the Academy, he was keen to develop the course into an important part of the students' musical and intellectual development and worked with us to establish it in the form it has today. The course is unusual in that it is jointly organized and taught by a professional musician and an educationalist. Pip Eastop is Professor of French Horn at the RAM, while Carrie Paechter lectures in education at the Open University. The Art of Brass Teaching programme is designed to build on this joint expertise to develop instrumental teachers who have a sound understanding of the theory and practice of their instrument, combined with a basic grounding in educational theory. The principle underlying the course is very simple: it is that understanding and reflection, both on one's own playing and on the teaching of others, is the key to good teaching. The course is therefore organized to develop students into "reflective practitioners" (Schon, 1983), first as players, and then as instrumental teachers. Given the limited time available, we aim to equip students to follow up the work carried out in the course into their future careers as dynamic and thoughtful players and teachers.

The course has three basic elements:
1) Seminars on instrumental technique, breathing and basic anatomy and physiology as applied to brass playing, and the application of these to teaching the instrument.
2) Seminars on the theory and practice of teaching and the psychology of learning.
3) Teaching practice, working one-to-one with young instrumental pupils. These three elements are interwoven throughout the course, but the emphasis moves from the first to the third over time.

In the early seminars, Pip leads extended group discussions about a variety of aspects of playing, such as breathing, practising, tonguing and embouchure. These discussions enable the students to think critically about some of the taken-for-granted aspects of their own playing technique and to consider how they might enable pupils to develop sound approaches to the instrument. During these seminars, some of the "sacred cows" of brass playing are aired and examined, and students are encouraged to be aware of alternative possibilities both for their own playing and for their teaching. There is also a lecture specifically focused on the anatomy and physiology of brass playing, to enable students to have a clearer picture of the physical aspects of instrumental technique. Students have found these sessions very supportive of their own musical and technical development.

The work specifically focused on the more academic aspects of teaching and learning starts in the middle of the autumn term with a seminar from Carrie covering some basic issues in learning theory and the psychology of learning. There is particular emphasis in this session on the relationship between the teacher and the pupil and the ways in which it can foster or inhibit the latter's learning. Students are asked to think about their own experiences of learning their instrument and about how these contributed to or detracted from their musical development. Research evidence about some of the important factors in the development of musical expertise is also presented. Students then begin to prepare for the first assessed element of the course: a 2000 word essay on issues in teaching and learning as applied to instrumental teaching. A choice of topics is given for which reading material is provided; for each essay topic Carrie holds a seminar in which the ideas about which students have read are critically discussed. This can be challenging for the students, both because it calls into question some of their assumptions about musicality and instrumental learning, and also because they are having to come to grips with what can be intellectually difficult material. They are also given advice and support about essay writing.

The teaching practice element of the course takes place in the spring term. Students are given the opportunity to try out their emerging teaching skills with young instrumental pupils in a school setting. While this opportunity is limited - students are able to do about five hours of teaching practice in total - it does give them some insight into what it feels like to take responsibility for fostering someone else's playing and musical development. Students have found this part of the course particularly exciting, and some have left us enthused by the experience. During this period we also run follow-up support seminars in which students are able to raise issues arising from their teaching and to share their experiences. The teaching practice comprises the second assessed element of the course; this assessment is carried out jointly by Carrie and by instrumental staff in the teaching practice school.

Teaching the Art of Brass Teaching course in this way has been an exciting and evolving experience for us. We try to carry the reflective aspect of the course into our own practice and make changes every year in the light of our discussion between ourselves and feedback from students. At present, judging from the students' responses, it seems to be one of the most popular courses at the Academy, offering a combination of intellectual stimulation, support for students' own technical development, a forum for discussion and comparison of technique, and practical help and advice for students' future work as teachers of their instruments. We hope that our students are able to carry their and our enthusiasm into whatever teaching they eventually do, whether in schools, privately, or even, one day, at the RAM itself.

[Reference: Schon, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner, Basic Books.]

Dr. Carrie Paechter & Pip Eastop