February 24, 2026: Tuesday Upbeat
Teachers: Happy Tuesday!
Sound before Sight, Show before Tell
Sometimes as teachers we feel we must do a lot of explaining. But often, less talking is more effective.
Sometimes when we start explaining, we see befuddled looks on our students’ faces, which encourages us to explain more, or to try to explain better. This can become a circular routine, where sometimes we end up talking ourselves into a trap.
A good rule of thumb for teachers is: "Talk less, listen more." As we listen, we teach our students how to listen.
Sometimes we may feel that showing students how to play a particular rhythm, rather than have them read the notation, is weak teaching, or even “cheating.” This is a falsehood that is perpetuated in the profession. The truth is that students learn faster and more deeply when they experience the music first, and then learn how it is notated after.
For example, when teaching a dotted quarter note + eighth note rhythm, this can be very challenging for beginner students. Even clapping and speaking the rhythm can be difficult. Many elementary and middle school band directors experience a lot of difficulty teaching this rhythm to the ensemble from their method and repertoire books.
But things improve if we sing the music or play the music for the student sufficient times until they “get it,” then have them play it, and once they are solid, then show them the notation, discuss it, and see/review the logic with them. And then facilitate more examples that reinforce the learning, again and again over time until it becomes easy.
Too often as music teachers we are eager for students to learn to read rhythmic notation and “make progress” too quickly, and so we fail to instill core musicianship skills into our students, including being able to feel a beat and execute a rhythm with musicality. Some rhythms cannot be notated accurately, and so composers and publishers invent notation or language in the music that approximates the intention of the rhythm or the “feel” of the music. How can we teach that if they can’t feel their music internally?
Some prominent music teacher-researchers coined phrases such as “sound before sight” to highlight the importance of “getting the music” before reading it. “Show before tell” is another effective teaching strategy, which can include a combination of demonstrating and hands-on work with the student, rather than too much explaining.
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Have a magical Tuesday, a musical week, and enjoy happy, healthy and tension-free teaching and learning with your students.
Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
Lake Forest School of Music
Baker Ranch, CA 92630
(949) 402-7210
www.dennisfraynemusicstudios.com
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
www.lakeforestschoolofmusic.com
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