Most of the music coaching and teaching I do involves information gathering. It’s important for me to clearly identify what musical challenges my students are having so that I don’t fix something that ain’t broke and so I impact the problem in a way that is truly useful.
Are You Unconsciously Hitting Delete?
With all of my music students and coaching clients, I look for five specific deletions in their language.
- Simple Deletions
A simple deletion is when something important is missing out of a sentence, for example: “I can’t do it.”Students often use the words “it” and “that” in sentences with simple deletions. The solution is to recover the information that is missing with open questions.
“I can’t do it.” “What exactly can’t you do?”
“I can deal with it.” “What exactly will you deal with?”Notice your own simple deletions and question them by asking: “What or where or when exactly?”
- Unspecified Referential Index
A referential index is the person or thing that takes action or is affected by an action. When this is unspecified, all that is left is something being done but nobody doing it, for example: “Mistakes were made.”Words like “him”, “her”, “they” and “one” are not specific. Passive verbs are another good example of this pattern. A passive verb says that something was done rather than a person did something.
“Mistakes were made.” “Who made the mistakes?”
“It seems like an impossible task.” “Seems to whom? Impossible to whom?”
Notice your own unspecified referential indexes and question them by asking: “Who exactly?” - Unspecified Verbs
An unspecified verb deletes exactly how an event happened, for example: “My ear training is progressing.”To recover the deleted information, I ask exactly how the event happened.
“My ear training is progressing.” “How exactly is your ear training progressing?”
“I can deal with it.” “How specifically will you deal with it?”Notice your own unspecified verbs and question them by asking: “How exactly?”
- Judgments
Judgments are statements of opinion which are expressed as if they were facts: “That was awful.”
When students express judgments, I question the values that lie behind these judgments and uncover who is doing the judging.“That was awful.” “Who says and by what standard is it awful?”
“This is bad music.” “Who says and by what standard is it bad?”Unowned judgements can cause trouble. Prejudice is the result of thoughtless judgements. Notice your own value judgments and question their validity by asking: “By what standard am I making this judgment?”
- Comparisons
A comparison compares one thing with another in order to evaluate it, for example: “I did that badly.”I’m particularly aware of words like, better, worse, easier, good and bad and I make sure there is a basis for comparison. When there is not, I ask about the comparison.
“I did that badly.” “Badly compared to what?”
Common in ear training: “Only 6 out of 20. Not too good.” “Good compared to what? Is 100% realistic on your first or second try?”Comparisons can be very important. They are often used to motivate people by setting a standard to aspire to. However, the standard may be unrealistic or not appropriate. Notice your own comparisons and question them by asking: “Compared with what?”
Asking questions allows me to gather information that specifies someone’s experience, in order to get a full and detailed representation of that experience. When students and clients offer me a challenge to solve, knowing what questions to ask makes all the difference. Many people don’t know what questions to ask, and they end up solving the wrong “problems.”
Now you know the questions that will solve five of the most common musicianship problems.
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[...] Five Common Musicianship Problems – Why Ones Do You Want to Overcome? by Graham [...]
Great tools for music teachers as well. Thanks! Our list is up if you’d like to look – http://lilduckduck.com/ducky-moments-in-time/240
Have a great day!
Great list MamaDuck! I obviously like the “5 ways to develop your toddler’s musical abilities” the most.
Wow, I say “it” a lot. I never thought about..it. I never thought about how often I choose this word. I’m going to try to become more aware of this habit!
What exactly have you never thought about, Jersey Girl?
Very interesting list…..
it spans so much further then music though
http://joshmaher.wordpress.com/2006/08/14/top-ten-reasons-you-should-not-blog/trackback/
You’re absolutely right, Josh. It’s all about language.
Some good stuff to ponder here. Thanks for checking out my list, BTW. I’ve been reading your blog and listening to the podcasts for a few months now – keep up the good content!
Thanks Andrew! Will do.
Timely advice, Graham. I have a friend who is a talented artist, but he’s reluctant to try to sell his work even though I’ve offered him a free listing on my site. He has a million excuses — no time, he needs to borrow a camera, etc. — but when I pressed him the other night the “I can’ts” came out. He’s afraid of failure. Maybe your advice will get through to him. Thanks.
I hope so, Laurie. Tell him to get it out there free first. Once he’s comfortable putting his work out into the world, then we can work on selling it.
Oh yeah… Laurie, have him watch this.
For some reason I couldn’t see the show. Judging by some of the comments, my netnanny filter is probably interfering.
I’ll try later. Thanks!
You can also find it in iTunes. It’s worth the effort.
And anyone who reads this, subscribe to Ze Frank’s show!
“Now you know the questions that will solve five of the most common musicianship problems.”
No doubt that you are a great teacher. I wish my teachers were like you.
If I teach again, I will remember these rules. My
list is here.
Thanks Razib. Looks like you’re having great success on your blog. Best of luck to you!
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