You don’t have to teach everything you know. In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t. Not everything you give to students is going to be taken in, anyway, so giving more information actually waters down the connection with the most important information.
Better to distill your message to a few things that can be repeated until you know they’re heard and carried. My students might not learn everything I know from me, but they will surely learn a few things that will serve them on their journey towards knowing more than me.
Here are a few of my distilled messages to my ensembles:
- You perform how you practice.
- Engage factory default settings.
- Don’t outsource your sense of rhythm.
- Physicalize your rhythm.
- Read vertically
- BWYST BWYST BT (“Be where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there”)
- I’ve never given a “perfect” performance.
What are the messages you most want to ensure your students really understand?