From learning to pluck the first strings to playing the right keys and struggling to hold drum sticks to getting on stage for the first concert, music classes always hold treasured memories. The education of music has come a long way. With more and more youngsters picking up instruments, music teachers have taken to more innovative techniques.
While Monjyoti Bhattacharyya, founder of the Musical Journey initiative, says music training is based on theoretical learning, he says: “Times are changing. Earlier, it was a general approach which was highly structured and rigid. Now, we have methods where students learn on a personalised pattern that suits their needs. This is also because most musicians now are self-taught so they are inclined to performance-oriented teaching.”
Monjyoti personally encourages students to learn songs and perform first, and later work out the theory in his classes.
Neecia Majolly of the Majolly Project who heads the Majolly Music Trust agrees that music has broken away from tradition. “This also depends on the kind of music being taught. If you are teaching guitar, drums or Gospel singing, then of course you have to approach it from a more contemporary perspective. Personally, I stick to the more traditional form of teaching since I teach Western Classical music. It has worked well for ages. But of course, for beginners in this genre there are loads of very exciting and colourful new method books that are different in their concept than the older methods. So we do encourage our beginner teachers to use these books. We need to be up-to-date with what is available as far as teaching tools and methods are concerned.”
Bruce Lee Mani of Thermal And A Quarter, who cofounded the Taaqademy Music School, says: “It has a lot to do with the kind of people getting involved right now. For me I believe that if the teacher makes a difference by being committed and passionate about teaching and delivers a lesson to the student in the way, its best remembered, he has accomplished it. It’s all about lighting the spark. If you get them fascinated and curious, a lot of learning happens by itself. Experienced teachers who also perform add value to teaching music. It’s more exciting for the student since his teacher is someone who goes out there and performs.
The fact that many of them are self-taught helps since their understanding of theory and how music works is something they have picked up the hard way so they can easily break it down for anyone to understand. This makes for a better classroom experience.”
He adds that this is the need of the hour. “It’s a great time for younger artistes and musicians to get out there. Teaching is also how musicians ensure a steady income.
Most of them do it not just for monetary benefits of course, but also to share what they have and in a way create their own course in music.”
Roger Ephraim, a private piano instructor and conductor of the Laudant Choir, says he hasn’t changed his method of teaching but when he looks around, he agrees that there are definitely a lot of changes.
“Previously, it was oriented towards output and how soon the student should learn. Now I see that there is more exam-oriented learning with people wanting to do more grades. Teachers are also doing one grade in a year. I also noticed that earlier a lot of people learnt music to play in church or in a band, but now people are learning just for fun.”
Roger adds that innovative methods are good and creative since traditional methods do tend to get boring. “As long as it’s not a shortcut method, I’m for it. Man is a social being. We evolve every day in everything that we do so evolution in any kind of teaching is good.”
