Chaper 10: Interviews
For this part of my research, I interviewd horn teachers of different ages and backgrounds to learn about the ways they teach and what they think about the method books.
As I mentioned earlier, I am worried about how quickly students are progressing in mastering higher notes on the horn. I believe it might be too challenging for them. Additionally, I feel that existing horn methods may emphasize note reading too quickly.
However, I recognize that my viewpoint could be influenced by my research focus and desired outcomes. Therefore, I aimed to determine if other teachers share similar concerns or if it is just my perception.
During these interviews, I asked the teachers about the effectiveness of current horn methods and areas where improvements could be made. I also inquired about any aspects they believe are lacking, including their thoughts on melodic range development.
This teacher uses "Tune Up" for individual lessons and "Samen leren samenspelen" for group lessons, incorporating additional materials such as skilful studies by Philip Sparke and Melodic Etudes for Valve Horn by Durk Krol. She appreciates the structured and manageable approach of "Tune Up" but notes that some things, such as chromatics and rhythms, are sometimes introduced too early. However, in Tune up! she finds the pace at which the tonal range is developed to be good, with sufficient time to become accustomed to higher notes.
For group lessons, she uses "Samen leren samenspelen" and she also arranges songs herself for these groups.
Regarding "Horen Lezen & Spelen," she is critical, particularly due to the too rapid pace at which new material is presented, especially concerning tonal range. She observes that this pace sometimes gets in the way of the students' processing of the material. Anonymous: "My biggest critique is the pace. A lot is expected from the student in terms of range, various playing techniques, rhythms. Often, there is a lot happening at once: Songs that are high and rhythmically challenging with many different articulation marks. If you want to get everything out of this method, you have to go through it very slowly. In practice, that is boring (because often the same song/few songs per lesson), so things are played 'over' a bit, and the children do not master the material sufficiently." She describes the amount of new material per lesson as "At times, too much; there is often a long list of new signs and notes at the top of the lesson. But this is not necessarily where my problem lies; in my opinion, the problem is that there is no time/space in between to practice with this and internalize it before new things are introduced." She describes the pace at which the tonal range develops as "Way too fast." Anonymous: "At the end of book 1, you are expected to reach a high E, which for such a short book (20 lessons of two pages with relatively much 'white space') is very early."
Zwijgers finds value in each method, but believes that using a combination of them can enhance the learning experience. He acknowledges that some books may move too fast in certain areas, making it beneficial to switch to a different book when needed. Zwijgerss notes that "Horen, Lezen, Spelen" gets too difficult too fast. To address this, he adjusts the tempo and sometimes uses simple duets to give the students more practice time.
Zwijgers also emphasizes that the speed of increasing difficulty levels can sometimes lead to issues with student motivation. Despite these challenges, the methods are generally positively received by the students due to the pleasant layout, content, and the use of playalong CDs. Although the books are primarily aimed at children, older students can also use them as well, although they may need to read through the childish explanations at times.
Bontekoe primarily relies on "Easy Steps" and "Horen Lezen & Spelen" for her students aged between 8 and 13, praising the methodological approach and extensive content of "Easy Steps."
However, she criticizes the swift progression and high difficulty of "Horen Lezen & Spelen," often introducing new notes that are physically challenging. Bontekoe emphasizes flexibility in customizing lesson materials to suit individual student needs, drawing from diverse sources to ensure engagement. While she appreciates the content of "Horen Lezen & Spelen," she finds its pace too rapid, particularly in Book 2.
Therefore, she supplements the lessons with extra materials to better adjust the pace to her students' needs, especially regarding tonal range development. Overall, Bontekoe rarely sticks to a single method, preferring to tailor lessons according to each student's progress and requirements.
De Haan employs a blend of her own materials and existing methods to cater to the needs of her students. Her own method, "Klanken met Kleur" (Sounds with Color), places emphasis on auditory learning and gradually progresses towards notation, aligning with her philosophy of developing tonal awareness from the beginning.
She appreciates specific aspects of each method, such as the structured approach of "Horn lernen mit Spaß" (not available in Dutch) and the child-friendly approach of "Easy Steps".
Simultaneously, she wrote critical points, such as the lack of tonal awareness in some methods and the overly rapid pace of new material in "Horen Lezen & Spelen".
With "Easy Steps," she sometimes experiences a pace that is too rapid, especially in conjunction with intervals that gives challenges for students.
As a general remark, de Haan says: "The methods I know do not work from a key awareness. That means that a sharp or flat is taught as a sign without immediately linking it to a meaning in sound. That only happens later. For me, key awareness is important from the beginning in order to go from auditory to notation, develop a sound representation, and be able to improvise''.
Karreman uses methods such as "Horen Lezen & Spelen" (HLS) and "Easy Steps" for her students aged between 8 and 13 years old, preferring ''Horen Lezen & Spelen'' for faster learners and Easy Steps for slower learners.
Karreman states that the method lacks attention to the lower register. Karreman supplements these methods with additional materials, for example, the Zahnspangenetudes2 because they do not go as high.
Karreman feels that there is a lack of historical context and information on how the horn works in the existing methods. She emphasizes the importance of flexibility in teaching, recognizing that each student is unique with their own pace and needs. She adjusts her teaching methods based on individual progress and interests and employs a combination of methods and supplementary materials. She also says that it is difficult to find a single method suitable for all students.
Callebert indicates that she currently uses only the method "Horen Lezen & Spelen". She has not deliberately opted against using other methods. She finds it convenient to use the same method for everyone.
However, Marlies uses it at her own pace. She finds one lesson per session to be too fast-paced and impossible, so she works at a pace that is comfortable for the students, usually covering two to three songs or exercises per lesson. She appreciates that the method is clear and versatile, but mentions that more well-known pieces could be included. Additionally, she supplements the method with familiar songs such as Christmas carols and popular music, and also asks the students which songs they would like to play. She finds this necessary to maintain the students' motivation and prevent teaching from becoming too boring. Although she values the technical aspects of the method, she finds the suggested pace of two pages per lesson to be too fast to properly learn the material. She observes that the method quickly emphasizes note reading and technical skills. While this is not necessarily detrimental to the students' proficiency level, she has noticed that it doesn't contribute to musicality. Marlies believes that children should always engage with the essence of music, which involves creating music and exploring sound. Experimentation and understanding that music is enjoyable and sometimes humorous should be emphasized, rather than a continuous focus on technical aspects.
Callebert: ''This book is intended to cover 20 lessons in 20 weeks. As I mentioned earlier, that is impossible. If a student still hasn't finished the book after a year of working solely with it, it is not conducive to their motivation. However, I do find the technical aspects addressed in the book to be good. But two pages per lesson are simply too much if you also want to teach things properly.''
She finds the learning objectives good, but she misses the emphasis on the use of air. Callebert: ''Very clear goals, and nicely explained each time, so that is definitely in order. The only thing I find essential and that is missing is the use of air and its importance. But I compensate for this by verbally emphasizing it during the lesson and linking it to the musical lines.''
Korenromp experiences that "Horen, Lezen, Spelen" sometimes progresses too quickly in becoming higher and more challenging, especially for slower learners, and that the amount of new material can be overwhelming at times. Nevertheless, she uses "Horen, Lezen, Spelen" and "Easy Steps" for her students aged between 8 and 13 years old. She appreciates the pleasant structure and variety of styles in ''Horen, Lezen, Spelen'', while Easy Steps is more suitable for slower learners due to its gradual approach. She acknowledges that ''Horen, Lezen, Spelen'' may progress too quickly for some students, especially in learning high notes.
Regarding the pace at which "horen lezen en spelen" presents the material, Korenromp says the following: ''In my opinion, it progresses too quickly for 70% of my students, especially the speed at which the high notes are taught. For the remaining students, it is fine.''
She is generally satisfied with the clear learning objectives and layout of both methods. Additionally, she adds etudes to train endurance, especially because she finds that existing methods often lack longer pieces that require more concentration.
What stands out in Olthof's interview is her criticism of the pace at which tonal range is developed in the method "Horen Lezen & Spelen". She notes that the pace is too fast because new young students may not yet be able to reach above the G note quickly, while the book swiftly moves on to higher notes. This might make some students feel overwhelmed or discouraged. Olfhoff says: ''For some students, "Horen Lezen & Spelen" progresses too quickly. In those cases, I also provide some easier songs myself. For example, French horn students can use pieces by James Ployhar. "Horen Lezen & Spelen" quickly moves into higher notes. Sometimes, it is necessary to spend more time on the lower notes.'' Lidia suggests that it would be helpful to cover more songs below the G note or to introduce some lower notes first to create a more gradual progression.
Additionally, she mentions that although she is generally satisfied with "Horen Lezen & Spelen", there are some shortcomings, such as the late introduction of scales, which she believes form the basis of everything.
She adds that the accompaniment are sometimes very fast, which could potentially hinder the learning process.
Conclusion
Various methods are used such as "Horen, Lezen Spelen", "Easy Steps", "Tune Up", and "Samen leren samenspelen", along with custom materials. Teachers select these methods based on the needs and level of their students, adding additional materials and seeking creative solutions to supplement shortcomings in the methods and meet the unique needs of the students.
Most teachers have a critical view of the speed of progress. What consistently arises is the pace at which new material is introduced, especially regarding the development of tonal range.
Teachers note that some students struggle to keep up with the pace, which can influence motivation. This is something I have noticed myself as well. Teachers try to be very flexibe. They adjust the content and pace to the individual needs of their students, incorporating additional materials and finding their own solutions to meet their students' needs. This includes incorporating longer pieces that require more concentration, transposing to lower keys, etudes, duets, or homemade arrangements.
Teachers are pleased with the structure and layout of the books. They find the repertoire varied.
The comments on range are largely focused on "Horen, Lezen & Spelen''.
Bontekoe writes "It seems like it is designed for saxophone. New notes are introduced quickly, often faster than it can physically be played on a horn. HLS expands the range rapidly, becoming too difficult on horn quickly. But it is usable if supplemented with other pieces... With HLS, it is necessary to provide additional music and go through the book more slow.''
In general, this method receives the most feedback, but perhaps this is also a logical consequence of the vast renown. Unlike other methods, it is the only book known by all interviewed teachers and is used more than any other.
"Easy Steps", which seems to be the next most well-known, receives better feedback. Korenromp says: "There are more songs with the same notes, which allows a slow beginner to build confidence." Karreman adds, "Easy Steps is great for slower learners because there is more material available per topic/chapter/new concept." Bontekoe notes: "Plenty of material. Songs that are easy to grasp by ear.''
However, there are also teachers with a critical view. De Haan: "Sometimes it feels overwhelming to me because I prefer to work with key awareness, which is not assumed in this method. [...] Sometimes it moves too quickly in combination with intervals."
From ''Tune Up!'' both positive and negative points are mentioned. A positive aspect is that time is taken for new things. Anonymous: "[...] and that not 5 difficult things are asked at once". When new things are introduced, there is immediately a lot of practice with them. The problem is only that these new things, in the eyes of the teachers, come up too early, students are not ready for them yet. Anonymous: ''when something new is introduced, a lot of practice is done immediately. However, I do find that some topics are introduced too early. " [...] I also think that certain things come up quite early. Specifically chromatics/enharmonic equivalent tones, 3/8 and 6/8 time signatures, and triplets are topics where I often notice that the students are not entirely ready for them.'' Anonymous writes that with her arrival at a new music association, she switched from playing by ear to Tune Up. "With my students, upon my arrival, I switched from HLS to Tune Up and that was a relief for most students." Anonymous finds that there is far too little attention paid to ensemble playing, so she herself finds duets from different sources. ''What I find unfortunate is that ensemble playing has a rather small role (few duets, of which most are also related to Sinterklaas and Christmas, which I do not understand). I also think that certain things come up quite early.''
Furthermore, I find it difficult to say more about Tune Up! Of all the interviewed teachers, only 3 of them have heard of this book, and only one of them uses it and could therefore say something about it.
Interviews about a new method
I have interviewed teachers about their ideas for a new method to be written. Schoneveld and De Haan answered questions online. Sarah Brien and Susan Williams shared their ideas with me during an live interview.
I asked them what advice they would like to give me when writing my own method.
Brien gave the following advice: ''I think taking it slow. All the books currently take it because the current books move very quickly and they start introducing mainly pitches. Rhythm wise, they tend to be okay keeping it slow. But with pitches wise, they throw high notes at the kids and they start splitting in octaves a lot of the time because I do not know about you guys here, but we have band methods that we use from America. So they have the horn side and the band side. And kids see that and they go, oh my God, there is so many notes and they are so spread. I can't do either of those and they get turned away. So I think keeping the pitches moving slowly and keeping it in a nice range and kind of keeping it in those smaller pieces is useful and making sure that it doesn't move too quickly. And keeping it in a nice playable range and not, you know, suddenly throwing ledger lines at them is not often useful. Yes. I think it is very scared of ledger lines and, you know, very scared of high notes when they see them. High Cs suddenly throw in places.''
Williams said: ''So I think a method should have a nice, robust structure that is really flexible, that has it is got a structure, but it is like make the book into a playground rather than a set of rules. So it somehow invites someone to try out things and to track how they are going. But it is not that should not have constraints like you have to do it in a certain amount of time. But here we are going to explore the three notes, the three notes that you enjoy playing. that is the easiest for you. Or we start with a note that is easy for you rather than that note. So it has to be customizable to what that kid where that starting point is. And they go from there. So I think it should be it needs to be very interactive that the child is writing the book, you know, with together with the teacher so that it has a structure that is very adaptable to each person. Right. So this ways you can explore making sound, creating connections between notes and intervals and combining rhythms and then maybe making up your own little tunes before you are introduced to an actual melody or an actual thing written. Maybe explore your first yourself making little technique out of one or two notes or, you know, that you are using improvisation and that it is working with what actually works with that person. So, you know, as a starting point. And then gradually introducing material that maybe first of all is not read but played by ear. And then maybe there is little challenges that are ticked off as they go along. But it is not involving from day one reading notes. But that slowly can be introduced until what they are able to, you know, what they can do by ear starts to be reading as well. And it takes as long as it takes. So that means that there is enough room to spend as much time as you like on any step. And there is ways to create and generate more material with each step. So that you have got a whole toolbox for each step rather than just one tune. You know. That there is enough, as little or as much stuff as that person. And if that person's bored and they are on the next step, great. they are on the next, you know. So, and each person can then develop at their own pace.’’
Roelofs: ''You have written your own method. What was your motivation in terms of content/methodology?''
De Haan: ''I wanted to develop a method for young children where learning to play the horn by ear would be the starting point, based on the natural tones of the B-flat horn. Starting from that point, I created visually supportive materials for the students, which eventually became my own method.''
Roelofs: ''How did you approach this? What was your method?''
De Haan: ''I created materials during practical lessons with the children, continuously developing them and eventually compiling them into a method.''
Roelofs: ''What challenges did you encounter and what would you do differently with the knowledge you have now?''
De Haan: ''Making the material visually appealing digitally is not my expertise.''
Roelofs: ''I also want to write my own method. What substantive and practical tips do you have for me?''
De Haan: ''Think carefully about your goals beforehand, what do you want to achieve with your method and who is the target audience. If the method is also suitable for other teachers: what information is needed for the student and what for the teacher.''
Roelofs: ''Have you published the method? If so, how?''
De Haan: ''I have not published the method because the approach is very specific. It involves the use of solfège and rhythmic materials. The book is also material for the students. I have thought about creating a teacher's manual or a webinar about it, but due to lack of time, I haven't been able to do so yet.''
Roelofs: ''You have written your own method. What was your motivation in terms of content/methodology?''
Schoneveld: ''The instrumental music education has changed tremendously in the 40 years that I have been teaching. New methods are released slowly and do not really cater to this change. Virtually all existing methods (I know many through my work as a clarinet methodics teacher) do not accommodate the changed situation.
- On music schools, there are many more group lessons.
- Instrumental lessons within education (groups of up to 15 students).
- Hence: a different methodological approach and thus different materials catering to large groups.
- The material had to cater to differentiated teaching.
- It had to use small steps with lots of repetition and keep the possibility open to use different notation forms.
- Quality audio files were needed to support the lessons.''
Roelofs: ''How did you approach this? What was your method?''
Schoneveld: ''After an inventory of my substantive wishes for the method, I came up with a number of main points:
- Preferably using my own composed music (among others, due to rights).
- Small steps with lots of repetition in longer songs like in the existing methods.
- Preferably in song form with lyrics so that the text becomes part of the methodology; think of teaching rhythm and breathing.
- Appealing and challenging for the lesson and the result in the living room.
- The method also had to become a basis for developing accompanying orchestral material for children's orchestras with substantive differentiation per orchestral piece (multidisciplinary).''
Roelofs: ''What challenges did you encounter and what would you do differently with the knowledge you have now?''
Schoneveld: ''An important part and learning process in developing my method is developing material for the development of specific technique. My effort was to invent as much music as possible that had both technique and enjoyment as its goal. It was a very instructive period because I wanted to think about technical methodology in a different way than I was used to. Here, it was important that there was a clear line and vision and, once again, it had to be suitable for group education; AN ENORMOUS CHALLENGE!''
Roelofs: ''I also want to write my own method. What substantive and practical tips do you have for me?''
Schoneveld: ''My advice is:
- First, think about why do I want to write the method.
- What do I find in the existing methods and what do I miss?
- But above all: use your creativity without setting too many boundaries.''
Roelofs: ''Have you published the method? If so, how?''
Schoneveld: ''My method has actually become a continuous learning trajectory for me, in other words, there is no endpoint. I mainly made my method based on my own needs. As a result, the method is actually not suitable for publication; it is a framework for my work as a general music teacher. It has helped me enormously to give my students clarinet methodology and didactics insight at Codarts Rotterdam into what my vision is for the role of a music teacher in this day and age.''
The most important things I learned from this are as follows:
- Start slow and introduce pitches in a manageable range. Avoid overwhelming learners with too many new concepts too quickly. Be cautious with high notes as they can intimidate beginners.
- Be flexible. Design the method with a robust yet flexible structure. Make it adaptable to each student's starting point and progress, and customize based on individual preferences and abilities.
- Let students play a role in shaping their learning journey. Provide choices.
- Incorporate aural playing and improvisation in the early stages. Gradually introduce staff music notation.
- Develop and refine your materials based on practical experience and feedback from students. See the development of your method as a continuous learning process.
- Consider the goals and the target audience before starting. Tailor your method to meet the needs of your students and consider whether it can be used by other teachers.
- Be creative in your approach and incorporate original content where possible. Use your own composed music to avoid copyright issues and make the material more engaging.
- Adapt the method to accommodate changes in music education, such as the rise of group lessons and the need for differentiated teaching approaches.
- Ensure that it is enjoyable.