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Two Types of Work

There are two types of work that a student undertakes when taking private lessons:

Type #1
the work they do at home on their own

• The job of the student is to prepare something and to ask the teacher about how to solve the difficulties that may arise during that process.
• This work is usually based on material suggested by the teacher that will stimulate the student to confront specific technical difficulties.
• The teacher does not expect perfection, only a sufficient amount of preparation for the student to have encountered problems that they can not solve on his own with further work.

Type #2
the type they do under the guidance of their teacher at their lesson

• The student must bring something to the lesson that has been prepared.
• This may include questions and answers (that may flow in both directions-a teacher may respond to a student's question with a question in order to stimulate the student to think for himself).
• This may include repetition of the work the student has done but with alterations (musically or otherwise) in the way in which the student plays the passage.
• The student must be open to suggestions from the teacher. Otherwise, the lesson is pointless.

Points of confusion:

• A lesson is band music coaching time rather than an examination of problems encountered while practicing band music.
• The student may mistake a lesson for a personal practice session.
• The student may mistake minimal work on a passage with sufficient practice time spent in preparation.
• The student may be waiting for the teacher to give them an answer or instruction rather than finding a solution on their own and then asking the teacher if this solution seems appropriate.
• The student should practice what they can already do using the method they already know (or feel comfortable with) and look to the teacher to praise this process.