Rote vs Reading

[bcollins924]

Hi there. I'm brand new to the forum. I know there have been many other threads on this topic but I wanted some specific advice.

Edit: Drat! I clicked on the TEACHING section, but something happened and this post ended up in Repertoire!

I've been teaching piano to children for over twenty years. From time to time, I'm tempted to show my little ones (6-7) a fun little tune by ear or by rote. My experience has been that these kids (usually the ones with very strong 'ears') will lean on their ability to sound notes out rather than read the music, and that will continue on for years unless I address the issue. For that reason, I'm pretty stingy when it comes to rote teaching. I stress sight-reading and encourage my students to learn those pieces (to earn them in a sense by reading them). Once a child can play "Harry Potter's Theme" by rote, it's a tough sell to get them to hunker down and read "Song for Three Notes" in the primer book. A little voice tells me a balanced approach is required but I've never be able to achieve that. Are there other teachers out there who are hesitant to teach by rote for the same reasons?

[m1469]

This is a big subject.  There are numerous things I have hesitated about over the years, for various reasons, and in most cases have since changed my mind in one way or another.  Something I have "looked at" as a teacher is whether my hesitation is truly based on what is best for my student(s), or whether it's mainly a personal hesitation and bias that is based on some personal experience in my own learning (and one which I don't necessarily immediately understand how to navigate around and work with).  Obviously it's wise to learn from our own experience, but it's equally wise to pay attention to what the student actually needs.

In most cases, I try to understand what principles are involved which surround the specific aspects of learning that I feel are important, and my teaching is becoming more based on principles than on a single, very specific path that every single person must walk down in precisely the same way.  There is a lot to that, so I will just leave that concept there as is, but that is to say that there are actually some very important principles involved with a student learning by rote/ear, and because of that I think it's ultimately very smart to include some form of rote/ear teaching in an overall curriculum.

I do understand what you are talking about though, and I myself am not willing (at this point) to teach only/mainly by rote/ear, but I have only just recently started to understand why that truly is, and what I feel is important about it.  I tend to believe that a student who thinks they don't want to read and would prefer to learn only by rote/ear, feels that way because they associate certain unlikable things with reading ... or do not know how to associate what they like about music with it.  I can actually empathize with this, not because it was my exact experience necessarily, but I can understand why/how a student could get this impression.  So, if I am going to truly address that as a teacher, on behalf of the student, I feel it is my job to help them bridge the gap between what they like about music and believe is not possible when it comes to reading.  That is not necessarily an easy task!

So, to sum up:

1.  Is your thought actually about the student or you?
2.  There are important aspects of learning by rote/ear.
3.  It is a teacher's job to help a student bridge the gaps between what they think they like or what comes easily for them. and what they think they don't like/is difficult for them (and that can definitely make the job much more challenging).

[bcollins924]

m1469,

Very helpful. Thank you.!
Yes, the subject of rote learning certainly creates some conflict for me, but I'm fairly certain it's because I've never been able to steer a child in that direction, then successfully point them back to the passion of reading (my own limitations, obviously).  I do encourage ear-training and most of my students can identify played intervals (from m2 to P8), even chord progressions (I,V,IV, I). I incorporate "ear tunes" into their weekly practice (songs they know and must sound out on their own: Twinkle, Twinkle; Star Wars; etc.).  For those reasons, I do feel that I'm addressing that aspect of their musicality. But you raise some wonderful questions and I will strongly consider them. Thank you so much.