Learning is a double effort. There is the effort of the teacher to plan ahead and balance the material through the time given. Then there is the effort of the student. Having been a student most of my life, I’ve made some serious advances as well as missteps. One thing I have learned is that little of what a student does is based on natural talent. The majority of the progress happens through methodical practice and time spent on the subject. Learning is not easy and it is not always fun, but it is absolutely rewarding.

I prefer to teach through experiential learning, learning through doing. This is through physically performing or presenting, for example teaching double bass or working with an ensemble as a composer. My classes that had experiential components always proved to be the most influential. The Music of the Beatles course I took encouraged me to learn the bass guitar to emulate McCartney’s bass lines. My conducting class at Baldwin Wallace University, the most impactful class I have ever taken, was exclusively activity based. This class focused on shared group activities encouraging preparedness, musicality, and a supportive group dynamic. Since then, I have only re-experienced this atmosphere once: at the Charlotte New Music Festival Dance Collaboration. In this learning environment, the composers and choreographers shared activities and discussion over movement and sound. This led to a supportive atmosphere that unleashed creative flow and resulted in a higher quality of work. Experiential teaching and learning is a powerful tool that is all too rare in academic environments. It supports collaboration among the students, allows more direct engagement with the teachers, and creates a nurturing environment for students to ask, discuss, and compose.