inspirational teacher interview reflection: calvin dyck
I decided to do my interview with my violin teacher of 7 years, Dr. Calvin Dyck. Calvin has been playing the violin since the age of 8. He did his undergraduate degree at Biola University, and then acquired his doctorate for Musical Arts in violin performance at the University of Southern California. He has been an inspiration to me in many ways: he always pushed me passed my limits, encouraged me to take on new experiences and opportunities, and has been a wonderful mentor. He was always very kind and generous, as he even helped me create a fundraising concert to help fund my tuition. Calvin was also very helpful when it came to helping me and my brother perform and work together. He guided us and showed us how to be performers as well as thoughtful musicians. He changed my perspective on teaching and music education in general. I realized during those 7 years that music education is more than just a teacher and a student learning repertoire. There is a relationship that has to form between the teacher and student in order for the student to fully experience the joy of music. Calvin is one of the main reasons I decided to pursue music as a career, and I am very thankful for having had the opportunity to study with him.
In my interview with him, we discussed many topics concerning his past experiences with teaching and his own personal philosophy. I started off by greeting him and thanking him for taking the time to do the interview with me. I first asked why he decided to become a music teacher in the first place. He said that in the beginning, he had never planned on becoming a music teacher. But he soon realized after his degree that he had a natural ability for teaching, as when he said to me, "although I did not train to be a teacher, I found that I had a knack for it, and actually really enjoyed it". I found this to be very surprising, considering how much of a good fit he is for music education. I was also surprised and amazed to find out he hadn't studied for music education at all, yet still became such an inspirational teacher. After his response, I realized that his interpretation of this question wasn't as open ended as I thought, so I then moved on to another question I had for him.
The second question I had for him was about his personal philosophy in music education. His response for this had many different aspects. He said to me:
"Well, there are different aspects. First, I think the responsibility of the teacher is to help the student be the best musician and violinist possible. That means proper set up, and working on the things that will help them the most. For example, I believe that technique practice will help the student achieve a more accurate performance. Second, a good teacher must teach students "how" to practice - so that they understand how to approach various musical challenges. Third, a good teacher not only points out the mistakes or the things that need work, but also is encouraging - and recognizes progress that has been made, and celebrates student achievement. Fourth, a good teacher should help the student focus on one main goal in a given week, such as 'this week I want you to fix your bow arm so that each stroke is straight'. Fifth, I think it is helpful to remember that the teacher is the employee of the student - so I often start the year out by asking: 'What are your goals for this year?' 'What do you think you want to work on?' 'In this grade, what piece would you like to choose?'. That way I signal that the student is not working for me, but I am working for the student, to help the student achieve their goals"
There are a lot of different interesting aspects in his response to this question. First of all, it is a similar philosophy to my violin professor now. Even though it is freer than most traditional violin curriculum I've endured, it is still based on the traditional teaching style. Not that this is a bad thing in any way, but it is interesting. I really liked it when he mentioned that the teacher has to be encouraging in order for the student to reach their full potential. I believe this is very important, as a lot of musicians get discouraged because of their teacher's harsh methods. We discussed some other subjects, a lot of which I have experienced with him in our private lessons. One thing that stuck out to me was when he mentioned his goal as a music educator. He explained that his goal was to get his students so fluent in music that they no longer need him – that they are his equal. I think this is an amazing way to think about music education.
My interview with him changed my perspective on music education a bit more. I also realized that he used a lot of these philosophies in my lessons, without my realization, and they worked. He has been a very influential teacher in my life, and I will carry many of his philosophies with me in my future endeavours in music education.
In my interview with him, we discussed many topics concerning his past experiences with teaching and his own personal philosophy. I started off by greeting him and thanking him for taking the time to do the interview with me. I first asked why he decided to become a music teacher in the first place. He said that in the beginning, he had never planned on becoming a music teacher. But he soon realized after his degree that he had a natural ability for teaching, as when he said to me, "although I did not train to be a teacher, I found that I had a knack for it, and actually really enjoyed it". I found this to be very surprising, considering how much of a good fit he is for music education. I was also surprised and amazed to find out he hadn't studied for music education at all, yet still became such an inspirational teacher. After his response, I realized that his interpretation of this question wasn't as open ended as I thought, so I then moved on to another question I had for him.
The second question I had for him was about his personal philosophy in music education. His response for this had many different aspects. He said to me:
"Well, there are different aspects. First, I think the responsibility of the teacher is to help the student be the best musician and violinist possible. That means proper set up, and working on the things that will help them the most. For example, I believe that technique practice will help the student achieve a more accurate performance. Second, a good teacher must teach students "how" to practice - so that they understand how to approach various musical challenges. Third, a good teacher not only points out the mistakes or the things that need work, but also is encouraging - and recognizes progress that has been made, and celebrates student achievement. Fourth, a good teacher should help the student focus on one main goal in a given week, such as 'this week I want you to fix your bow arm so that each stroke is straight'. Fifth, I think it is helpful to remember that the teacher is the employee of the student - so I often start the year out by asking: 'What are your goals for this year?' 'What do you think you want to work on?' 'In this grade, what piece would you like to choose?'. That way I signal that the student is not working for me, but I am working for the student, to help the student achieve their goals"
There are a lot of different interesting aspects in his response to this question. First of all, it is a similar philosophy to my violin professor now. Even though it is freer than most traditional violin curriculum I've endured, it is still based on the traditional teaching style. Not that this is a bad thing in any way, but it is interesting. I really liked it when he mentioned that the teacher has to be encouraging in order for the student to reach their full potential. I believe this is very important, as a lot of musicians get discouraged because of their teacher's harsh methods. We discussed some other subjects, a lot of which I have experienced with him in our private lessons. One thing that stuck out to me was when he mentioned his goal as a music educator. He explained that his goal was to get his students so fluent in music that they no longer need him – that they are his equal. I think this is an amazing way to think about music education.
My interview with him changed my perspective on music education a bit more. I also realized that he used a lot of these philosophies in my lessons, without my realization, and they worked. He has been a very influential teacher in my life, and I will carry many of his philosophies with me in my future endeavours in music education.
music_ed_teacher_interview_project.pptx | |
File Size: | 928 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
student interview
student & teacher interview: comparison
Going through this process of interviewing musically enticed individuals, I have gained more knowledge on other musicians' perspectives concerning musical philosophies, as well as personal experiences with music. In my student interviews with Kai and Tia, their answers were very similar, yet still had some differences. Kai approached my question on "what advice one would give to someone wanting to enter music" by saying that practicing and dedication are one of the most important things of music education. While Tia approached the same question by saying that just enjoying the music and believing in yourself is the most important thing. In my teacher interview, Calvin focused on the same things Kai did. Calvin said that dedication and hard work are some of the most important things when it comes to music and succeeding in music. It was also very apparent which one of my student interviews had the most traditional training in music, as Kai had the same violin instructor as me (Calvin).
When I asked Calvin about his personal philosophy concerning music education, he gave a very interesting answer, saying that the teacher is technically the employee of the student, and should cater to what the student wants. This perspective on music education is closer with what Tia explained in my interview with her. In a few of the clips I didn’t include in my project, Tia expressed that the student should be the one that gets to grow musically in their own way, with the help of their music teacher. Since Kai had a very similar traditional music education as I did (before Calvin), his perspective is very reliant on the teacher. I used to have the same mentality, that the teacher should be the one who tells us what to do and how to grow. But after studying with Calvin, I soon changed my perspective.
When I asked Calvin about what is the hardest part about being a music teacher, he mentioned that when a student isn't dedicated and doesn't put in the time and effort to practice, it is very frustrating. This coincides with what Kai said about being dedicated to practice and putting the time in to practice. Since Kai had Calvin as a teacher, he probably experienced at one point Calvin's frustration when he didn't get as much practicing done as he should have. It is also a very understandable thing to be frustrated about, as Calvin is a private lesson teacher, and the goal of most of his students is to pursue music after high school at a more professional level.
Reflecting back on my interviews with the students and teacher, I have noticed the huge impact a teacher has on the perspective of the student. With Kai, his more traditional training led him to give more traditional music education based answers. Whereas Tia's perspective was a lot more similar to the more modern style of teaching that we had in our high school music program. It has allowed me to reflect on my own experience, and my own opinions on music education.
When I asked Calvin about his personal philosophy concerning music education, he gave a very interesting answer, saying that the teacher is technically the employee of the student, and should cater to what the student wants. This perspective on music education is closer with what Tia explained in my interview with her. In a few of the clips I didn’t include in my project, Tia expressed that the student should be the one that gets to grow musically in their own way, with the help of their music teacher. Since Kai had a very similar traditional music education as I did (before Calvin), his perspective is very reliant on the teacher. I used to have the same mentality, that the teacher should be the one who tells us what to do and how to grow. But after studying with Calvin, I soon changed my perspective.
When I asked Calvin about what is the hardest part about being a music teacher, he mentioned that when a student isn't dedicated and doesn't put in the time and effort to practice, it is very frustrating. This coincides with what Kai said about being dedicated to practice and putting the time in to practice. Since Kai had Calvin as a teacher, he probably experienced at one point Calvin's frustration when he didn't get as much practicing done as he should have. It is also a very understandable thing to be frustrated about, as Calvin is a private lesson teacher, and the goal of most of his students is to pursue music after high school at a more professional level.
Reflecting back on my interviews with the students and teacher, I have noticed the huge impact a teacher has on the perspective of the student. With Kai, his more traditional training led him to give more traditional music education based answers. Whereas Tia's perspective was a lot more similar to the more modern style of teaching that we had in our high school music program. It has allowed me to reflect on my own experience, and my own opinions on music education.