SUPPORT.
It’s one of my biggest pet peeves. I’ve heard about support my whole life and it was many years into my flute playing life when I figured out what it was all on my own. Too many teachers don’t have a clue how to teach this concept. They use the term support without giving any framework about, and instruction about, what it’s really is about.
To quote the immortal words of Jack The Pumpkin King in The Nightmare Before Christmas when he discovered Christmas, with pain and anguish in his voice:
“What does it mean, what does it mean?!”
I said the same thing about support, with pain and anguish in my voice:
“What does it mean, what does it mean?!”
From my teaching career, it’s very obvious that there are many out there that have no idea what this means. But then, even when they do begin to understand the concept, they have no idea how to execute it.
Well I’m here to tell you what it is and explain how to do it. But let me tell you straight up, if you have 3 different teachers they will explain it 3 different ways.
Sometimes I will ask a new student who is using least a modicum of support, what does support mean to them. Not one person in my entire career of teaching has ever been able to describe to me what this means.
Not One.
Even if a student does use support I posit that they cannot use it effectively if they have no idea what they are using and why. But, if you understand support the world is open to you!
Well, that may me be over dramatic but I do feel rather strongly about this.
Let me put this caveat in right here so we are all on the same page.
We all don’t teach it the same way and that’s okay.
I have my way. I know it works, because it works for me and I’ve taught quite a few students to get it to work for them. Others feel the same way with their method and it works for them and their students.
That’s okay.
Every method you learn and explore is just one more tool in your tool box.
So I’m going to leave you in some suspense. For the nitty gritty of support, tune in to the next blog and you’ll get Support Part 2!
Enjoy your suspense!
DoctorFlute
More Ideas on Support: