Is There One Best Technique?

You never know where you might learn something that applies to music. This is especially true for those who are interested in sports and music. It is surprising how many similarities there are between the two.

For instance, although you may not believe it if you have ever watched me play tennis, I have taken tennis lessons. My tennis instructor had an interesting philosophy that went something like this:

1. Never correct an action that an amateur does if a professional does something similar. For instance, since the professionals all start their swings differently, he was not particular on how a student started their swing if there was a pro doing something similar.
2. The things that all professionals do should be things that all students do too. For instance, although the pros might start their swings differently, they all get the racket in the same position when the racket contacts the ball. To him, the common areas were the most important things to get correct. He would spend all the time teaching these things.

I have wondered how these principles would apply to teaching music. We have all seen top level musicians with less than “textbook” technique. Take the right hand plucking the string on an upright for an example. There are players who use their index finger, some use their middle finger, some alternate fingers, and others use multiple fingers at the same time. Even though they are quite different, they all sound good. If I apply the tennis coach’s thinking to this observation, I would conclude that which finger to use when plucking the string is not an absolute. What matters is the tone produced. A good teacher would help the student find the way to develop the best tone through exploring different approaches to achieve that goal.

If you take this concept a step further. How would it change the way you teach and practice music?