Pacing of the Class

Effective teachers have a pace to their teaching. This is especially important in a classroom teaching situation. Ways to pace a class include:

• Use of the voice
• Modeling or Rote teaching (I play, then you play)
• Predictable routine
• Media, such as background tapes, CDs or Accompaniment Software

In rehearsals, balancing the rehearsal between playing and listening is very important. Here are a few examples that wreak havoc on pacing:

• Too much talk from the podium

• Strange balance between talk and playing, i.e. the conductor who keeps cutting the orchestra off after 2 bars and then talks for 2 minutes.

The teacher must control the pace of the class. The class should begin promptly with an interesting warm-up activity which will lead into the body of the lesson. Excessive teacher talk at the beginning of rehearsal will slow the pace.

During the body of the lesson the teacher should present new concepts and ideas. The pace will slow down during these activities. The teacher should then begin speeding up the pace as the end of the class approaches.

The end of the class should include some type of activity that ends the class on a high energy level. This will influence the attitudes of the students as they come to class the next day.