Steve Houghton – internationally renowned jazz drummer, percussionist, clinician, author, and educator– joins me to share insights from over 30 years of professional teaching. They discuss measuring progress, finding your niche, the importance of projects, and actionable advice for improving university programs. Yeah baby!
“Over time I just want to play with my friends.“
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Actionable Advice
For Musicians and Educators
- What did I do different than you? The signature Steve Houghton power question! Demonstrating how to play something, and then having the student to decide why that was more effective ensures the student is actively listening and making their own value judgements. Students can’t make those assessments if you just tell them what was different.
- I can be hard to see if you’re getting better from your own perspective. Steve is big on the idea of “small victories”. Small victories are moments when the training comes together and the student really makes something happen: it could be a great concert performance, fully embodying a transcription, finishing a compelling composition, etc. Whenever a student has a small victory make sure you acknowledge it! Often times I would have a small victory but wouldn’t take the time to sit with that feeling and lovingly acknowledge my achievement. Those “yeah baby!”emails from Steve gave me permission to feel good about myself for minute before moving onto my next school obligation. We would often joke that surviving music school meant focusing on getting from one small victory to the next.
- Steve uses semester summaries to engage students and capture the momentum of small victories. At the end of every semester make your students write out everything the accomplished and where they want to go next. Sure you could write out their progress for them, but it’s essential students learn to notice their progression and acknowledge the good in themselves.
- I’ve always been a project oriented person. The process of channeling your knowledge and skills into consumable products is an incredibly revealing and rewarding experience. An effective college program should actively encourage students to create projects during their schooling. Projects are things like making an album, building a website, starting a YouTube channel, creating an instructional video/clinic, or forming a band.
- I’ve never seen mentorship as just giving someone advice. For me the whole thing is watching them in action, and helping guide their decision making. But you don’t know their decision making until you’re there seeing it, hearing it.
- My goal was never “Oh man I gotta be the next this or that” or “I really want to contribute” or “I just want to be a jazz musician”. It was none of that. My goal was to be a great musician and have guys respect me and sound good whenever I played.
- Your niche/purpose might not totally be playing drumset with the music you love. There’s a chance if that’s your only purpose for it to blow up in your face in today’s climate. How can you weave other strengths and mediums into your music?
For University Programs
- Universities don’t pay enough attention to the current music scene.
- I’m not sure most schools take being a freelance/working musician seriously.
- Music faculties need to get younger and teach things like social media, music technology, and home recording.
- Eliminate at least half of the inordinate amount of time spent on classical theory and history.
- It’s up to the school to make ensure you have enough time to do what YOU want to do.
- You need boots on the ground. Stop hiring adjunct, phantom faculty instead of professors who will be there every week for the students.