Review

Julie Patton
Maximizing Your Studio's Potential: Skill Assessment and Progress Management Tools for the College-Level Brass Studio; The Student Log Book:

Tucson, AZ, United States
Publisher: Purple Lizard Press
Date of Publication: 2003

194 pages

Primary Genre: Study Material - method
Secondary Genre: Study Material - book

Have you ever felt disorganized? Julie Patton is here to help. These two books, working in tandem, present a comprehensive system to measure abilities, set goals and chart progress. The starting points are the Initial [self] Assessment to be filled out before the first lesson and a Measurable Skills Test to be taken in that first lesson. The Initial Assessment, oddly buried on page 165 of the student log book, asks such questions as “How would you rate your ability to sight-read?,” “How would you rate your finger/slide technique?,” and “How many hours per week do you feel you should practice for lessons?” Such questions as, “How many concerts did you attend last year (as a listener)?” or “How often do you sight-read duets with someone else?” may goad students into taking action. The Measurable Skills Test requires the Alessi/Bowman edition of the Arban Method to test such quantifiable elements as, “Slide/Finger Technique” by specifying a given exercise and tempo. From these initial assessments the student and teacher are directed to lay out goals for the semester. The student log book consists largely of pre-printed forms such as: Semester Goal Sheets, Weekly Lesson Logs, Article/Book reading assignments, Listening Assignments, lists of method books and solo literature studied, gigs played, master class notes. I had to chuckle at Patton's icon-based self evaluation rubric for performances, ranging from a smiley face to a picture of a bomb. If there is some activity related to student development, this log book probably has a form for recording it. All this leads to some fundamental questions. How organized do you need to be to succeed in music? How much time should you devote to writing plans and assessing outcomes? I must admit that I am troubled by some aspects of this approach. For example, the weekly lesson logs are largely pre-categorized. Twelve of these Skill Focus areas are technical, devoted to such items as Phrasing & Breathing, Mixed Articulation and Finger/Slide dexterity. The next four lines are labeled: Etudes, Transposition/Clefs, Solo Literature and Orchestral Excerpts. Does this imply a student should only study one excerpt per week? While some will appreciate having things nicely laid out for them, others may chafe at the restrictions this format imposes. A form central to this entire system is the Skill Area Check-Off Sheet in the Student Log Book. Depending on your point of view, it is here where the beauty of this system shines or its deeper flaws are revealed. A thorough list of 32 skill areas is paired with check boxes for the year in which that skill was mastered. Can you identify a specific year in which a given student mastered “Tone – beauty, clarity, focus, proper use of vibrato in the low register”? This mastery form doesn't seem to take into account the fundamental truth that we must constantly renew our skills, ever watchful for the bad habits that can creep into our playing.

If you are looking for a comprehensive approach that lays out a road map for teacher and student, you should study these materials to see if they are a good fit. I applaud Julie Patton for creating such a thorough record-keeping system but I worry that perhaps she has taken a good idea too far, making the whole process feel a bit like preparing tax returns. Oh yes, what happens when the student loses the book?

-Brad Edwards
University of South Carolina