Reply To: Kids that don't understand

[nafmeadmin]

I have noticed that many children struggle crossing the center line. Make sure you work on arm-crossing patterns in the younger grades. As far as mallets, take a moment to see if the student is missing the 4th stroke of the pattern (left-right-cross left-right). Some of my students play left-right-cross left and forget the 2nd right. I slow the pattern down, have the students play the pattern in the air above the instrument before striking the instrument, and, I mirror with my mallets in the air. When the students play for the first time, look for that one student that gets it right, and then, challenge the rest of the students to match their classmate. This will increase the concentration of all of the students.