Playing vs. Practicing

Today's theme for lessons was explaining the differences in playing and practicing. A healthy clarinet diet consists of both, and I can be just as guilty as every single one of my students when it comes to emphasizing one over the other. In my case, I practice way more than I play, but (shockingly!) my students tend to do the opposite. When they finally realize that if they practice at home, we get to play during the lesson there's a sharp uptick in the progress-o-meter. It's gratifying as a teacher, but it also is just much more pleasant because, well, I like playing with my kids. I don't like being the metronomekeeper. It seems like a waste of their time and money.

Also, the day goes by really, really slowly when you're just the metronome dialer for 10/15 lessons. *sigh* The only thing that keeps you sane are those other 5. ;)