Power of Limits and Pleasure of Games Response

    I really enjoyed this article and all the ideas that Thibeault discussed. It is incredibly interesting to see improvisation from a teacher’s perspective, after being asked to improvise all my life.

    I was never good at improvising, and it is still a skill I’m working on to this day. I think it is because of how I was educated in music, often just focusing on the work book without much time for any spur of the moment solos. I’m glad that educators are trying to move towards a different music strategy that is more about exploration than the book. I think as much as that teaching style is somewhat terrifying for all of us who have learned by the book, it will have an incredibly positive effect on our future music students.

    The concept of teaching through games is something I am familiar with, but only because my mother uses this strategy to teach her grade 3 classes each year. Before she discussed this with me a few years ago, I didn’t even acknowledge games as a way to engage students in their education. However, I do think that games are an incredibly powerful tool that allows teachers to get their concepts across and the children to have some fun while learning said concepts.

    Games are especially helpful when considering abstract technique (such as improvising), as most students these days are either terrified of the idea, or have never considered trying. They allow the space for mistakes without students feeling as though they’ve ruined the whole situation; it is after all a game. There is somewhat of a relaxation when we try to do something for fun versus attempting something new in the middle of a piece.

Thibeault, M. D. (2012). The power of limits and the pleasure of games: An easy and fun piano duo improvisation. General Music Today, 1048371311435523.