Teaching Insights

John Paynter
Not All Violins Sound the Same
 

What do the best teachers do to captivate and motivate students, to help them reach high levels of achievement that are long remembered and much appreciated? When John Paynter, professor of conducting and director of bands at Northwestern, died last spring, many of his colleagues and students celebrated his brilliant career and excellent teaching. They remembered a teacher who had an enormous and sustained influence on his students. 

In the March issue of The Instrumentalist, some of those former students and a few former colleagues reflected on the qualities that produced such stunning results. Robert Foster of the University of Kansas noted Paynter's "sense of humor, love of his students, and his accessibility." James Croft of Florida State University said Paynter's brilliant teaching owed much to the "splendid standards" he imposed on his students. "He asked much from his players and students," agreed Roger Rocco, now on the faculty at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago, "but he never demanded more than he felt they were capable of giving. This sensitivity was one of his greatest strengths." 

Many of the qualities his students noted --the sensitivity to students' needs, the high standards, the willingness to listen, the enthusiasm for learning something new--appeared in Professor Paynter's own accounts of his teaching. In an interview with Barbara Favorito in 1992, which also appeared in the March 1996 issue of The Instrumentalist, Paynter speaks at some length about the advice he might offer to aspiring conductors. His words, on the art of soliciting from his players the very best they can give, have a special relevance for teaching; they offer indirectly some insights into the teaching philosophy of a man who clearly knew and loved his profession. 

"The first thing to do is to make friends with the string players," Paynter explains. "Make friends with them as musicians. One of the biggest mistakes a wind conductor can do is to ask the strings to play things that are offensive or distasteful to them, such as playing too harshly, loudly, or softly for that matter. You won't have time to learn all about the strings, which takes a lifetime of study." 

"Instead, ask how a passage should sound or what they would suggest. Admit to a limited knowledge of string techniques and ask someone to demonstrate how it would sound if only the first desks play. Make friends, communicate, and ask for help. I've never had a player, orchestral or band, who didn't react favorably when I asked, 'Can you help me with this?' They're all so eager to jump in and help." 

"I would also tell you to go in with an attitude of learning. I may be hooked on that, but it seems to me that the people who make mistakes in the transition are the ones who bull their way around by being domineering and dogmatic. This can easily turn off an orchestra." 

"One of the common mistakes a band conductor makes is not giving the orchestra enough physical space to play. When violinists sit too close to each other, they cannot play well. They won't fit in the same space that clarinets will. Another thing that might bother a band conductor is the amount of doodling and noise in the strings as they sit and finger notes on the finger board. This tiny sound just irritates the tar out of me, and yet it is the most natural thing for them to do. It probably improves things quite a lot. When the clarinet player doodles, there is no sound and no one cares. If a trumpet player doodles the valves, you don't care." 

"One of the harsh realities a band director will face when he stands in front of the orchestra is that the strings are individuals. For the first time you realize that all violins do not sound the same. You will hear individual violin sounds, and that's pretty hard for a band director." 

Learn to recognize your own limitations; learn about your students and understand how their strengths can complement yours; realize how much you can learn from this interaction; give your students space to grow, room for intellectual doodling and experimentation; learn most of all that your students are all individuals: they neither sound -- nor learn -- all the same. These invaluable insights, and the effects they created in the lives of his students, are an essential component of the legacy of John Paynter. 

Iyabo Oladehin and Danielle Robinson