The Educators - Sonja Horbelt, Tania Bosak and Annie Fletcher.
By Nat Grant. First published in Drumscene Magazine in 2017
Sonja Horbelt - photo by Fred Kroh
The Educators
Teachers can have a huge impact on a student’s development and approach to a musical instrument. Finding the right teacher can be difficult and very personal, there’s no one size fits all when it comes to musical connection. Teachers can instill confidence, fear, and greatly influence a student’s playing style: they can rule with an iron fist, or let the student dictate the directions of the lessons. And do we ever stop being students of music? Or do we just transition into a more collaborative kind of learning environment?
Here, three long time drummer/educators share some thoughts on how teaching, learning, and playing music can influence each other, on being an adult student, and adapting their teaching style to meet different students’ needs.
Sonja Horbelt
Sonja Horbelt is a veteran of the Melbourne jazz scene with her own project Kennedy Snow, as well as an abundance of freelance and session work, and member of ensembles with Sandy Evans, Andrea Keller, Bob Sedergreen, and comedians Geraldine Quinn and Casey Bennetto. She has also previously held the positions of Chair and co-artistic director of the Melbourne Womens’ International Jazz Festival.
Sonja says she began drumming by accident: “my parents picked it for me as a 2nd instrument in high school. I learnt sporadically from a flute teacher, then fell into the VCA by accident whilst completing 4th year of an honours degree in German literature at Melbourne Uni – I just wanted to play music.”
Sonja has been teaching music for 25 years, since she left college. She talks about the importance of balancing teaching with her own practice: “I think the greatest compromise when you take on a reasonable amount of teaching is that it takes up personal practice time, and rehearsal time,” she says. “It can also be a great energy drain, so it’s a fine balance between teaching with integrity, but also allowing enough energy for you to still pursue your own craft.”
For Sonja, juggling teaching and performing has meant developing discipline and the ability to focus on the job at hand: “teaching has taught me to maximise outcome in the smallest amount of time, so I try to identify what the primary goal of any rehearsal is (establishing a playing relationship in a new rhythm section, getting through a large number of charts, working out arrangements for a gig, preparing for a recording) and focus on making that rehearsal as successful as possible.”
She says teaching has also instilled in her a respect for the point of view of her fellow musicians. “It’s taught me to really listen to what people are saying about whatever is an issue (good and bad) and not just gloss over or underestimate the importance of what other musicians are feeling about the music,” she says.
Throughout the transition from student to professional player (and sometimes both at once) it’s important to continue to develop yourself, professionally. Sonja says: “I subscribe to some industry mags and blogs/podcasts and draw on that professional library of exercises/interviews and also books and transcriptions to address things that come up or that I feel I need to spend more time or want to develop further when I’m preparing for something.”
She adds that the learning doesn’t stop once you become a teacher or a professional performer. “I also find I’m constantly experiencing a lesson/learning new things when I play with other musicians or catch other gigs. Whether it’s something about a new kit set up, or a different approach to an old groove, or a sticking thing, I try and learn as much as I can from whatever I’m seeing/hearing. I also really love hearing other musicians (and not just drummers) talking about their experiences of playing because it makes me think about how I learn, and how I can improve.”
Sonja’s advice to her students? “Be diverse and be prepared for any opportunity that may come your way - you can’t practice enough!”
Teachers can have a huge impact on a student’s development and approach to a musical instrument. Finding the right teacher can be difficult and very personal, there’s no one size fits all when it comes to musical connection. Teachers can instill confidence, fear, and greatly influence a student’s playing style: they can rule with an iron fist, or let the student dictate the directions of the lessons. And do we ever stop being students of music? Or do we just transition into a more collaborative kind of learning environment?
Here, three long time drummer/educators share some thoughts on how teaching, learning, and playing music can influence each other, on being an adult student, and adapting their teaching style to meet different students’ needs.
Sonja Horbelt
Sonja Horbelt is a veteran of the Melbourne jazz scene with her own project Kennedy Snow, as well as an abundance of freelance and session work, and member of ensembles with Sandy Evans, Andrea Keller, Bob Sedergreen, and comedians Geraldine Quinn and Casey Bennetto. She has also previously held the positions of Chair and co-artistic director of the Melbourne Womens’ International Jazz Festival.
Sonja says she began drumming by accident: “my parents picked it for me as a 2nd instrument in high school. I learnt sporadically from a flute teacher, then fell into the VCA by accident whilst completing 4th year of an honours degree in German literature at Melbourne Uni – I just wanted to play music.”
Sonja has been teaching music for 25 years, since she left college. She talks about the importance of balancing teaching with her own practice: “I think the greatest compromise when you take on a reasonable amount of teaching is that it takes up personal practice time, and rehearsal time,” she says. “It can also be a great energy drain, so it’s a fine balance between teaching with integrity, but also allowing enough energy for you to still pursue your own craft.”
For Sonja, juggling teaching and performing has meant developing discipline and the ability to focus on the job at hand: “teaching has taught me to maximise outcome in the smallest amount of time, so I try to identify what the primary goal of any rehearsal is (establishing a playing relationship in a new rhythm section, getting through a large number of charts, working out arrangements for a gig, preparing for a recording) and focus on making that rehearsal as successful as possible.”
She says teaching has also instilled in her a respect for the point of view of her fellow musicians. “It’s taught me to really listen to what people are saying about whatever is an issue (good and bad) and not just gloss over or underestimate the importance of what other musicians are feeling about the music,” she says.
Throughout the transition from student to professional player (and sometimes both at once) it’s important to continue to develop yourself, professionally. Sonja says: “I subscribe to some industry mags and blogs/podcasts and draw on that professional library of exercises/interviews and also books and transcriptions to address things that come up or that I feel I need to spend more time or want to develop further when I’m preparing for something.”
She adds that the learning doesn’t stop once you become a teacher or a professional performer. “I also find I’m constantly experiencing a lesson/learning new things when I play with other musicians or catch other gigs. Whether it’s something about a new kit set up, or a different approach to an old groove, or a sticking thing, I try and learn as much as I can from whatever I’m seeing/hearing. I also really love hearing other musicians (and not just drummers) talking about their experiences of playing because it makes me think about how I learn, and how I can improve.”
Sonja’s advice to her students? “Be diverse and be prepared for any opportunity that may come your way - you can’t practice enough!”
Tania Bosak - photo by Jess Busby
Tania Bosak
Tania Bosak hails from Melbourne and divides her time between there and overseas. She runs Open Studio, a live music venue in Northcote, and works teaching TaKeTiNa drum and percussion lessons across Australia and Europe.
“I came to drums and percussion through my dance and performing arts training back in the 80’s,” she says. “I studied contemporary dance and theatre at Deakin University, and later discovered Indian Classical dance, which pulled me more toward rhythm and percussion.”
Tania has been teaching for 32 years. “I really love teaching,” she says, “and this has always been a clear path for me … I initially started teaching theatre and drama while at University and during this time I did a lot performance making as well as directing cross art form and text based theatre … I now teach workshops and trainings which include, rhythm, percussion, voice, theatre and performance.”
Like Sonja, Tania feels that being a teacher has helped her to listen and communicate better with fellow artists. “Teaching has made me particularly sensitive to how people learn,” she says, “and I feel it has greatly developed my intuition and ability to read second signals, or the layers that people communicate unconsciously … TaKeTiNa has also strongly influenced how I approach all of my work too, and has naturally become a foundation for all that I do.”
“So themes around 'ego', being good or not good enough, making mistakes and feeling what blocks me and managing it in the moment is something I am acutely aware of. TaKeTiNa deals directly with these elements and helps me to step outside of myself, not take myself so seriously and to listen and sense more deeply to what is happening in the moment. I apply this constantly to all of my work and interactions with artists and collaborators.”
For Tania it is important to continue to seek out teachers, even as a professional. And she has found that the teacher/student relationship has changed as she has grown older and more experienced: “I still have teachers and mentors I work with,” she says, “… and I'm always looking for more. It is such a luxury when I have the time to work with teachers that I really connect with. It is quite different now yes, I am a lot more disciplined and don't need to be spoon fed these days, so lessons are a lot more productive and focused.”
Everyone needs or desires something different in a teacher, and sometimes different things at different times. “I have always valued teachers who have got me over the line or encouraged me to push through blocks,” says Tania: “… so those teachers who are able to work with me in a more non-linear way are the rare ones I am naturally drawn to and enjoy working with.”
She recognises this and the importance of being flexible as a teacher, depending on what the student most needs. “I am constantly adapting to the situation, changing my teaching style and even agenda depending on what a student or the group needs. I prepare to an extent and at the same time I am always prepared to throw out the plan and work intuitively. I never see this as compromising my teaching style as it has become my way of working, to stay open to the unexpected and guide or allow it to self-generate.”
“I really enjoy being in the zone where I feel like I am in a flow with what comes back to me from an individual or a group when teaching and it mostly results in a welcome discovery to somewhere you didn't expect to go.”
Her advice for young players? “Choose your teachers carefully, and have lots of them … don’t care what people think, and never hold back. Take the risks sooner… like now!”
Annie Fletcher - photo by Terry Fletcher
Annie Fletcher
Annie Fletcher remembers “being lured into the rhythms of the live conga accompanist whilst doing jettes (leaps) across the studio whilst studying dance at university. Her first drum purchase “was a lone conga from cash converters, however I really started with street samba drumming, followed by djembe and later darbuka. I’ve been drumming for about 15 years.”
Annie has been teaching since she was 18: “a very long time ago, starting with teaching Jazz Ballet and then Gymnastics and then High School. The skills you develop along the way can all be used as useful tools in later teaching circumstances in my opinion. Currently my teaching work is a mix of teaching adult community hand drumming classes and part time high school teaching. I also do one off workshops from time to time.”
Like Tania and Sonja, Annie continues to look for professional development opportunities for her own playing. “I seek out one off workshops with visiting hand drummers and weekend community Music camps such as those run by Community Music Victoria,” she says. “Sometimes I will do a block to extend an area of interest such as Dun Dun Dance (drumming and dancing together). As an adult I am more aware of exactly what I might want to get out of extra tuition. However with an open mind I find there is always more to learn and always the odd treasure to be found.”
When asked how flexible a teacher should be to accommodate a student’s learning style, Annie says “I definitely try to work with individual students to assist them to move on with ease. Even in group classes I find this can be helpful. The material covered maybe the same for different students or groups but the manner of the delivery can be tweaked to suit different learning styles and abilities.”
Much of Annie’s work is community focused, and she is used to adapting exercises and rhythms to suit students with a wide range of abilities. “I aim for the Music to be accessible to all with a high level of fun and a sense of re-assurance that the rhythms and the group can keep it all together.”
Annie’s classes usually begin with simple warm up exercises, “to get everyone relaxed, warmed up and to provide a chance for revision of good hand technique … in the mix there is also the challenges for the more experienced players to always be working on new extended material. In my community classes I enjoy that the drummers of different levels can come together and play at gigs with the right guidance and produce a high-energy fun sound for the community to enjoy.”
Being an artist of any kind often means juggling several ‘hats’, or sets of responsibilities: “I have built up my community classes over the last 12 years and am dedicated to that as my number one commitment in my working week,” says Annie. “I aim to slot part-time teaching contracts around that and Music is a big part of my recent teaching loads. Previously I have juggled many different roles, some in music, education, additional needs and performance.”
She also emphasises the importance of taking the teacher hat off when performing with other professionals: “I try to take the teacher hat off in these situations as it can also get in the way, particularly in rehearsal and collaboration where a more relaxed approach is often better all around.”
Asked what advice she would give her younger drumming self: “Go for it. Have a go at it all. Definitely work on the practice dedication … you are never too old to take up a first instrument or a second or a third… the universal language of Music will journey with you everywhere.”
