What aspects should we treat by giving a masterclass?

(Based on a Youtube video, Andreas Blau Masterclass on Hindemith excerpt)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIioZXvnZiw

Emmanuel Pahud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wM-r5z_mLc

Let the student play through the piece at the begining of the lesson.

Not to start correcting from the begining but let them play and after giving a nice feedback, go to the big
points of correction making a sumary, so the student has a clear idea of what is coming from the
teacher.

Work in detail with the piece, a good idea?

It depends on the piece. For example, if the masterclass is about Orchestral exerpts, I would go deep in
the piece (dinamics, phrasing, articulation...) but if the Masterclass is on any piece, I wouldn't teach how
to practise that piece in concret but how to improve the way of playing of the student aswell as some
tricks to practise that piece or any piece. I would give useful advices for the general aspects of flute
playing using the piece as a way to go through.

General aspects of flute playing to be treated in a masterclass:

Long process changes are not interesting in a short masterclass and they need a tracing from the
teacher to see an evolution. We need to treat only aspects that can be "modified" in a short time. What
aspects can be modified in a short time?

- Kinds of articulations, different colors of the sound, use of vibrato, tricks and ways of practising
technical passages, relaxation, how to play in the style of the piece...

Example: Pahud's video, after the performance of the whole piece, he talks about the general Piano
sound, and explains how to solve that not just for that piece but for the general flute playin (The
"wasabi" point) Minute 6.15

What aspects can't be modified in a short time and therefore we shouldn't treat in a masterclass?

- Change of embouchure, posture (maybe just mention but not try to change), not change what the
student is doing, but improve the way he/she does.

For example, when the student is playing something in a slower tempo that it's meant to be, don't try to
make him/her play at the fast tempo (just mention it is faster so he/she will practise later on on the right
speed). If we make our student play in an uncomfortable tempo in a masterclass, he/she will lose all the
important aspects of flute playing by focusing just on tempo. We should make him/her play with nice
ideas and useful comments in a comfortable tempo for the student.

Example: Andreas Blau, Hindemith excerpt, minute 00:40-01:00, 1:20 - 2:40...

How much should we play during our masterclass? And talk?

Some flutists don't even set up the flute but just talk and teach by just explaining. Others play too much
and don't let the student try and improve. We should always find what works better with our way of
teaching but in my opinion it is in the middle point.

In the case of Andreas Blau in this video, I think he plays too much, so the student tries to imitate him
but that doesn't really work and we miss some explanations on how to do the things he asks the student
for. For this we could use metaphors, examples, exercises instead of tell him what to do (" shorter", "
more vibrato "... ) so the student understands what is he changing and why. (ex. 05:45 - 06:05 )

In the case of Emmanuel Pahud, he talks more than playing, but when he plays it is short and very clear
what he means. Minute 5.44 to 6-01 Also talking is a good way to connect more with the audience.

We should mostly play to give some impression and example but not to make the student copy us or to
"imitate" the student many times. Sometimes we can imitate what the student is doing "wrong" and
make clear that we are exagerating, but not do it too often, so the student won't motivate at all. (Ex.
4.30 - 4.35, 6:25-6:35, 11:05-11:23, 11:44 - 12:17......)

How to give feedback

For learning through motivation, we should tell the student always the positive feedback first, and tell
him/her how to improve what he/she is doing, but not that what he/she is doing is wrong.

This I don't like in this video, we can see that Andreas is interrupting the student again and again and
always telling that something is wrong, without a positive comment in almost any moment. (watch for
example the only positive comment, at the begining of the video until 00:45, and it works very well).

Conclusion:

Don't try to make the student play like you, but play the best of him/her, give some advices,
recommendations and contact with the audience. It's not a private lesson!