I have an experimental approach to teaching music to young learners. Out of respect for the complexity of the art as well as the complexity of each child I realize how senseless it is to dumb down any part of the student's orientation to sound, notation, or repertoire.
Part of my last phase of experiment involved a weekly duo lesson with two teenagers, one an accomplished reader, the other an accomplished non-reading improvisor. To my astonishment I realize that the non-reader could sight-read even quite complex scores when the two of them worked together. Clearly there was no trace of competition between them or this could never have happened.
It is hard for me to imagine myself as a teenager doing anything musical in the company of a peer without competition being the prevailing dynamic.
