Teaching - Knowledge

It is very easy to forget how much we know. As we strive to improve and grow ourselves, even the most basic and seemingly common aspects of what we do are actually new to many people.

There is a lot of advice currently out there that suggests we write and explain things without using too many 'technical' terms. I appreciate and understand that, and have tended to adhere to that perspective myself, not because I'm a sheep, but because my general target audience is different to many musicians'.

Who knew there's a formula for boiling eggs?
University of Exeter did.

Most material out there is for people who are already interested in a particular topic or sub-genre (such as renaissance music, or South American stamps between 1851 & 1900, or egg boiling) and it is easy, relevant and appropriate to refer to all sorts of 'internal' or 'in-house' terminology. But when you set out to share music or stamp collecting in general with those who may not have experienced it before, a whole different approach is needed.

And that's when a fine line of introducing technical terms into conversations becomes easy to trip over, especially when used as humor:

Obbligato - Being forced to practice, or 'an essential but subordinate part'?
Lento - the weeks before Easto, or 'slow'?
Piu Animato - time to clean the cat's litter box, or 'play more lively'?

Remember - we often come across those who seem to know a great deal more than we do in our field, but there are a great many more who don't know as much. Be generous in sharing your knowledge, and patiently explain any technical terms referred to.



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