By Dr. Donald L. Green, 7 February 2021
I find much synchronicity between music and being a Rider Education Coach. I commonly listen to Todd Sucherman, the drummer from the rock group Styx, discussing the appropriate drum sound for a song. During one of the most poignant moments, he explained that sometimes too much noise could detract from what the music is about. He questioned what the Beatles would have sounded like if Ringo Star was playing complicated fills all over the place, or if Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones was soloing through the entire song? The answer is: not like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.
Applying this insight into conducting a Basic Rider’s Course, if the coach is speaking about the geometry of steering or aerodynamics, the reality is the music in a novice rider’s ears is not in sync with the lessons or skill they are trying to learn. The coach is playing an instrumental solo while the rider is trying to determine the groove and maintain a marginally consistent beat. I remember my first drum teacher trying to explain why I should tap my foot; it was antithetical to what I wanted to do. I wanted to play with music, not look like an older adult dancing. Little did I know that over 40 years later, I wished I would have developed better tapping skills with my left foot to “chink” the hi-hat with better syncopation.
The theme reminded me of an advanced course I once coached. There was a discussion with a student about torque-induced gyroscopic precession as it affects traction after a stopping exercise. Although somewhat applicable to what was happening during the braking procedure, it went well beyond anything I should have considered discussing within that particular course. It completely overshadowed the entire learning process and motor skill learning theme. Even in advanced level courses, the dynamics of learning a curriculum’s chosen essential tasks – can be clouded by a coach’s desire to educate the student with too much information or depth. The result can be missing the intent of the critical objectives completely.
As RiderCoaches distinguished by students as subject matter experts in learning, it is necessary to stick with the absolute definition of being a facilitator “to make easier.” This includes playing the right notes (actions) as they fit within the music (course activity). To over-coach can muddle the intent of a lesson, clouding the purpose and objective reducing the potential learning outcome.
French Composer Claude Debussy said, “Music is the space between the notes.” Correlating some more to rider education, the space between our actions allows the notes (key objectives) to breathe, resonate, and reach their full measure of expression. In coaching, too much talking can hide the value of the lesson, not allowing the messages rooted in the course material to resonate and encode into the student’s memory or grey matter. The pauses between topics noted on the range cards enable the students to reflect and discuss with peers, providing the much-needed social aspect of learning supporting critical rider subtasks proven to enhance knowledge retention.
It is easy to believe this is another beautiful example of “less is more,” highlighting how truly artful motorcycle coaching can be.
