The Future of Music Education: Mindset, Patience, & Progress
As I’ve grown deeper into my experience as a music teacher, there have been emergent themes that continue to weave their way throughout my teaching strategies. A couple examples of these themes include mindset mentorship and practicing patience.
As I hope is the case with all educators, I do my best to use the lessons (both music and life) I have learned throughout my time as a musician. I feel very fortunate to remember my former years as a budding violinist and all of the various emotions I felt as I worked towards mastering my instrument. I use what I have learned (both as a student and a teacher) to coach my students in a way that addresses their experience in a holistic way, focusing on the physical, emotional, intellectual…mind & body. A whole person approach fosters healthy lifelong habits and benefits such as discipline, self-esteem, confidence, body-awareness, self expression, and creativity.
Mindset Makes Or Breaks
Being a classically trained musician has had its perks but it has also had its downfalls, of which I know many other classical musicians can relate to. Along with discipline I acquired a tendency towards perfectionism, along with self expression I learned to constantly compare myself to others, and along with mastering technique I learned to push my body beyond a healthy limit. Now as an adult I’m unlearning these bad habits and focused on how to foster healthy mindsets in my students.
In an effort to bring awareness, I am hoping to shed light on the issues that many classically trained musicians have experienced. I do this in hopes that future teachers take to heart the blanket issues that have negatively impacted so many young musicians. Again my hope is that simple awareness in teachers and students can make a difference. But it starts with the teacher.
Practice Makes Progress
So how can we make a difference? It’s important for teachers to be aware of projection. It’s important to be aware how we speak to our students in many ways becomes their inner voice and their inner critic. Instead of preaching perfection encourage progress, instead of comparing students highlight individual achievement and joy of the journey. And when it comes to encouraging practice habits, we as teachers have an obligation to teach our students how to listen to their bodies and not over do it.
Mistakes Are a Good Thing
When did we decide mistakes were a bad thing? We know they help us learn. We know they give us the opportunity to try again. But we also have learned to internalize mistakes as little failures. As proof we did not perfect something the first time. See where perfectionism becomes an issue? And I see this in my students all the time, even at a young age. They are more focused on the fact that they made a mistake than what they are actually working towards. I believe it is our duty as educators to hold space for them and let them know it is okay to make mistakes. We need to make a safe space for them to mess up. Because we know that it will be happening often. We need to dismiss the notion that mistakes warrant harsh reprimand and backlash from mentors and teachers. This ideology must become a thing of the past.
When learning something new, especially a musical instrument, mistakes are made constantly. We know this as adults and teachers and we need to communicate with our students that this is natural and part of the process of getting better. When the going gets tough, many students want to give up and quit. They can’t stand the frustration of “failure”. They don’t realize that each mistake is a building block in their journey of mastering their instrument. I even find issue with using the word “master”. I’d like to imagine that when I mention mastering an instrument I’m referring to getting to a point where you feel confident and comfortable playing it. Not in a way that suggests you’ve reached an ultimate level. Every seasoned musician knows that mastery is a process and practice is a journey that never ends.
My point is we have an obligation as teachers to help students push through the frustration of making mistakes. To encourage them to not give up. To recognize mistakes as what they must focus on next. To embrace their mistakes as helpful and to not define them as failures. And to be kind while doing so.
Practicing Patience is Key
In many ways it is easier to give advice than to take it. And in many ways we are continuing to learn and internalize the lessons we are teaching our students. It shouldn’t be taken for granted that our students teach us just as much as we teach them. And they deserve a teacher who continues to learn, grow, and develop as a musician AND as an educator! When we demonstrate a behavior we are modeling for our students. When we take a moment to respond with patience they learn to do the same. When we take a moment to encourage they also learn to do the same. And when we make a point of building them up instead of berating them or speaking harshly, they learn to hold compassion for themselves and for others.
It’s important we take the time to recognize what works and what doesn’t. What do we want to keep as far as traditional methods of teaching goes and what is necessary to leave behind. We must ponder on what kind of learning environment we want to foster for our students. And we must always take time to reflect on how we can do better. Always.
Music teachers hold a special place in the lives of their students. The average student takes lessons for three years. And for many students they will have the same teacher for much longer. We must realize the impact we have on our students development not only as musicians but also as human beings. We must never take this lightly but always strive to do and be better. I believe our success lies in connection first, content second.