The State of the Art

School is almost over, summer approaches and recitals are afoot. I remember piano recitals as a kid.  They scared me so-o-o badly.  I remember being 10 or 11 and performing a Mozart piece (Probably the C major Sonata K. 545).  The previous days of silent, dreading anticipation. Fidgeting through the other kids’ performances.  My knees where shaking uncontrollably.  I was wearing an uncomfortable suit and the summer NYC heat  was making me sweat through it.  The long walk up the aisle to the piano.  The only sounds were the shuffling of concert programs and sporadic clearing of throats.  Eyes upon me, an eternity passed before I got to the stage.  Then the worst moment:  the moment immediately before sounding the first notes.  But after that it was only the music.  The only recourse to the fear was losing myself in the music.  The fear faded away and I was allowed to enjoy what I was playing.

So now, many years later, I have to send kids up that proverbial aisle to the piano.  But without the fear.  The kids were well prepared and I went out of my way to not make a big deal out of it.   The seemingly casual approach resulted in: no tears, no terrified, last minute refusals to play, and unexpected memorization of pieces, great improvisations, surprise pieces, and great playing.  I believe that they got an empowering performance experience.

Before I started teaching I was a little afraid of it.  My thoughts ranged from: I may not have the patience, to I don’t know what to teach, to I can’t handle kids, to it might take away from my career as a musician… But, very soon after starting my first lesson 3 years ago, I discovered that none of that was true and that teaching is the most rewarding job I have ever had besides performing.  I get to hang out with cool people and share my love and knowledge about music and the piano with them.  I learn so much about interacting with people, for example: how to communicate the same idea in different ways according to who the student is, how to deal with different types of personalities.  Teaching solidifies the knowledge one has and encourages growth.  If I can’t answer a question a student has, I search for the answer and we both learn something.  Awesome.

Sometimes I encounter what I like to call “The Elasticity of a Half Hour.” Sometimes it seems that we just started working on a tune or concept and boom, time is up.  Other times, it seems like hours have passed, but the lesson is only half way done.  Now there seem to be many reasons for these things.  If the 1/2 hour seems short it can be because we are working really hard, having a lot of fun, or covering a lot of ground.  And oddly, sometimes it seems it is hard to get rolling, but the time is up and it flew by for no apparent reason.  If the 1/2 hour seems long it can be because the student is having a tough or over-stimulating day and is not into the lesson, is generally not into piano lessons (this happens, sometimes piano is just something to do between other extra-curriculars and one has to do their best at providing a positive musical experience regardless), and sometimes we are covering a lot of ground but the lesson seems to last a lo-o-o-ng time. Sometimes I can’t seem to find the thing that will connect the student to the material.  And yes, sometimes teacher is having a bad day, but being a professional means you have to put aside your own stuff for the sake of the student.  I believe this to be one of the most important qualities in a teacher.

The students feel this too.  Sometimes you get “How much longer?” after 5 minutes.  Sometimes you get “Is it really over?” So, what are your thoughts on this?  If you are a teacher, what are effective ways of connecting a student to the material.  If you are a student, what makes you excited and really involved in your lesson?