“You don’t have time?!” I barked in total disbelief.
Throughout the years, I’ve heard plenty of excuses, from both adults and children. But there’s one thing I cannot tolerate – blatant lying.
“Hand me your guitar,” I ordered, as the young child gave me his ¾-sized classical guitar. I started my stopwatch.
“This is the first time.” I said coolly as I started playing.
The instrument was clearly too small for me. But I wanted to illustrate a point. There I was, in the student’s home, using the student’s instrument, playing what I had prescribed as his homework. I want the student to realize what I asked was reasonable.
“Here’s the second time,” I stated as I repeated the piece.
The piece in question was only one page and four-lines long. It’s the musical equivalent of reading 3 short paragraphs.
“And here’s the last time,” I remarked as I repeated the piece for the third and final time. I stopped my stopwatch and brought my wrist to the student’s face.
“1 minute and 34 seconds,” I told him. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE THE TIME? That’s shorter than a commercial break for a cartoon!”
And with that, the student stopped giving me excuses. I had prescribed a simple task to the child – to play that piece 3 times a day till our next lesson.
As I left the room, our lesson finished, I heard the sound of music as the door closed.
When teaching music to children, it’s important to know the right time to indulge the child, and the right time to enforce discipline. Having worked in both advertising and music, I’ve found one thing to be true – all creative people have a childlike sense about them.
When you work in any creative position, it’s important to maintain this childlike wonder. It’s important to allow your imagination to roam free in a world where nothing is impossible. It is one indulgence that all artists should afford their students.
But this is a quality that is not fully understood by some parents. When a child’s imagination roams free during a lesson, some parents cut the child off immediately, redirecting their attention to the lesson at hand while dampening their creative spark.
While I do concur that learning to ‘pay attention’ is an important quality that children need to develop in order to survive in the world, I also feel that a childlike creative flair should also be encouraged. Indulge the child, ever so slightly. Do not immediately trample on their imagination. To do so promotes intellectual sterility.
There’s a way to indulge them without overindulging. Find the perfect balance.
One thing that shouldn’t be indulged is a self-defeatist mentality. A good music teacher always forces the student to leave his/her comfort zone. This can be terrifying for a child. When a child has been practicing a piece for 2-3 weeks, it can be very jarring to introduce them to something new.
But that’s an essential part of the growing process. The same also applies to the teaching of spatial awareness and new techniques. Children can be afraid to learn something new. Do not allow them to cower in fear.
A good musician has a perfect blend of creative flair and technical ability. Balancing both is a tricky affair when dealing with children. But at the end of the day, I believe that sound reasoning and good judgment will help any teacher/parent make the correct decisions.
