By Richard B.
Have you ever wanted to get inside the mind of your child’s music teacher? You’ve probably thought of your own job and how there are things that you would like to say but for one reason or another, you believe that it’s best to keep things unsaid.
If you’ve ever wondered what thoughts are running through your child’s music teacher’s head, we asked a few teachers and came up with five that may be helpful to you.
I wish I was a miracle worker but…
When you go to a restaurant and pay for a meal, you expect to get that meal. It will taste great, look great, and be complete when it comes to the table. Your only job is to eat and enjoy. Now you’re paying for music lessons and it’s natural to see them the same way but music lessons are different. A music teacher can’t press the buttons, sing the notes, or read the music. They can only provide guidance. It’s the student’s job to practice outside of the lesson.
Of course the music teacher should have a large part in the development of the player but they can only do a portion. They can’t work miracles. The true miracle worker is the student and miracles happen by practicing consistently.
I’m only with your child 30 minutes. You’re with them all of the time.
Your child’s music teacher will get to know your child and know them well. They will learn their personality, their likes, their dislikes, their attention span, and many of those little things that make your child unique and special. They will only see your child 30 minutes per week. You may see them every day and even if you don’t you see them more than the teacher. You, the parent, should help design the lessons. The music teacher will take care of the musical part but you can help by providing feedback to the teacher about what is going well and what isn’t.
If you see it as unimportant, so will your child.
Have you ever cancelled a lesson simply because you didn’t want to go? Or maybe there was something good on TV or your child wanted to go somewhere with their friends? If you show your child that their music lessons are not important, they will see it that way too. There is a lot of research that shows that kids put more weight on what parents do instead of what they say.
I don’t want to waste your money any more than you do.
When a student shows up to a lesson unprepared, the teacher is crippled. They can’t teach anything new until the student masters last week’s material. Musical concepts are all interrelated and build upon each other. You can’t install windows until the frame of the house is built. Don’t go to a lesson without knowing the material from last week or the same lesson has to be taught again.
Let me know how I can help.
Don’t be afraid to tell a teacher if something isn’t working or if your child is discouraged. Teachers don’t always know so make sure to communicate regularly. Teachers don’t want kids to fail and they’re excited to hear from you.
© New Mozart School of Music