I recently discovered a few of my students only practice with their piano on mute. They do not want to ‘bother’ other family members with the sound of works in progress. This reluctance to play for others started a valuable conversation about the role of performing in music study. Music is an interactive experience, so it is important to unmute ourselves and share our playing even when we feel like it can still improve. Here are three attitudes towards performing I learned to cultivate for my...
Parents of musical children often ask: “when will my child be able to create their own music?” This is a natural question, we all associate music with creativity. However, while children go to art class and produce their own paintings, take writing lessons and author their own stories, they seldom create original pieces at the piano. In most piano methods, re-creation, or interpreting another person’s music, is the goal.
As a musician, teaching in a field that glorifies prodigies, I have come to dislike the word talent, which implies some are born with innate ability while others are not. I much prefer ‘aptitude,’ which indicates a musical disposition without dismissing unconventional learning paths. By highlighting talent, we de-emphasize the importance of effort, implying results are not within a student’s control (a harmful notion for students regardless of ability level). And of course, over-valuing talen...
If you are a conservatory trained musician like me, then your coursework, lessons, and curriculum were designed to prepare you for an academic job. Of course, a musician’s life is rarely a straight line from graduation to tenure-track employment. In fact, a variety of factors have made securing a full-time academic position today more difficult than ever:
