I've heard so many times before, from children, teens, and adults...."I had this piece/song down just yesterday. I KNOW I have this! It's just that I get nervous during my lesson." The first time I heard that, I was like, "Huh?!? You're saying I make you nervous or scared?" Now if you know me, I'm pretty much the least intimidating person on earth. I'm not big, I don't have a deep voice, and my personality is more....introverted or reserved. So what was going on? Then after talking with a few other teachers, they also said they experienced this strange phenomenon. No one seemed to have a good answer. Until I realized: maybe there is something about the teacher's role that might intimidate the student. After talking to a few of my current students about how they feel in these moments, they expressed that they sense the pressure is on to perform their assignments very well, almost perfect in the beginning of the lesson. That the teacher (me) has high expectations and that it almost feels like a performance, so that a little bit of "stage fright" sets in. And remembering back to my days as a student, I think I also went through this mentality. But I think what got me through it, especially during my OSU piano recital, was that I was practicing for my OWN benefit, and when I "performed" for my teacher/professor/mentor, they were there to HELP me better my craft in preparation for the REAL performance...which wasn't as bad as I was making it to be, because my friends and family were there to hear me and the story I was expressing through music. So I encourage all music students everywhere: "Do not be nervous or scared during your lesson time with your music teacher! Yes, they want you to do your best, but they don't have unrealistic expectations of perfection. They are not judging; they are listening and offering constructive criticism. It's ok to make mistakes, just do your best, and enjoy the music!
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About this blogHello world, this is your friendly musician friend and teacher, Joseph! This is where I share my thoughts and feelings about anything and everything music-related. Enjoy! Archives
September 2022
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