I love being a piano teacher, and I love to play! When I first started my piano studio www.yunglingpianostudio.com, I knew that fun was going to have to be an integral part of the experience or young people today just wouldn’t have anything to do with it. And judging from the horror stories told by parents of their own “ruler to knuckle” piano lessons, I knew “fun” wasn’t just important to the youngster, but it was an important value held by the parents. Our world has changed, music education is no longer part of the standard curriculum. It’s flat out an extra-curricular activity, and we music teachers have the honor and responsibility to keep young people interested in music….for life! And using play is the way we’re going to do it.
Much like American Idol, a music teacher is trying to avoid elimination by being voted off in favor of something more desirable like soccer or videogames. And yet, our mission is hardly what I would call a popularity contest. The paradox is obvious, but at the end of the day, we must make music attractive in order to get the children into the music studio. From there we turn ourselves inside out to help spark a lifelong interest and love of music making. We work and play so that our students find their own personal connection to music. And once the student has found his or her connection to music, the journey changes from one of “trying this out to see if I like it” to a joyful collaboration between student and teacher where play and enthusiasm are generated from within.
I really enjoyed reading your article, keep on making such exciting posts!!