Should I Keep That Student?

"How do I know when to remove a music student from my private teaching studio?" This is a question I have had colleagues ask me over the years. 

A teaching professional needs to have a clear vision of what they will, and won't, allow in their studio. Studio boundaries are important and will make it easier for an educator to expel a student when necessary. 

Along with personal boundaries, it is essential for an educator to consider the needs of all studio members when forming studio boundaries.

If a student is a personal threat to an instructor, removal from the studio is clear. However, a teacher will want to be aware that, even in private lesson studios, a student's actions can influence the morale, or spirit, of the music studio as a whole.

Consider the following scenarios:

Studio Recitals: Names have been printed in the recital program and confirmations have been given. Without contact, or reason, certain students don't attend the recital. How do the participating students feel when fellow music studio members listed in the program do not show up to support them? 

Professional Assessments: Most students in private studios are required to attend a certain number of professional assessments each year where they play before a judge. Seeing other students they recognize from their studio can be an encouragement. Now imagine that, without reason, a student who registered for the assessment, decides not to attend. How does that impact the attitude of the students who participate? Many of my students would start to ask questions and be concerned about a missing student who was scheduled for the opportunity.

Fun Studio Challenges: Teachers often invite their students to take part in studio opportunities. These can range from piano-thons to raise money for a cause, writing a poem about music for a contest, drawing artwork for a magazine cover, participating in a competition, writing a song, and other fun activities. If enough students from a studio do not take part, the opportunity may no longer be available to the students who want to put in the time and were looking forward to participation in the event.

Completing weekly assignments, and regular practice habits: This is perhaps the most obvious in regards to how it impacts the instructor, but many teachers don't realize how one student's practice habits can affect the studio at large. 

Students who adhere to their teacher's individualized lesson plans each week usually show consistent progress. Members of a music studio may all be at different ages and levels but, they are all seeing one another grow in their music skills and knowledge. 

Students like to brag about others in their studios. I often hear comments like, "I saw Julie playing at the church service." "I heard Marco won a scholarship." "I met Jim at the assessment and we live close to one another and are going to play video games together." "Nancy told the class at school that she earned her first Music Theory trophy!"  All of the above are just a few examples of how studio morale can be strengthened by students who actively participate together and continue to improve their skills through completion of assignments and regular practice habits.

Students who refuse to do their weekly assignments on a regular basis, can bring the studio morale down. Keeping a non-productive student, a student who disrespects the studio by refusing to do their assignments or participate in activities, may not be a wise choice. Social media and piano forums are riddled with private piano teacher burn-out stories everyday. These teachers have given more attention to non-committed students in hopes of turning them around (and therefore have less energy to give to more involved students). These teachers have tried everything in their wheelhouse to help these uninterested students and are exhausted and ready to leave their career in teaching. I have known private music teachers, much younger than my years, who left the profession because of one, or two, piano students who should have been dismissed from their studios. 

There are many ways that a disinterested student can overburden an instructor and bring down the energy of a private music studio. And there are teachers who base removal, or retention, of a student on their personal feelings toward the child. A teacher is not a failure because a child refuses to apply themselves. Looking at how a child's lack of interest might be harming the morale of another student and, perhaps, the studio as a whole is important in deciding whether to let a student remain in your studio. 

Turning the focus toward the spirit of the studio as a whole might be a better choice. Private music lessons may be one-on-one, but every student contributes to the overall spirit of your studio. Fortunately, most students are proud of their teacher and their private music studio. Make healthy boundaries for yourself and for the good health of your active music studio members.  

 

Early Preparation is the Key for High School Seniors

I tried a new approach with my seniors this year and am happy to report that they will have their thesis pieces ready to perform by December.  Unfortunately this isn't always the result. Last year, during the thesis juries, a few of the students were held back by their own instructors. It was obvious to all on the panel that the students did not apply themselves to preparing their pieces. Yes, they knew the notes and most of the correct rhythms, but the music had not developed to an acceptable level. One student was held back because she chose a duet partner who was far below her level simply because that person was her friend. That friend was not a good contributor to the final performance. As in athletics, musicians want to choose partners who are at their level of expertise. A hard lesson learned. 

Seniors are typically overwhelmed with too much on their plates. They have visited university campuses during their junior year and are now sending in college applications (typically due in October) to their selected schools. They are preparing for a performance thesis at the school of the arts which has changing requirements every year. Many are working jobs to save for college expenses. And some still want to stay active in after school activities that they have enjoyed in their earlier high school years. The last year of high school goes by quickly.

The senior year is the one that clearly separates those who will succeed from those who may struggle in life. Fortunately, most piano students who have continued with music at this level are highly disciplined. Some of my seniors come to their music lessons with planners and dates of progress they have determined for themselves - and they achieve those dates! They continue to practice on their instrument 1.5 - 2 hours every day. They know the field in which they want to major at college, and those who don't choose music as their major often are planning to minor in piano. As an aside, throughout my years of teaching I have also found that those students who choose to major in the field of Chemistry often double major in Music. 

So how did we get ahead in our preparations this year? 

Knowing the stresses my seniors would encounter, I introduced the students to their pieces before the end of the last school year. That meant that the students knew, and/or had, the music they would be performing for their 25-26 school year events before summer break started. The summer is always a challenging season to grow through musically because of family vacations and sleep-away camps. But even a few days of practice (as opposed to regular daily practice during the school year) set their mind to the task so they could succeed. 

Students started researching their composers and analyzing their music during the summer and it has given them more confidence as they are now in the polishing segment of their work where the pieces are memorized. In the past, the students did not select their repertoire until September, when school started. This resulted in a lot of frustration and poor performances on their juries. I am hoping that I will be able to convince other rising seniors to prepare in advance as this year's group. What a difference those two extra months of concentrated work on their pieces has made. 

Another Year of Student Auditions

Every year seems to get a little more challenging with age. Last year I was dealing eye problems during my student's music exams. The year before that I struggled to walk. This year my lumbar spine was damaged which made spending volunteer hours in support of my students a painful event today. I am grateful to my co-hall monitor and the volunteer teenagers that helped with running students up and down the stairs. (And oh those stairs!) 

I often wonder how my childhood piano teacher did it all. She taught until she was in her 100s, and lived to be 107. She chaired all of the Southeastern Michigan piano teacher festivals, in cooperation with Grinnell's piano, well into her later years. She handled the logistics of; hiring conductors, procuring duet scores for hundreds of students and adult professionals, securing rehearsal space, bringing one hundred pianos, and a couple dozen organs into rehearsal spaces and performance venues like Cobo Hall and Meadowbrook, hiring a composer to write a fanfare, and then hiring a brass ensemble to play the fanfare for each year, all to create one of the largest piano orchestras in the States, every year. And I struggled to go up and down the stairs and dealt with horrible back pain today just trying to calm and help children to their exam rooms for five hours. I'm a wimp.

I always breathe a sigh of relief after this day has ended. I think it is fair to say that teachers feel as much stress in preparing their students, as the students feel on the day of the event(s). But as much as teachers may struggle leading up to this day, it is so important for students. And that's why we support it (even through physical limitations and pain.) If a student should decide to pursue music as a career without these types of experiences, they would be disadvantaged. More importantly, music exams and assessment events prepare students, not only for future music events of a higher caliber but, for many of life's expectations in the work place. The dedication of building and rehearsing business presentations, board room meetings, and more, starts with the discipline of preparing music to bring in front of a judge for both performance and written exams. Self discipline, preparation, study, research, physical practice, memorization, confidence in one's hard work, these are just some of the strengths gained from private music study and music auditions at the pre-college level. 

The board members for both the NFMC's Junior Festival, and CMTA's Achievement Day, work very hard to make these events happen. Fortunately they are all twenty to thirty years younger than me with an abundance of physical and mental energy. But that doesn't mean the work is easy for them. I have both chaired and judged music assessments in younger years and these are not tasks to be taken on lightly.

The day is done. The teachers are relieved. The students are relieved. The parents are relieved. We are grateful to all the volunteers who made the event possible. And now we wait to hear the results. 

I am heading to bed much earlier tonight along with an ice pack and a muscle relaxer. Tomorrow starts preparations for the next event on this year's list. 

How Does My Instructor Know If I Don't Practice?

I remember sitting outside of audition rooms as a child. I would listen to the other children playing their piano pieces and I could tell if they were students who practiced all the time, or students who had "crammed" for the audition. If a student was very nervous and was making mistakes, oddly there was a sound that I could still hear that let me know the student was serious about music.

When I got to college it was the same, but more pronounced. You had students who had been accepted into the studios of Misha Kottler and other notable instructors. However, you could tell they were not taking advantage of the privilege and not practicing with consistency. Oh, they hit all the correct notes and rhythms - the articulations were even there - but that sound that comes from regular practice wasn't there. The professors were so kind and patient with all of us. But I knew if I could hear the lack of practice, they definitely were hearing it. 

As an instructor, I can even tell when very young, primary level students, practice: It doesn't matter how simple the piece. As a judge, in many events throughout the years and, at many different levels, I always hear the student's dedication within the first few measures.

There is a sound that comes from regular practice. Everyone has a different name for the sound. It is unmistakeable. I have many students with neurodivergent diagnoses. Some of those parents ask that I enter their children in events without revealing their diagnosis. They want their child mainstreamed as much as possible. These children struggle to perform and memorize the music. However, I always smile when I read the resulting comments. The judges always indicate on their assessments that they can tell the child has consistently worked very hard on the music. That sound always comes through.

I think the most difficult thing for an instructor is when you have to broach the topic of practice with a student and the student (out of fear) does not tell you the truth. Instructors bring up the subject because we want to know how we can help you create a life pattern that will help you practice regularly. 

But, even more disheartening, is when a parent looks you in the eye and tells you a story about their child's regular practice schedule that does not match what you are hearing from the child's performance. This is very concerning, it means that the parent is ignorant, or they are blocking the instructor's attempts at helping their child become a better musician. And in the long run, the parent is giving the child a continued excuse for poor practice.

It is a crucial point when discussions about lack of practice become a regular conversation. Be honest with your instructors. We are here to help you achieve and we want you to be your best.