As some may remember, I was having a bit of a mare with my flute student a few months ago, with no practice at all happening and no progress despite her having potential.

A friend of mine recently recommended me as a replacement flute teacher for the daughter of a family where he teachers piano... We've had 2 trial lessons, and we're due to start regularly in September.

She has a lot of potential - she's making a nice sound already, she's responded well to some technical help I gave her, she's up for trying random things (ie singing whilst playing), and obviously has a vivid imagination for musical things - I was trying to explain how she should approach a couple of grace notes in a piece she is going to learn, and she came up with an image of a dragonfly alighting on a lilypad totally out of her own head, and then played the grace notes much better even just for that idea in her head! I was quite excited about the prospect of teaching someone who appears to have both talent and a good work ethic.

Anyway... I offered to be available over the summer if she wanted to do some playing/needed to call and ask me stuff, more in hope than expectation: however, her dad called earlier... it seems that she has been practising with no parental prompting, even though it's the summer holidays, and then she asked if she could have some extra time with me

Given the difficulty I had inspiring my other student (who has just given up lessons for the moment - lack of will to practice then she has got braces which were the last straw, making it very difficult to play her flute, which she has never been keen on making an effort for!) it's very heartening to have evidentally got something right!! (maybe the problems weren't me after all!)

I'm very chuffed, and it is making me feel better about the train wreck my life has felt like this week!!

Well done sarah-flute with your new pupil . Don't be too disheartened by the other experience - we've all been there. Of the pupils I teach privately in a week, 100% are pleasant and agreeable people (lucky me) but probably only about 60% of them bother to apply themselves regularly to work and effort and even less with any really serious amount of endeavour. In fairness to the children, many of them are victims of parental pressure to do three activities after school each evening and so finding the time to practise is a challenge - but that's not the whole story!

I do everything I can think of to motivate them, challenge them, praise them, cajole them (at times plead with them but never, I hope, threaten them) but nothing changes - if I'm lucky they'll have done 20 minutes (max) practise in the week since I last saw them. I think the proverb about taking horses to water but not being able to make them drink applies to music teachers and their pupils just as much as to anything else in life.

You can sit a pupil at their instrument, give them loads of instructions, help, encouragement etc but, at the end of the day, they have to find some self-motivation to work. You simply cannot do it for them.

So why do I bother to teach them? Well some do eventually turn themselves around and suddenly something ignites them and sets them on a new course to achievement (which is rewarding when it happens) but, whatever, I have to live and, in this area, if I only taught the really hard-working, naturally musical ones, I'd be in trouble at the bank. I know some teachers pre-select but, for now, I don't. I still reason that I'd rather a child had some exposure to music (even if it causes me a few more grey hairs) than none, so I continue to teach those for whom music is still a very small part of their life.

Good luck with this new pupil though - sounds exciting!

Oboist

Aww Sarah, that's fantastic news, you've obviously been inspiring her, which is a gift that is hard to come by.

Sarah - this sounds wonderful. Holiday times do sometimes bring along unexpected opportunities. I hope this continues to go well and look forward to hearing how your pupil is getting on. What a nice encouraging boost for you.

Oboist - 60% - yes, probably something similar.

Well done Sarah - clearly you've inspired her - and she's responded to that inspiration. Wonderful news.

Wow, well done Sarah. This must be so rewarding for you. It's wonderful, not only that you've broken through the barrier and inspired her, but that she has responded to your teaching skills.

Very pleased for you Sarah. Makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?

Yes, it's a lovely feeling! Enjoy her, Sarah!

Well done Sarah! We're all familiar with students of both varieties, and (more often) the ones who come along each week, do some practise but don't always fully engage with the music, or those whose parents want them to learn!

That's great news.

I think I had a mini breakthrough with a difficult one this week too... .

I'm most surprised that you even thought that an unmotivated student could be even slightly your fault. You provide a lot of support and help to beginners like me on this forum. Thanks and well done on finally getting a student you deserve.

G

Like others have said, you deserve a good student Sarah, congrats! Your all-round musical knowledge and experience will definitely be a plus point for her.

Yes, definitely sounds familiar! I'm sad that she gave up, but I hope maybe she'll come back to it later in life.


Thanks


Awww thanks!

Just wanted to say... thanks everyone for all the support and encouragement folks, now and before

Oooh I like it

You can tell her she's inspired me with that image, I've been playing a couple of pieces with grace notes recently and they often sound like elephants splashing in puddles, I seem to lose all finger co-ordination when I know there's one coming up..

Good luck with this pupil, she sounds like a gem!

*goes off to have another practice, with the dragonfly / lilypad image firmly ensconsed in brain*

Hazel