Pearls before swine? but then who dares predict which is going to turn into the handsome prince?
One is doing whatever you have to do in order to keep a job going that is called "teaching music" and the other is being able to share the things that are truly exciting about music for the teacher, with the student. The latter is different for every teacher, but the latter is largely what I had believed teaching was about and am finding that in fact it is not. While there are aspects of teaching that do indeed make my job ... emotionally possible ... I am fundamentally a craftsperson at the instrument, who loves to work at it and build something, who has loved the sound of it from the beginning, who loves to study it and find out new things, who has been willing to think on my own regarding it and music, and who has spent much of my conscious piano life thinking about how to explain and otherwise share concepts with others. This constant trying to figure things out for individuals who do not share these qualities ... it wears on a person. Why do I spend so much energy here? Why do I, somebody who loves music, who loves the craft, work so hard to try to help others to see the beauty in both the art and the craftsmanship of it? It has taken over my "musical life." If a teacher ever put this kind of energy into me, I can guarantee one thing: it was no mystery that I loved it and would work on it.My point is that, after a certain amount of trying to meet students where they are at and it not developing into something more, the substance is lost. I can only handle so many individuals who are happy to learn how to play Jingle Bells but who never develop into a craftsperson at the instrument. Yes, grab a person's interest with music and concepts that interest them; help them to learn and grow based on their own interests, but there will always be a difference between learning something like "Let it Go" vs. the ins and outs of Bach's inventions. There is something to be said for the content itself because there is a limit to what is possible to learn about within a given musical focus.PS- I am exhausted, and this post is potentially not addressing real topics the way I would intend.
Well, there is no path anywhere on my radar that would suggest I have that option. It is very highly interesting to me, but I am ready for practical steps in my life and almost nothing else. At the moment I do not see any practical steps in front of me which would seem to lead toward any changes in my teaching or musical experiences.
Maybe you should try looking for some then- rather than ranting in depth about how far short your students fall short of the pedestal you see yourself as being stood on?
Judging by your general demeanor, I assume that is difficult for you to understand. I am not in the position in my life (anymore) to pick some idea out of thin air and then go running all around the world trying to find a way to make it come to life.
Indeed, the idea that the opportunity to continue evolving goes away is a ridiculous thing that I have no interest in understanding. Nobody loses the opportunity to continue evolving and you don't have to run around the world to do so. If you're not interested in trying to move on from the attitude that you outlined in your first post, I can only advise giving up teaching.
That would be very touching if it came from somebody who I felt inclined to listen to and open myself up to for advice. I am not somebody who is deciding to quit after a few difficult years of having students who I would prefer live up to a different standard.
either make do with what you have in a positive fashion or get out of the profession.
Pretty sure I already said that's exactly what I'm talking about
I am, on the whole, simply not convinced that it is possible for somebody in my position to have an entire musical profession based in the things that are fulfilling (for me) about teaching. I think the gig for somebody in my shoes is basically what I am doing now, and to just continue doing it for the rest of my life, just like so. Or, you know, make some changes here or there, but generally just keeping at it exactly the way it is. I had thought at one time that I might be able to make some changes that could give me more options, but it seems I can't. And, I am not too convinced that anybody in this profession is actually all that fulfilled, so even if I could make some changes, is it *really* all that different?
Teaching is a JOB
You've not listened to a word I've said so far.
Sure. But, either a job is a job is a job, or there is actually something about a specific profession that is more fulfilling than another. If it's only a job, if it's only about paying the bills, maybe there are better ways to do that that are not actually musically taxing.
Feel free to read my second post in this thread and respond directly to any idea in that. There is nothing wrong with a professional musician and teacher wanting to find a path that is deeper and more expanded.
What did you suggest will achieve that? I didn't notice a single suggestion- only a vapid foundationless desire for this to be so. I saw a lot of complaints about problems, but I didn't notice any speculations about how to find solutions to them, amongst all the complaining. If I missed any, by all means quote them. It's very popular to vent about problems these days, but it typically increases the inner unhappiness when people merely make complaints. There are only two meaningful courses of action- either stop complaining for its own sake and start taking some form of action in a way that might actually solve those complaints. Or learn to accept a situation as it is and appreciate both that we can't sculpt every single thing about reality to our whim and that acceptance makes for more happiness than empty complaints.What solutions have you proposed from the first category?
Not a solution though of course you are treating it as one, and you are right, nothing new.
Been there, done that. Bought the hat, have the T-Shirts. There is nothing you have mentioned that I have not done or do not currently do, or have not heavily entertained (like going back to school, which included auditions). Been doing this for long enough to not call me new at it anymore.
Have you thought about taking Suzuki teacher training?
You can either tell people that you know it all already, to protect your status quo of discontent, or you can try considering the possibility that you haven't actually understood the essence of their advice in the least.
Or, maybe I have perfectly understood it and I actually just don't have it in me to keep doing all this the same ways that I have been doing it for this long already. Maybe, despite the fact that I can still muster some hurt and sadness over it, it is honestly time for me to move on.
Yes, maybe you should give serious consideration. Seeing as you've already understood everybody's suggestions so well, there's nothing else left for you. You're not showing the slightest interest in solutions so either get out, try possible solutions with an open mind (rather than dismiss them on such a bizarre casual basis as lack of inclination to try them) or learn to see positives before negatives and appreciate quite how lucky you are. Above all, stop making empty complaints for their own sake. It's repulsive.
You know nothing about me.
No, not seriously, but one of my students did in fact complete some of it. And this would not be the source of a new inspiration for me
there is no requirement that all teachers become Suzuki trained teachers, and of course I have a right to decide if I'm going to take the time and effort to study a specific type of school. Maybe working as something other than a music teacher would provide me that opportunity
Well, per usual, I know that my points are being misconstrued on purpose
I am no stranger to the non-musical world, either (what do you suppose is part of what gave me the big idea to work so hard, against the grains and tides, at becoming a musician and making a living out of doing so?), but my guess is that you actually are.
Of course there are no requirements that everyone become a Suzuki teacher. Nobody wants to infringe on your right to NOT teach Suzuki. Nobody cares what or how you teach, except perhaps the people who pay you. I was merely saying that Suzuki is good on many levels, one of which is the 'running your own business' level.
From a business perspective, it would also be great if I had a chance to study all of the Beethoven Sonatas, the Chopin Etudes, more about Bach, more about Theory.....
...we just tried to offer ideas and solutions.
Nothing but your ever-ascending count of lengthy, meandering, pointless posts is stopping you from actually doing so!
The world owes you nothing.
You're going to get BS, but a different kind of BS with other types of students.