Guiding Students to Find Their Own Voice

So, when you teach, is it just about passing on all the information you've been taught, right? I mean, simply have the students do everything you did when you were learning, and this will turn them into wonderful violinists, right? Or maybe if you didn't like how you were taught, you just teach them the opposite, thinking that like that, they won't face the same struggles you did, right? Is it about telling a student who's starting to learn a new piece to go listen to Perlman and play it like he did? Or is it more about guiding students to ask, why did he play it that way? Why did he choose to play it in that fashion? Well, teaching with the why question invites students to think for themselves.

You see, teaching to me isn't just about handing out answers, it's about helping students learn to ask the right questions.

Let's say a student plays something for you and you ask, why did you phrase it like that? They might just say, because I wanted to. Is that wrong? No, not really. It's just the starting point, as from there, you can go deeper. Why did you want to? What were you trying to express? And that's where the magic happens. When they start making connections between their choices, the music, and their own artistic voice.

Okay then, but here's the tricky part.

This means letting go of control.

Teaching isn't about having your students follow your journey, it's about helping them find their own.

Our role is to guide them, challenge them, and inspire them not to dictate every step.

Because in the end, it's their path, not ours.

That's why I believe the best teaching doesn't create dependence, it fosters independence.

Our role isn't to dictate, it's to guide, challenge, and inspire their path, their growth, their voice.

Thinking about it this way shows that one's greatest success as a teacher isn't measured by how much they rely on you, it's measured by how much they don't.

You might say that great teachers empower their students so much that eventually they find themselves out of a job.

And that's a good thing.

Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com

Thank you for your comment, question or request!

Comment/Question deleted successfully.

Post a comment, question or special request:

Comments or questions must be between 3 and 10,000 characters long.

You may: Login  or  

Otherwise, fill out the form below to post your comment:

Add your name below:


Add your email below: (to receive replies, will not be displayed or shared)


For verification purposes, please enter the word MUSIC in the field below

---