What 10 Years of Teaching Music Has Taught Me

I've been teaching music for about 10 years now.

In that time, I've taught hundreds of students, worked with students of all different ages and abilities, and learned far more from my students than I ever expected to.

When I first started teaching, I thought my job was going to be simple: teach students how to play their instruments.

But after 10 years, I've realized that teaching music is about so much more than that.

Here are some of the biggest things teaching music has taught me.

Every Student Is Different

This is probably the biggest lesson I've learned.

Every student is different.

The way they learn is different. The things that are accessible to them are different. The things they enjoy are different. Their personalities are different. Their goals are different.

Every student is uniquely and beautifully their own person.

That's one of the reasons I love teaching privately.

Private lessons allow me to connect with my students on a much deeper level than I might be able to in a traditional classroom setting.

A band director may have hundreds of students. When I teach privately, I typically have around 20 students at a time. The most I've had at one time was around 50, and even then, I made it a priority to know my students.

I knew what they enjoyed playing.

I knew what they struggled with.

I knew what made them excited.

And I could usually tell when they walked through the door having had a bad day.

Sometimes a student needed to talk.

Sometimes they needed encouragement.

Sometimes they didn't want to talk at all.

Sometimes they just needed to escape into music for a little while.

And that's okay.

Music Gives Us Somewhere to Put Our Feelings

One of the reasons I love music so much is because it gives people a way to cope with whatever they're feeling.

Joy.

Grief.

Confusion.

Frustration.

Excitement.

Loneliness.

There is a song for almost every emotion.

Music can also bring back memories in a way that few other things can.

For me, every time I hear "Wake Up Little Susie," I think about my Papaw waking me up in the mornings.

That song isn't just a song to me anymore. It's a memory.

Our students have those songs, too.

They have songs that remind them of people they love. Songs that make them happy. Songs that help them through difficult moments. Songs that remind them of a particular time in their lives.

When we take the time to learn those things about our students, we can connect with them on a completely different level.

And sometimes, that connection makes teaching the music itself much easier.

My Goal Isn't to Create Professional Musicians

Here's another thing teaching has taught me:

Not every student is going to become a professional musician.

And that's okay.

In fact, the majority of my students eventually stop playing when they reach college or move into other stages of their lives.

That doesn't mean their time playing an instrument was wasted.

Quite the opposite.

I don't teach with the goal of making every student an exceptional professional performer.

I teach with the goal of helping create good, confident, capable people who have skills they can take with them wherever life leads them.

I've had extremely shy students who eventually became involved in debate teams.

I've watched students become more confident in themselves.

I've had a student go on to begin her career at NASA.

These students aren't necessarily going to spend their lives performing on a stage.

But the skills they developed through music can follow them anywhere.

Confidence.

Creativity.

Discipline.

Problem-solving.

Communication.

Perseverance.

The ability to work toward something that doesn't come easily.

Music is a tool.

And sometimes the most important thing we accomplish in a music lesson has absolutely nothing to do with playing the correct note.

Teaching Has Taught Me Patience

I've had students who picked up new concepts almost immediately.

I've also had students who struggled with concepts that seemed incredibly simple to me.

And that's where teaching gets interesting.

When a student doesn't understand something, I can't simply assume they're not trying hard enough.

It's my job as the teacher to figure out how they learn.

Maybe I need to explain it differently.

Maybe we need to see it instead of just talking about it.

Maybe we need to slow down.

Maybe we need to approach it from a completely different direction.

Sometimes we figure it out in one lesson.

Sometimes it takes months of repetition.

Either way, we keep working.

I think our world has gotten very accustomed to rushing.

We're expected to learn quickly, accomplish things quickly, and move on to the next thing.

But people don't all learn at the same pace.

And that's okay.

One of the most important things I've learned as a teacher is to meet each student where they are and help them move forward from there.

We're a Team

I tell my students in different ways, but the idea is simple:

We're in this together.

If they struggle, we struggle together.

If something isn't working, we figure out why.

If they have a breakthrough, we celebrate it together.

My students aren't walking into their lessons to prove something to me.

They don't have to impress me.

They don't have to be perfect.

They're there to learn.

And sometimes learning means getting something wrong over and over again before it finally clicks.

That's part of the process.

My job isn't to make students feel bad because they haven't figured something out yet.

My job is to help them figure it out.

Sometimes the Music Is the Easy Part

After 10 years of teaching, I've realized that sometimes my students need more from me than an instructor who can teach them how to play the clarinet.

Sometimes they need someone who will listen.

Sometimes they need someone to encourage them.

Sometimes they need a place where they can relax and be themselves for 30 or 60 minutes.

And sometimes, they just need to play.

That's one of the beautiful things about private music lessons.

We have the opportunity to know our students as people, not just musicians.

And when we understand the person, we can become better teachers.

Ten Years Later, I'm Still Learning

If there's one thing I know after 10 years of teaching, it's that I will probably never stop learning.

Every student teaches me something.

Every challenge makes me rethink the way I teach.

Every student who finally understands something they've been struggling with reminds me why I do this.

And every student who grows into a more confident version of themselves reminds me that music education is about so much more than music.

I love teaching students how to play.

But I love watching them become who they're meant to be even more.

Because at the end of the day, my goal isn't to create 20 perfect musicians.

It's to help my students become confident, creative, resilient people who know how to work through challenges, express themselves, and keep learning.

If they happen to keep playing music along the way?

That's just a wonderful bonus.