Reprinted in this forum from my original blog.
I have a bit of advice for students out there, young and old: if your teacher is a performing artist, and your teacher invites you to see a concert, GO. I have been teaching students of all ages for 25 years. I can pretty much count on my fingers and toes the amount of times I've had students of mine come to see and hear me perform. Keep in mind that I've given a heck of a lot of performances during that time frame. When you compare the number of fingers and toes I have (and I do have all of mine) to hundreds upon hundreds of performances, you can see that this is an incredibly low number of times that I've looked out into the audience and seen the face of one of my students there.
Why is this? When given an opportunity to attend a performance by someone who exemplifies what you are striving for on your own instrument, you should jump at the chance! Especially those of you who are studying music in college. For you, missing hearing your teacher play is like skipping class. Attending your teacher's performance should be absolutely mandatory. It is an indispensable part of your education. You need to go.
A big reason for your lack of attendance could be that your parents don't feel like taking you (if you are school-aged). Or they want you to stay home and do your homework. I get that. But you can ask, beg, cajole...get them to drop you off and pick you up...there are ways to get there anyway. In high school, my teacher was not a very active performer, but she not only used to invite me to go hear concerts that she felt would interest me, she would also offer to drive me there and back. My parents always told me that if I was invited and I was available, I should go. Maybe I just had weird old-fashioned parents. But they believed that one should absolutely honor an invitation with one's presence. There were times when I felt a little bit awkward about it, but each time I was surprised at how enjoyable it actually was. I will never forget those incredible opportunities. I also got to know my teacher better and discovered she was a really great person.
Another reason you don't go may be that, at the moment, it just doesn't interest you that much. You might have to just pull yourself by the ear on this one. It's always easier to "just stay home," but if you love playing your instrument and you enjoy your lessons, you owe it to yourself to get there. Your teacher invests a lot of time and effort toward your progress. You could invest an afternoon or evening in support of your teacher. You will likely be more than surprised at what you hear and see.
Why does your teacher invite you? The reasons are many. The number one reason is that, when you are learning an instrument, seeing and hearing a performance LIVE is the best way for your mind to model what playing your instrument should be like. Yes, there is YouTube. I know. You can look up anything on there. It. Isn't. The. Same. It really isn't. There is no comparison. End of story. Your teacher knows this, and this is why you get invited to get out and see the real deal.
Why else? Music can touch you. You can literally feel it at times. You cannot feel music through YouTube the same way that you can through a live performance. You will learn by watching and listening. It's an easy, relaxing way to jump-start your advancement. You need to just go.
I could go on and on, but I won't. The bottom line is, if your teacher offers you FREE tickets to a concert, take them. Go. Learn from the masters. People pay a lot of money to go see these concerts, and I have been saddened time and time again that I've offered valuable comps to all of my students and there have been absolutely no takers. Ask yourself this: if it were free tickets to a sports game or a performance by a pop icon instead, would you find the time to go? Would you get your parents to make an exception for this? If the answer to that hypothetical question is yes, then there really is no excuse. If you would be able to make it if it were "something else," then you can make it to a music concert. Go.
One last thing: Students may feel that they "hear" their teacher play during lessons already. There is really no comparison between what your teacher does during your lessons and what your teacher does on stage. You won't believe how different it is in the heat of performance when he or she is "in the zone." You may be flat-out shocked at how amazing your teacher REALLY is at what he or she does. You have to experience this. Go. And you will also be supporting your teacher and showing him or her that you are willing to reciprocate the efforts your teacher spends on you.
Here's hoping that when I look out and tally up familiar faces in future performances, I'll run out of fingers and toes with which to count them.
Why is this? When given an opportunity to attend a performance by someone who exemplifies what you are striving for on your own instrument, you should jump at the chance! Especially those of you who are studying music in college. For you, missing hearing your teacher play is like skipping class. Attending your teacher's performance should be absolutely mandatory. It is an indispensable part of your education. You need to go.
A big reason for your lack of attendance could be that your parents don't feel like taking you (if you are school-aged). Or they want you to stay home and do your homework. I get that. But you can ask, beg, cajole...get them to drop you off and pick you up...there are ways to get there anyway. In high school, my teacher was not a very active performer, but she not only used to invite me to go hear concerts that she felt would interest me, she would also offer to drive me there and back. My parents always told me that if I was invited and I was available, I should go. Maybe I just had weird old-fashioned parents. But they believed that one should absolutely honor an invitation with one's presence. There were times when I felt a little bit awkward about it, but each time I was surprised at how enjoyable it actually was. I will never forget those incredible opportunities. I also got to know my teacher better and discovered she was a really great person.
Another reason you don't go may be that, at the moment, it just doesn't interest you that much. You might have to just pull yourself by the ear on this one. It's always easier to "just stay home," but if you love playing your instrument and you enjoy your lessons, you owe it to yourself to get there. Your teacher invests a lot of time and effort toward your progress. You could invest an afternoon or evening in support of your teacher. You will likely be more than surprised at what you hear and see.
Why does your teacher invite you? The reasons are many. The number one reason is that, when you are learning an instrument, seeing and hearing a performance LIVE is the best way for your mind to model what playing your instrument should be like. Yes, there is YouTube. I know. You can look up anything on there. It. Isn't. The. Same. It really isn't. There is no comparison. End of story. Your teacher knows this, and this is why you get invited to get out and see the real deal.
Why else? Music can touch you. You can literally feel it at times. You cannot feel music through YouTube the same way that you can through a live performance. You will learn by watching and listening. It's an easy, relaxing way to jump-start your advancement. You need to just go.
I could go on and on, but I won't. The bottom line is, if your teacher offers you FREE tickets to a concert, take them. Go. Learn from the masters. People pay a lot of money to go see these concerts, and I have been saddened time and time again that I've offered valuable comps to all of my students and there have been absolutely no takers. Ask yourself this: if it were free tickets to a sports game or a performance by a pop icon instead, would you find the time to go? Would you get your parents to make an exception for this? If the answer to that hypothetical question is yes, then there really is no excuse. If you would be able to make it if it were "something else," then you can make it to a music concert. Go.
One last thing: Students may feel that they "hear" their teacher play during lessons already. There is really no comparison between what your teacher does during your lessons and what your teacher does on stage. You won't believe how different it is in the heat of performance when he or she is "in the zone." You may be flat-out shocked at how amazing your teacher REALLY is at what he or she does. You have to experience this. Go. And you will also be supporting your teacher and showing him or her that you are willing to reciprocate the efforts your teacher spends on you.
Here's hoping that when I look out and tally up familiar faces in future performances, I'll run out of fingers and toes with which to count them.
Yours truly in the pit with my menagerie of instruments.
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