What follows is a rough-edit of the episode, so please forgive typos and/or formatting errors.

All content is my own; requests to use this material – with proper citation – can be sent to [email protected]

Episode 234: Cheers to Our Profession (A Love Letter)

Well, hello there, my studio teacher friends!  It’s hard to believe, but I’ve officially been saying those words to you for FIVE YEARS.  The first-ever episode of Beyond Measure released on October 5^th of 2020 and I have been here, serving as your Anytime Piano Teacher Friend almost every week since. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Today’s episode is a love letter, of sorts, to you and to the profession. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for being here, friends.

I’ll start today with a confession: I don’t celebrate my own accomplishments well. I honestly don’t love drawing attention to milestone accomplishments here on the podcast or in my own life because there are parts of me that STILL haven’t learned to take a compliment.  Just ask my husband. 😊

Of course, I love celebrating OTHER people… so that’s how we’re going to frame today’s episode.  It’s a celebration of us, of this incredible work we do, and the ways we show up for each other here in the Beyond Measure Community.

Because – truly – five years of Beyond Measure would not be a thing without you. I cannot begin to count the number of times I’ve thought about giving this up, but YOU – the people I meet through this show – keep me convinced I’m doing something good here.

The problem is this: there are so many things and people that vie for our time. I can’t justify this work by money it makes or any other traditional measurements of success, because none of them work out to a net positive balance. According to any metric offered up by our productivity-obsessed culture, my work with Beyond Measure would be considered a waste of time.

And yet, creative impulses are a funny thing, aren’t they?

Crossing a milestone like five years brings up a lot of mind-blowing calculations. Week-to-week, I invest a few hours at a time in this work.  But thinking about 3-4 hours a week for five years?  Woah. That’s a lot of time spent in the name of Beyond Measure.  It’s a lot of words written. It’s a lot of time spent talking to myself in a microphone. It’s a LOT of listening back to my own voice… and, let’s face it, that’s a feat unto itself.  Do you know how painful it is to listen to the sound of your own voice all the time?  Sigh. It’s not for the weak…

Anyway, these anniversary reflections have left me asking: what IS it about this show that compels me to keep doing it?

And when it comes down to it, it’s the magic of the music teaching profession.  If I’m guilty of anything, it’s overestimating the importance of music study. But I don’t think I’m exaggerating anything.

In fact, I can’t help but feel like our work holds more purpose now than ever before.

Look around the outside world: Everyone seems obsessed with automation. Technology is a constant distraction. We are conditioned from early ages that time is not to be wasted, and that means we need to stay busy, to stand out, and to do everything we can to achieve more than the people around us.

Friends, it’s exhausting. And WE ALL KNOW it’s led us to an unprecedented health crisis.

The good news is, there is an abundance of research that points to solutions. So yes, we know that societal trends are harming us, but we also know many of the solutions. And the incredible thing is: many of those solutions are found in the music lesson experience. For instance, there is no doubt that genuine connection adds value to the human existence. There is no doubt that PLAY and frivolity feed us on a fundamental level. We’re learning that SELF COMPASSION trumps self-esteem. That learning to sit in uncertainty and to be seen and known… to be treated with dignity and interest and possibility… those are all things that help combat the mental and physical stressors we experience in everyday life.

…I don’t know about you, friends… but to me, looking around at the injustices and the frightening realities of the 21^st century, I can’t think of much that is MORE IMPORTANT than helping our students feel connected and understood. I think our role of giving them tools to express themselves, to experience wonder and awe, to imagine and to accomplish challenging things…. I struggle to think of how I could possibly contribute to my community in ways that are MORE important than those things.

I continue to believe that music study is our chosen gateway to nurturing society. But we have to do it intentionally. There are plenty of ways piano study can lead to achievement anxiety and struggles with self-confidence. It can be competitive and filled with guilt and shame. Many of us know that firsthand.

But we can do better for this generation of students, friends. We can help students learn to accept their human limitations. We can help them understand no one has all the right answers all the time. We can help students see their value and their worthiness is NOT related to their accomplishments. That EVERYONE is musical and EVERYONE has something to share. Our work is to help others find play and I am really counting my lucky stars for that role today. I hope you are, too.

See… this is why I’ve come to decide my work with Beyond Measure matters. I will never claim to have the piano teacher existence all figured out. There have been SO MANY TIMES over the last five years where I’ve questioned why anyone cares what I have to say… or who am I to think I have any insight to offer this profession, full of people I am endlessly inspired AND intimidated by?

…but I have come to realize I have a unique set of life experiences and probably some DNA that have brought me to a teaching approach that the world needs. I do think I have something to say, and BLESS those of you who have encouraged me to keep sharing it along the way.

It sounds cliché, I’m sure, but you’ll never know how many times I’ve been on the verge of quitting and one of you precious souls sends me an email… or a DM… or joins the Patreon… or leaves a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify… and it gives me just enough fuel to stay in the game for another week.

We do this weekly for our students, but we also do it for our colleagues. What is better than being in a profession where our fellow teachers are our colleagues, not our competition?  I’ve been saying that from the get-go here and it just doesn’t get truer than that. The moment you let go of trying to compete with other teachers and, instead, learn how to encourage one another? And to grow alongside one another?  To embrace the fact that I have something to learn from you, and you have something to learn from me?  That’s the stuff, friends. It’s the fuel that will sustain us in this work as we pour our goodness into society.

Authenticity. Connection. Humility. Play. Curiosity.  They’re the core values of Beyond Measure, and they’re the building blocks of better societies. We can’t change everything all at once, but by golly, we can help one student at a time.

I want to close today by sharing something I wrote earlier this summer in my Piano Teacher Confessions e-letter. If you’re not familiar with Piano Teacher Confessions, I’ve been at THAT for awhile now, too, and it is another labor of teacher love. If you aren’t subscribed to Piano Teacher Confessions, I’d love for you to check that out in the link for today’s shownotes.

Anyway, here’s what I wrote back in June:

How many times during our students’ week do they sit across from someone for 30+ minutes, giving and receiving full attention? In many cases, we are likely the only person they share that kind of experience with on a regular basis.

…and, if we are smart, we will pay attention to this. 

The rarity of direct interactions and undivided attention should play a part in the lesson plans we make and the tuition rates we charge.

But hear me: It’s not just our students who benefit from this arrangement. We are fortunate to work in careers that involve (many) hours of authentic connections and unfiltered reality each week.

I am counting my blessings to work in a profession that is so blatantly real.

My human experience is heightened by the fact that I have a front row seat to struggle, epiphany, laughter, and play. I don’t want to take any of this for granted.

So, friends, I guess that’s how I’m choosing to celebrate five years of this show. I’m recommitting to showing up for you, in hopes of inspiring  you to keep doing the life-changing work you’re doing. I’ll continue to show up as true to myself as I can be. Not because I have all the answers, but because we all need MORE examples of people who can deal with uncertainty.

Let’s toast ourselves out of here for the day, shall we?

Studio teacher friends from all around the world: Today we CELEBRATE five years of looking beyond the music to the very-human elements of our work. We recommit to championing the arts in our community, as well as each other.  We embrace the core values of Authenticity, Connection, Humility, Curiosity, and Play.  May we all look knowingly into one another’s eyes: knowing our work is as real as anything else, and believing we are making the world a more beautiful, empathetic place. I love you, my friends, and am exceedingly grateful for you today.  Hear, hear.

SO my dear friends of Beyond Measure: Today’s celebration is for you, for us, and for this profession of ours. I hope you take a moment and pat yourself on the back for what you’re doing in your community, and I hope you feel challenged to consider the ways you can improve the ways you show up for your students.  We all have them.  Ask yourself these two questions:  Who are you mentoring? And Who is Mentoring You?  If you can’t answer both of those questions, you have some soul-searching to do today.

IF you are looking for ways to celebrate alongside me, here’s what you can do:  I would LOVE to see some more written reviews of this show on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify. Please oh please consider taking a few minutes to do that. It really helps this show get found, and I *know* there are teachers out there who are still in need of their Anytime Piano Teacher Friend.  You can ALWAYS send me messages through Facebook or Instagram – find me at Beyond Measure Podcast – and you can email me at [email protected]. If you have a favorite episode or a big-picture takeaway you’ve found helpful, by all means: please send it my way and I promise to read it with the utmost gratitude.

Lastly, yes, financial support IS necessary to do this show. You can support this work for as little as $3 by becoming a Beyond Measure SuperFriend on Patreon, or you can purchase resources I’ve created to help you on  your teacher journey. Links to ALL those things are in today’s shownotes.

Thanks again, friends!  I’ll be back next week with some thoughts on Studio Parents.  You know, the people who absolutely make or break our studio relationships? Yeah… we’re talking about them next week.  So, until then, my friends: Onward and Upward.