*What follows is an (extremely) rough draft of today’s episode. Please excuse typos and/or discrepancies from the recording. Questions? Contact Christina at hello (at) ChristinaWhitlock (dot) com. 

Episode 269: The Secret Sauce for Successful Students

Well, hello there, studio teacher friends!  Welcome to your weekly shout-out of solidarity, otherwise known as the Beyond Measure Podcast. Christina Whitlock here, your host and self-appointed Anytime Piano Teacher Friend. I’ve been teaching privately for more than 30 years.  I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I DO have a lot of experience and I love unpacking all the human elements of teaching here alongside other thoughtful teachers like yourself. This show is supported by a crew of people I call my SuperFriends, and if you are interested in joining in on THAT fun, membership does come with some pretty great perks. Check out ChristinaWhitlock.com/superfriends for all THOSE details, and in the meantime, let’s get on with the show!  Thanks for listening to the Beyond Measure Podcast.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes our students successful in lessons. It seems fair to say, if we can identify the thing that yields the best results, then we can lean into it. We can NURTURE that quality to help our students accomplish all the things they hope for in this experience. And I have great news for you today, friends: I think I’ve found it. It probably should be said that, yes, success at our instrument is dependent on a lot of factors. And yet, I think I’ve identified one REALLY IMPORTANT common thread in my most “successful” students.

I know what you’re thinking. Across the board, most of us would say the common thread is PRACTICE. Successful students practice.

And the belief that PRACTICE is the be-all-end-all leads us to believe that the primary quality we need to be nurturing as teachers is… Discipline. Hard work. Consistency. Effort. Showing up.

Before you throw tomatoes at me, let me be clear: I think we SHOULD help our students build discipline. Hard work, consistency, and effort matter. Of course they do. I agree those are important things that contribute to their success in lessons… and in life. 100%

I would venture to say that most of us in this profession were raised on the notion that DISCIPLINE was the holy grail of character traits. We were expected to be disciplined ourselves, we expect our students to cultivate discipline, and their parents often signed them up to help develop that skill.

And there is truth here. My most reliable practicers get great results.  It’s hard NOT to make progress if you’ve established solid practice habits. Having discipline at the instrument always moves the needle forward; but it doesn’t guarantee mastery and thorough understanding.

…because there are outliers, right? Surely I’m not the only one to have these experiences. I’ve had multiple occasions where students with “okay” practice habits outshine those with highly disciplined routines.

So, if a student is not practicing consistently but is still excelling at the instrument, what do we attribute their success to?  Is it that pesky notion of talent? Of natural ability?  I don’t think so.

I think, more than anything else, the greatest quality a student can bring to their piano study is (drumroll please): Curiosity. I think students who show up with a genuine curiosity about their instrument, and about what they’ll be able to do with it are the ones who grow the most in lessons.

The curious student is OKAY being a student. They are comfortable being a beginner. They don’t mind uncertainty, and they are unashamed of the stage they are in. They unapologetically embrace the fact that they are still learning because they don’t see music as a series of accomplishments to conquer.

I hope I didn’t just disappoint you. Maybe this all seems obvious? I don’t know… but the more I study my own musical shortcomings, and the more I study my students’ progress, the more convinced I am that this is it. Students who embrace the learning process accomplish more than those who constantly fret over mistakes.

Students who revel in each new skill they pick up move faster than those who always want to be 10 steps further ahead than they are. Students who allow themselves to be curious and try new things will often out-perform those who obsess over constantly doing the “right” thing.

Let’s look at this in reverse:  Students who are terrified of making mistakes end up stunting their own progress. Students who feel pressure to know everything already? They get stuck. Students who think they won’t feel content making music until they can play Mozart’s Ronda alla turca at a blazing fast tempo?  They’re going to have a terrible time getting there because they’re too fixated on the skills they DON’T have to appreciate those they do.

I have a podcaster friend named Merideth, who hosts a wonderful show called Artists for Joy. She has an old episode that captures this idea so well. I will link it in today’s shownotes.  In that episode, she tells a story of being in Germany on a Fulbright grant. In preparing for the trip, she tried everything she could to learn the language ahead of time. And when she got to Germany, the Fulbright Scholars were divided into two groups: essentially, those who were fluent in the language, and those who weren’t. She was devastated to learn that she was placed in the lower-leveled group. She HATED the idea of being a beginner.

I won’t spoil the whole episode here; it really is a great story… but she laments that she missed out on the joy of learning to speak German because she was constantly judging herself for not already knowing German. This program did not expect her to be fluent in the language; it was not a condition of the grant. It was all the pressure she put on herself, and it totally stunted the process.

I’d be really surprised if you didn’t have a similar experience from something in your life. I know I do.

This same lesson holds true in teaching. There is SO much about teaching that grows out of curiosity. In fact, that’s the one thing I give myself credit for in my earliest years of teaching. I certainly didn’t stay employed at my local music store because of my skillsets and knowledge. I do think I can thank CURIOSITY for my longevity in this profession.  Well, that and a keen ability to read the room.

If we do not stay curious as teachers, we begin to think there is only one path forward. We’ll teach the same music in the same sequence with the same explanations and we’ll just get frustrated when we encounter students who don’t “get it”.

Later this fall, I’m hoping to release a series of episodes that are, essentially, case studies on some really interesting student scenarios I’ve encountered. I’m excited about those episodes… but for now, I’ll just say again: the common factor amongst my most successful students hands-down is this idea of curiosity. They don’t beat themselves up for not knowing everything yet. They know it takes as long as it takes.

I released an episode years ago – I’ll link it in the shownotes – all about a similar discovery about my own practice. I realized my internal dialog while practicing was almost entirely consumed with thoughts of “I should already be able to do this” and “why am I so behind?”.  I’ve built this false narrative around my own practice that I am always coming from behind. That belief is rooted deep within my psyche. I wish I could tell you I’ve stopped doing that, but it still rears its ugly head. The difference now is, at least I can recognize it as detrimental and TRY to focus my mind on other thoughts.

My students who move the furthest and the fastest don’t seem to have that inner dialog. They don’t shame themselves for being a student. Sigh. They have so much to teach me.

I do have to point out:  I made it far in my musician’s quest BECAUSE of discipline. The discipline I had helped to counterbalance the fear and the pressure that I put on myself to already be a master of my craft.

I think that’s true for a lot of “serious” musicians.

But I also think there’s a better way, friends. I think we are selling ourselves – and our students – short if we ONLY focus on the discipline. If we attribute everything to practice…or lack thereof.

I think we can help shape a better musical future by encouraging more curiosity in our students and exercising more of it ourselves. More experimentation. More reveling in new skills. Less “pass vs. fail” during the lesson time, more “look what you can do!”. Less “this is the way” and more “what would happen if… “ Less “don’t mess up!” and more “let’s try something”.  THIS is precisely why I keep reminding you that our entire lesson should not revolve around passing pieces. Instead of piling on new concepts week after week, students need ample time to put each skill to work. It’s not enough to learn cross-hand arpeggios, teach them El Caballero, and move on to something else. Are you kidding? Cross hand arpeggios are the best! Let your students find every possible opportunity to put those things to use. Dare I say it: let them PLAY with their concepts and make them their own. Make music TOGETHER during the lesson. Listen to great music together. Look for ways to combat this pass/fail attitude towards pieces and lessons. I beg of you.

Are you with me?  I’m working on an episode for later in September that challenges our highest values as music teachers. This is very much my current passion about our work. I’m revising my entire teaching philosophy around it. Stay tuned; but I hope today’s episode has laid some necessary groundwork as we journey together this year.

As we begin to wrap up Episode 269, let’s grab a nearby beverage and share a toast together, shall we?

Studio Music Teacher Friends: Today we recognize that our own experiences in this artform are valid and good. Discipline has served us well, and we are wise to strive to pass it along to our students. AND YET. We also take the bold step to look at this musical journey with fresh eyes. To ask ourselves what TRULY fosters understanding about our instrument. How do we nurture students who just seem to GET IT? Those who consistently build on the skills they learn, often at a rapid pace. How do we wind up with students who play a lot of repertoire, with consistently developing technique….who demonstrate a working knowledge of rhythm and harmony… all the things? Those who know how to play the piano – not just repertoire they’ve studied? Students who internalize concepts in a way that allows them to apply them to new scenarios? Students we don’t have to spoon-feed?  They do exist, friends. And we can develop more and more students who have this level of understanding, but it takes CURIOSITY on all sides of this equation. There is no room for pretending we have all the answers. May we all look for ways to nurture curiosity in the weeks to come. Hear, hear.

That’s a wrap on Episode 269, friends!  Thanks, as always, for listening. I have several related podcast episodes linked in today’s shownotes, as well as information on becoming a SuperFriend of Beyond Measure!  SuperFriends meet THIS FRIDAY for another session of Teachers Teaching Teachers and it’s going to be a good one. Onward and upward, my friends!  Until next week.