Dear Parents: Making music is not fun - it is so much more.
The inspiration for this article came from a brief message sent by the parents of two of my students today. Seemingly a little worried about the level of practice her two boys had done during the week, she mentioned she was worried that her insistence on their practice had become militaristic, and that it risked creating a negative space around music-making that would then affect their experience of music as they grew older.
Playing an instrument is generally one of the many ranges of extra-curricular activities young children partake in during their formative years. Quite often, scheduling conflicts occur around other afterschool activities such as sports, dance, swimming, coding, competing instruments, homework, playdates, etc. Often, kids are thrown into the deep end and emerge with a few favourites that they then choose to focus on as they grow older.
As a music teacher, you are therefore in constant competition with these other activities: quite simply, if your student doesn’t enjoy what they’re doing (or doesn’t exceed), you lose them. You therefore lose a key part of your weekly income, which is generally in a precariously balanced situation at the best of times. As a result, we teachers need to find a way to gain the enthusiasm of the child so that we’re not first on the chopping block when that time comes.
Which is where the concept of ‘fun’ comes in. Because what kid doesn’t choose something enjoyable (fun) over something tedious?
But here’s the unfortunate catch – making music isn’t fun. It’s far greater and more valuable than that. Playing a video game is fun. Building a fort is fun. Going out on a playdate and shooting your friends with foam Nerf bullets is fun.
Music, on the other hand, is an excessively complex system that marries physical, emotional, social, and mental skills. For those with children already learning piano, the below demonstrates the processes they are using when playing the annoying, ‘simple’ piece for the umpteenth time:
1. Looking at black and white dots on a series of lines, and translating them into letter names correlating to physical and aural points on a horizontal plane that looks basically the same (white and black keys);
2. Also associating each letter-named note with a duration which starts in whole numbers and eventually begins to include fractions of them;
3. Doing this not just once, but twice in every piece as they must read two different clefs at the same time;
4. Dealing with complex hand co-ordination, with both hands operating independently of each other;
5. Counting AND reciting note names to themselves, whilst also being wary of hidden black notes (through key signatures), and;
6. Associating these seemingly arbitrary points into a well-worked out mathematical-theoretical structure we call ‘harmony’, connecting to their seemingly disassociated scale-chord exercise work.
To clarify: this is not a kid playing their first Beethoven work; this could be a child who started piano maybe three weeks ago. So much fun.
So if the performance of music is not fun – why push your children into it? A few years ago I penned this article to explain some of the pedagogical and educational benefits of music outside of the obvious music-making results. Instead of repeating myself too much, I want to explore exactly why gently nudging your child to practice more can be valuable in more ways than finally hearing Fur Elise played at home.
Practice in any discipline is the vital element of developing any form of skill. As demonstrated above, learning a musical instrument is an extremely complex skill, which requires more a more regular, systematic approach than weekly football training or dance classes. The approach needs to be understood more along the lines of the academic development of language (reading and writing) and mathematics. As the act of practicing itself is generally about as interesting as math homework that sounds ok, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that children will often revolt against it. By stating that music should be fun, we risk equating it not with academic work, but with ‘screen-time’ related activities.
When answering the mother (above, first paragraph), I made one observation: I have never had a student who vehemently opposed the pure concept of practicing – that is, sitting at the piano and working. In my years of teaching, I have experienced the entire range of students – from the exceptionally gifted, to the mind-numbingly incompetent (for anyone reading this, don’t worry – the latter is obviously not your child) – but whilst practice seems to the main point of contention, it is actually an effect, not the cause.
The students who build a good relationship with music are those that feel confident when making it. As with anything, they hate it when they are overly challenged by it, and they love it when they can see their own tangible results from the successful playing of it. It seems rather obvious perhaps, but if you can imagine being forced to sit once a week and have it clearly demonstrated that you aren’t good at something, well – not so fun. Sitting in that same seat once a week and feeling like you are actively working on and achieving something – no matter what that is – is amazingly fulfilling.
Therefore, my teaching philosophy is based on the gaining of confidence through action. In essence, effort = reward. No student– especially the less-musical and untalented – should ever be criticised for playing the piano badly, when they have put in a respectable amount of effort. Conversely, every student of mine – no matter how well they play – will be charged to do more should their workload taper off with no valid reason. My students are taught by a simple premise: the more work they do, the more satisfaction they gain.
If we understand the goal of playing music to be fulfilment as opposed to mere enjoyment, the statement that heads this article becomes apparent: the fact they are symbiotic is an excellent bonus[1]. As fulfilment leads the enjoyment, the most direct way to achieve that fulfilment is through practice. Which takes me back to the final response to the message referenced at the beginning of this article: “Be a bit militant – my job is to ensure their effort and work during the week is rewarded with positive feedback, and emphasising the impact of that work on what they’re creating.” My personal goal as a teacher is to ensure every single student gains value and develops a passion for something I personally love – music. And in my opinion, value gains and passion are far more interesting goals than simply having fun.
[1] A wonderful current example is a student who, before the summer holidays, was beginning to struggle after a period of relative ease in her first six months. Owing to new working circumstances with the parents, this student was unable to practice at the same consistent level, and resultingly, lost all confidence and enjoyment in the instrument – to the extent that this student (who had previously been obsessed with sound and the was legitimately excited when I taught her new things) was on the precipice of giving it up. With the parents, we decided to have two lessons per week during the school vacation in order to try and catch up again: when this was told, the student was despondent and angry that she had to go through this experience now twice a week. However, the increased focus on work and a reinforcement of the basics led her first to start practicing of her own accord again and now – barely four weeks later – not only is she working through a large amount of repertoire again, she has started hugging my leg after lessons in an attempt to stop me from leaving. Better than tears, at least.