The Perfect Teacher.
It’s me! No, not really. Good gravy. But I frequently am the recipient of students who bring with them some seriously low expectations and occasionally, horror stories. Yesterday, I offered a few tips to help get the most out of lessons. Today, here are some things you should be able to expect from your teacher in the private lesson experience. 1. A private teacher should write down assignments and technical tips for you. A teacher should... Read More
The Perfect Student
Ah, yes: the perfect student. Doesn’t exist. Can’t, in fact, exist. Humanity gets the better of all of us, at some point. Malleable students lose themselves. Bright students preempt new concepts. Astute students set unattainable goals. Which is what makes them absolutely perfect for me, and others like me, who love nothing more than watching the gradual process of our role becoming obsolete. A teacher should be wise enough to counsel... Read More
The real me.
Ask anyone who has ventured into the deep end of music teaching about how they balance performance and pedagogy, and you are bound to get all kinds of answers. In my own experience, I can candidly offer the following: There is absolutely no balance, at all. I got into teaching to make some extra money, and made it my primary source of income after my left arm went on the fritz. Before then, I was mainly a creature of the gigging scene, across all... Read More
2010: A Lousy Blog Post Retrospective, part 1
Inspired by Travis‘ idea, I now present you 2010: A Lousy Blog Post Retrospective. He noted that some of his favorite posts were the ones with either zero reaction or active disdain from his readers, and it’s funny to go through and see what kind of content has stick and which does not. For my first submission, please to present this one, from April, entitled “Fired”. I thought this would be an interesting perspective,... Read More
Talent on the horizon
They say that the North American natives were taken by surprise, even though the towering masts of the Spaniards were on the horizon for nearly two days before they landed. It is thought they didn’t see the Spanish explorers’ ships because they had no concept of such a thing and that their brains literally did not process the input. This may be completely false: but it is designed to illustrate a cognitive phenomenon referred to as perceptual... Read More
Just a thought
I’ve noticed that many of my students who are ready to start teaching hesitate, citing lack of experience. Part of the issue is that they associate teaching with taking payment (insert hilarious comment here), and feel they have no right to charge for it, considering they are not “professional” cellists. So I say fine: don’t charge. Still hesitation and bristling, this time because they think they have nothing... Read More
Identity Crisis
This is partly my fault. But still! Over the past few weeks, I have had numerous students insinuate that I am not a cellist, but only a cello teacher. This bizarre contradiction sometimes makes me laugh. Yesterday however, I stared at my student until beads of sweat appeared on her brow and she started fumbling for a way out of it. I told her to stop digging the hole and worked very hard not to go into the all-too-ready diatribe on the tip of my... Read More
A question of priority
I’ve devoted numerous posts to jackassery. Students, musicians, massage threrapists, clamshell packaging, my own personal flailings. (flailing does not necessarily equal failing, but it sure looks dorky) I’ve even laid into other teacher archetypes from time to time. It was so much fun, I thought I’d do it again. Ok, it’s not fun, but sometimes needs to be done, especially since writing this blog serves as a reminder of the... Read More
So as to be actually useful
I am compiling a list of effective cello teachers, to be kept on my website. Note the word effective. There are plenty of bitter, ineffective, gnarly string teachers out there. I’m looking for people who you have really gained from. Eric Edberg, pictured here, is an ideal example. Massive chops, lots of cred, very accessible. Send information to: contact (at) emilywright (dot) net. A few details would be great, like whether or not they do Suzuki,... Read More
