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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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, … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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. … Read more
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