Principle #1: In community, everyone can succeed

Sophie (age 7) has been studying flute with me for 2 years. A few months ago, I invited her to perform in a community lunch and concert hosted by Integral Steps in Waltham, one of the organizations I partner with. Our studio recitals involve performing for an audience of 30 or so, but this event drew an audience of at least 100 people. That is a big crowd, especially when you’re 7!

Sophie already knew that every performance is an opportunity to share her music with others, and she was well-prepared. She was excited that at this concert she could perform in her Halloween costume, and see her friends from the studio perform in their costumes. She had a great time making paper collages at the art tables set up during the lunch hour. She listened to kids, teens, and adults performing in the concert. When her turn came to play, she saw 200 eyes staring back at her. Afterwards, she told me “That was a lot of people! I played for so many people!” I was so proud of her - she felt the energy of that crowd, and she was able to adjust, find her focus, and play her music confidently. 

When we belong to a community built on the belief that everyone is inherently musical, we don’t question whether we are talented or whether we can master a specific skill.

Because Sophie has strong relationships with other kids in the studio, she felt the support of her friends in a new situation. Working on art collages and getting to wear her costume made her feel excited and allowed her to engage different aspects of herself. She was faced with a new situation - playing for 100 people - which is not something that can be practiced ahead of time. Still, she had many other performances under her belt already: at recitals and group classes, at home for her stuffed animals and grandparents, even in her lessons where we do many mock-performances leading up to a concert.

Sophie trusted that the music she had prepared (a simple folk song) was something valuable she could offer to her listeners, a gift only she could share. She took a risk and jumped into a challenging new situation, finding strength from all the things that were similar to her past performances, and adjusting in the moment to the one thing that was different (the huge crowd). She had an experience of trusting, trying, and landing in a new place. Now she knows that she can play for "so many people." 

My students and I co-create a community which gives that healthy mix of safety and challenge to help everyone grow and develop at their own pace. 

 Principle #2: Musical Knowledge Resides in the Body

Daniel (age 14) brought a new piece of music to his piano lesson. He had worked on it just for a week, and this was the first time I was hearing it. As soon as he started playing, I felt lost. There was no steady pulse, and the rhythms did not relate to each other. The music did not flow. 

I tossed him a bean bag. He passed the bean bag back and forth in his hands, and once he found a steady rhythm, we sang his music together. He felt the beat. He felt it through the transfer of weight and the momentum of the bean bag passing from hand to hand. 

After Daniel fell into a groove, we sang his music. I also played his music on the piano while he kept the bean bag groove going. Then it was his turn to play while I passed the bean bag back and forth. While he did not immediately fix all the rhythms, he could now tell that something was not lining up. He was curious. He was ready to dig into the details, and we worked through each measure and phrase, aligning the passes of my bean bag with the beats on the page and helping him coordinate his playing. Over the next few weeks, Daniel made steady progress and felt empowered to do this kind of practice at home as well. 

Musical knowledge resides in the body.

I never questioned Daniel's ability to feel a musical pulse. Even though he did not perform his music with a steady pulse, his daily movements are filled with them: walking steps, his heartbeat, swinging arms. I had no doubt he already experienced this musical element in everyday life. He just needed some help accessing it while playing, connecting his experiences together. By allowing his body to remember the sensation of a steady pulse through the bean bag activity, he was able to build on it and sing the rhythmic patterns in his music alongside that sensation. He did not find his missing steady beat through thinking - he found it in his body, through movement.

Principle #3: Yes, you can do this 

Anne is an adult flute student who began learning the flute later in life. She began because she was so inspired by the sound of the flute that she felt she needed to make that sound herself. Anne has a successful career in another field, and carves out time for practicing between her other responsibilities. In our early lessons, she told me she started the flute “too late to ever sound beautiful.” I could tell she was frustrated that she couldn’t consistently create a resonant open sound, especially on the high notes of the flute. 

Anne and I worked patiently and steadily. Over two years, she began to understand that progress is not linear, and she gained deeper insights into what exactly she had to do with her air, lips, and head to get closer to the sound she wanted. At various lessons, I gave Anne technical details, images or metaphors, encouragement, and feedback. We noticed and changed her habit of physically tensing her body when she didn’t like the sound she made, which as you can imagine was not helping her reach her goals. Anne is surprised that she has made so much progress. I am not surprised. I always knew she could do it. She has done her work, and she has been faithful to the learning process, with all its ups and downs and twists and turns.

With patience and skilled instruction, everyone can progress.

It doesn't matter how old you are. If you feel the flute is too hard for you, or the piano is too complicated for you, I am here to tell you that you can do it. I know how to break down the technique, the artistry, and the practicing process into small doable steps. I can't do the work for you, however. Everyone, from the youngest to the oldest, has to spend time practicing, organizing their movements, building the connection between our ears, our brains, our eyes, our hands, our fingers, our lungs, our feet. With time, a willingness to engage again and again with the learning process, and a skilled instructor who can guide you along the path, you will surprise yourself with what you are able to master.