The Magic of a Good Student-Teacher Relationship

[David A. Lusterman, Publisher]

At the age of 58, a perennial student like me has spent a lot of time with a lot of teachers, including a considerable number of private music teachers. Some of that time has been rewarding, some ill-spent, and some absolutely magical. What makes the magic? And can I distill any wisdom from my experiences that might bring the magic within closer reach for others, especially younger musicians?

Simple as it sounds, all students, even rank beginners, need to know why they are studying and what they hope to learn. Entrusting yourself to a teacher with the general expectation that you’ll “get better” is usually an inadequate basis for studying, no matter how solid that teacher’s reputation. In other words, study is an active, not a passive, endeavor. If you think of a student as someone to be led, and the teacher as the leader, you are as likely to be led down the wrong road as the right one.

I’ve made the mistake of choosing to study with a teacher on the basis of that person’s abilities as a performer. Did I think that some of that ability would “rub off” on me? Or did I imagine that I could absorb some of the performer’s reflected glory? Guilty, I believe, on both counts. Would I have made the same choices if I’d had a clearer set of expectations for myself? I’d like to think so.

Then there are considerations of friendship. I’ve studied with teachers for far too long, simply because we’ve become friends and we enjoy spending time together. Rather than an occasion for intense focus, the lesson hour becomes a musical jog; invigorating, certainly, but more like recreation than purposeful study.

Now let’s imagine that you know what you want to learn, and you’ve found someone who can help you learn it. Both of you have the required discipline and sense of purpose. But do you mesh? Some teachers teach by handing out prescriptions: “Take 20 minutes of Ševčik, twice daily, for the next two weeks.” If you are the sort of student who wants to learn by remedy, this may be a perfect match. If not, sooner or later you’ll chafe. Others teach by anecdote: “When I was studying with Casals, he insisted that I hold my bow thus . . . .” You’re now in the same psychic space as one of the immortals, perhaps, but does the observation even begin to apply to your situation? A key element in the discipline of study is knowing when to end the relationship, even if the beginning seemed full of promise.

To all of this you may ask, with considerable justification, “How can I know what I want to know, when I don’t yet know it?” On the surface, this objection seems reasonable, but it unravels over time. Learning is cumulative; you acquire what appear to be bits of skill and knowledge, and these either serve as a foundation for greater skill and knowledge, or they prove ineffective and ersatz. Most of us can tell if we are making progress—provided, of course, that we have some aim, no matter how imprecisely we’ve articulated that aim at the start.

In my experience, the magic occurs when the teacher recognizes and understands the student’s aims in studying, and then actively participates in refining those aims, taking them to be of an equal or even greater value than the student’s need for mere technical progress. In other words, a teacher’s role is to educate the student in the art of self-analysis and self-observation, ultimately rendering the teacher superfluous.

Anyone with a second opinion?

[Wanda Jones]

A correction I am NOW back to work for a full week.

[Wanda Jones]

He is right on. As adult learner I liked my first teacher. Then she had a baby and gave up some of her students. She sent me to her former teacher. At first it was fine but she began to push me faste than I thought I was ready for. She was an older lady and at time she told me I played the wrong note when I had not. I stopped taking lessons for about five years. Now I have a teacher I feel I can talk to. I had to stop for a while because of being cut in my hours at work. Iam not back to a full week and intend to take up my lessons again in lte Mrch or early April.

[Al Justice]

I just wrote on knowing one's self at Fiddler Cove. And as a guide in a world of too much information, I will be addressing just that question. The answer I think, is to have crystal clear knowledge of the basic layers of violin beyond any ability to get confused. I have done this as an amateur, and though not perfectly have my virtual armor fully in place. (There's a story there--yes).

Second, trying to understand the world of violin and it's history is important information to have as one moves along. Auer said some of the things I felt, and wrote all the way back in 1921.

Today for a serious student, amateur or parent we can give ourselves good ideas to what basics means, and it is becoming even more easy to discover the huge amount of variety that has always existed in many great teacher's perspectives.

1: know thyself and what basics means.
2: know your fiddle.
3: Do some research and perspective building.

You can get some of this information at Fiddler Cove Deep Think.
www.fiddlercove.org

I just launched the site Dec 10, and people in 24 countries routinely visit. So content is just arriving in many areas. It is a site that roars back at a jungle of too much information, and my survival through that jungle. I fell deeply in love with violin.

[David A. Lusterman, Publisher]

Thanks, gottagopractice; your screen name clearly marks you as a journeyer! (Is that word?) You're absolutely right, of course, that the journey is a very big deal. My perspective is that one key element of the journey is moving from a state of dependence to one of independence, though even independence is a relative condition for us as social beings. Perhaps another way of thinking about this topic is that every student should strive to reach a point when he/she can become a teacher.

Fausto and Jonathan, thank you for the detailed, and fascinating, pictures you paint of your own experiences; much more concrete and grounded than my own somewhat abstract disquisition. I do agree with you, Fausto, that small ensemble playing is the best means for sharpening both one's technique and musicality. I have also eschewed orchestra playing for precisely your reasons.

[Jonathan Toner]

I too am also new to the blog, but a regular subscriber to Strings. I too am an older player, started recently on Cello (in the last 6 years), but used to play lots of rock guitar in HS & college. Unfortunaltly my first instructor passed away untimely and so I was pressed into a journey to find another. I eventually found an instructor who wanted to undo a lot of what I was previously doing, and I can appreciate her perspective and have grown in my abilities. However, I love her performing abilites but not sure if Im able to be a good receiver of the information she bestows as an instructor. I also love playing in a larger (25 person) church orcehstra for special music programs. I love the large group playing but know that it detracts from the more precise ensemble playing, however the ensemble playing is not challeging enough. She is the group instructor in the ensemble also. I do also agree with your last paragraph. It is a journey all the time, ones life experirnces changes and your desire and expectaions change on what you want to do with your instrument, therefore I think you have to keep moving and seeking the right fit. It might even be necessary that more than one instructor at a time might be required..depending on how many different types of music you wish to pursue. I guess it just takes sitting down and being honset with you goals and what you expect from the instructor and yourself..or you might find yourself in conflict.

[Fausto]

Hi David

I am new to this blog but an old Strings subscriber.
Being an amateur violinist myself (46) I subscribe to most of your pov about the learning quest that we engage in our amateur lives. Given my executive role in international businesses I have changed countries and violin teachers many times in the past 30 years.
After sharing most of the same experiences you relate I developed a more structured approach to my studying that has worked so far good for me regardless of the city I live and the teacher at hand.
First you are down rigth: you must know what you want to accomplish with the instrument. What music style you enjoy, what kind of ensamble you like to play with and to that purpose what kind of technic you must develop if you can.
I for myself decided a few years ago (10) that I want to focus on classical and jazzfusion. For both aims my technic will be based mainly on classical material like Kreutzer, Bach (sonatas), scales and arpegios. For my taste buds I play mostly barroc (Vivaildi,Bach, etc) and classical / romantic (Mozart, Beethoven, Hadyn, etc) music. (solo as well as ensemble, duets, trios cuartets, chamber groups).As for jazz fusion I have my electric violin and I study Irish, jazz technic. This focus has allowed me first to clearly convey to the teacher at hand what I want to accomplish and through what kind of music. My technic and playing ability have develop quite a lot in the last 7 years by doing so. One thing I stopped doing is playing in large amateurr orchestras (which was my main way of getting practice before) I decided that it was putting my playing level at a stake although I was having always fun. Playing small ensambles has really boosted my playing ability.

[gottagopractice]

You said a mouthful in that last paragraph. Unfortunately, so much of this is learned only through experience. Or perhaps, fortunately. Isn't the journey the point?