It’s that time of year to take stock of ourselves, and think about doing better next year–a great time to think in fresh ways, about our teaching, about our students, about our own playing.
It’s a chance to refresh how we introduce various techniques or pieces, especially if we ever find ourselves feeling tired of any of them. Replace one or more of these with a new piece or a new angle. Spend a little time researching ideas of other teachers; the internet is a great resource for this, and there might be a post on the Music Teacher’s Helper Blog that can set new ideas percolating for you. The new search function is a terrific tool for this.
Look also at other blogs or posts; for example here’s one list of 10 New Year’s resolutions for music students. If you like these, you could share them with students.
As we make New Year’s resolutions to move on, improve, and renew our efforts, we usually try to avoid recriminations about past mistakes. Let’s apply those same ideas to our teaching: Allow our students to move on, to avoid recriminations, make a fresh start, renew their efforts or approach old problems from new directions. Maybe it’s a good time to let them take a break from a difficult piece and come back to it later. After all, learning music isn’t really a linear process, even though many teachers and students find it easier to follow step-by-step methods.
Students are probably in a perfect mood for both renewed effort and a new approach. We can help most by suggesting a few achievable, short-term, specific goals they can succeed with.
Best of luck in the new year with your music and your students!
