“Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.” – Albert Einstein
In the book, “Good Music, Brighter Children” by Sharlene Habermeyer there is a section entitled “The Value of Hard Work”. (I own this book and am willing to lend it out if anyone cares to read it.) The amount of energy we put into developing talent – such as learning a musical instrument – determines its strength, force, and impact in our lives. Will music become a talent that we enjoy throughout our lives, or merely something we will say we briefly experienced? To accomplish music it requires diligent effort. (hard work, perseverance) Students, through this hands-on experience come to realize that success is the result of consistent hard work. Consistent is the key word here. The student who practices each day with the right goals and techniques in mind progress and see/ hear improvement in their playing. Conversely the student who practices “half heartedly” and only every third day cannot expect the same outcomes, often gets frustrated and many times quits their musical study.
We live in an age of instants: texting, Google, instant messages, email, live streaming of music just to name a few. Although many of these instants can be helpful to us and at least convenient, “instant” is not always the way of the world. Some tasks take time to progress, advance, get better, “age” if you will and there is value in that as well.
“In music, a mistake is a mistake: the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards (and self satisfaction) of hard work (and doing one’s best).” - Phillips
The “Children’s Music Workshop by Carolyn Phillips” (November 29, 2014, www.childrensmusicworkshop.com) published the “The Twelve Benefits of Music Education” a report where she states as her 11th point that “Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing and something that will occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later. (I would add that it needs to be in a “safe” educational environment where the child/student is allowed grace in his or her mistake and that mistake is used as a teachable moment.) Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her potential. Music contributes to mental health and can help prevent risky behavior such as teenage drinking and drug abuse.” Often when beginning a seemingly difficult piece of music a student can become anxious. The initial response of fear of being unable to learn and then master a large musical work can be daunting and even scary. Learning to look for a reoccurring musical theme, taking a smaller “bite” of the music when working on the piece, and focused practice all become skills that are transferable to other aspects of our life and learning process.
Music is an area that is inexhaustible- there is always more to learn. There is always something new to explore and perfection to aspire towards. It is a great form of self-expression, creativity (good for the mind, body and soul) and teaches self- discipline. The old joke that goes “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice.”