With September music lessons just days away, I’m wondering about what the year has in store. What will my students take away from their music-making explorations? Fresh directions? Comfortable experiences? Taking risks and exploring the uncharted? When I think about the year ahead, I’m always reminded that music lessons are more than just learning pieces. It’s about sowing seeds for my students — giving them something that lasts far beyond the lesson, a way to feel grounded in themselves and connected to something larger. Like with two of my students Jennifer and Kyle who I enjoyed watching as their musical journey unfolded over many years.
Sharing Music - Jennifer stands out in my memory as one of the most soft-spoken students I’ve ever met. She only whispered. She barely moved her lips. She spoke in the most brief phrases. All of which meant I needed to lean in closely to find out what she had to say. In Grade 5, Jennifer experienced something truly transformative. You see, a student in her school found out that Jennifer knew how to play the Star Wars theme and could teach it to anyone. So it wasn’t long before other students were lining up so she could teach them. Here was my most soft-spoken student in a role I don’t think she or I could ever have anticipated - a musical leader. It was amazing to observe the impact of Jennifer sharing her musical knowhow - the courage to share her music with others.
Resiliency - For Jennifer’s brother Kyle, his musical journey was quite different. I always wondered how he made sense of his first few years of piano lessons as he had three different teachers in three years - each one indicating that he should switch to another teacher at year end. When he came to me, the first thing I did was to help him become aware of his own successes. His persistence. His imagination. His ownership. And he kept on going. All the way through Junior High and into High School. For his final home concert, Kyle sang and accompanied himself at the piano in selections from Billy Joel, Sean Mendez, and Leonard Cohen. When I asked Kyle to describe his takeaway from music lessons, he responded with an audio recording in which he highlighted how through music making, he developed a willingness to open up to himself, others, and in his social life. He made a compelling statement about how music making has helped him to develop his own voice.
Making Music - What I know about making music is that it’s nearly impossible for us as teachers to anticipate what direction a student’s journey will take. Jennifer discovered unexpected leadership through sharing her music. Kyle developed resilience and the courage to open up through persistence at the piano. Their stories remind me that music lessons are not only about what’s on the page — they’re about the ways making music shapes a student’s life from the inside out.
Soon students will be returning to music lessons. And as they continue their journey - or take their first steps - it's marvellous to consider what's going on beneath the surface. How they’re carrying a growing sense of who they are, how they connect with others, and how making music might continue with them for a lifetime.
That’s what excites me about September — the seeds we’ll sow, and the surprising ways they may grow.
As we step into teaching this fall, here are a few questions to carry with you:
What seeds would you like to sow in your students?
How can you help parents see the “hidden” values of music lessons?