Music Teacher Mark Palmer
Music Teacher
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Great question!!!
In the daytime, teaching Shift workers/Retirees or prepping my lessons for later in the day, or training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to keep active!! The last few years Ive found the more active i keep myself the more i can do..physically and mentally.
Previous years to that realisation I certainly did spend time lying around in the day doing nothing productive. It just fed into a greater sense of doing little…the less you do the less you want to do…
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The situation tends to be parents insisting their child learns to read music(standard notation) alongside learning to play the instrument or starting a grade(both which are very good skills/pursuits). Im happy to do both but not at the expense of the students enjoyment. If the students isn’t enjoying it, you really have very little as a teacher to work with..
Ive experienced this only a few times, with parents with children that tend to be ages of 6-10. I will not force anyone through a vicarious situation if they’re clearly not enjoying it. Its so easy to lose sight of what attracted them to the instrument in the first place when focusing on other matters/results!
What else is going to compel them to practise outside of lessons?
Ive had to tell parents very nicely they should encourage their child to pursue what makes them want to play the instrument, then they shouldn’t have to nag them to ‘practise/play’. It really is a harder point to ‘pitch’ to parents with these ideas, because of their preconceptions of they think is good for their child in this learning situation. Its never easy, but if what you’re saying is for the good for their child they should respond positively. Peace:)
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As previously mentioned, i dont think there is a substitute for 1-2-1 tuition, where you can ask questions and be shown in an interactive sense!
The misinformation aspect of YT is plain to see(amongst some really good stuff too), but in a way it can also elevate your abilities as a matter of comparison!
If you can show a superior, expedient technique/approach(or debunk the misinformation acquired on YT) then it will only enforce that people are getting their monies worth by booking you. No doubt, its annoying sometimes having to unravel mis-info that happens to be objectively inaccurate!, and often can hold up the mid/long term progress of the student. Personally, i try to work with the any info if possible(mis-info aside), or see it as another approach rather than flatly dismiss it. Again, sometimes this isn’t always possible!
On the other side of the coin, I’m sure we can all think of the successful, inspiring artists who have eschewed regular ‘technique’ and made something interesting around their style. For the rest of us mere mortals, who struggle, its good to have the option of another approach; some might say tried-and-tested, traditional, universally recognised…
Peace x
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Don’t book any lessons in until you have been paid in advance.
With this payment system If someone forgets then the next time slot they’re asking for will not be booked in > take place until payment has been received.
Its annoying that we have to resort to this method, but the good thing is that it roots out ‘bad custom’ and makes room for a decent, honest, hardworking student
Its works for me anyhow:) I hope it improves!!!
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I don’t think its healthy(for us as teachers) to make expectations that could on the worst side of a situation, leave us feeling let down or out of pocket. What works for me personally is students paying for booked time in advance, i expect no more than that and i always end up with what i expect financially, and consequently I’m rarely annoyed or let down. This wasn’t always the case!
If they want to quit at any point, i accept that its their prerogative to do so…in other words you can’t control their decision(we would all like to think they would play ball with our T&Cs when they agree and start lessons with us). Trying to enforce particular T&Cs that are seemingly unenforceable is a road to frustration when dealing with certain types of people. Make your T&Cs so that you’re guarded by them, rather than relying on someones decency or expected social etiquette(even if you have made it clear and they agreed to them). Some people will always take the road of least confrontation/friction…telling someone that their services aren’t required seems to be too much for some people and they will avoid that at all costs.
Its disheartening, esp when you’ve made it very clear, but the reality is people will behave this way. Protect yourself and your time with advance payments and then let the rest happen, if they’re messing you about by not turning up or stopping before they agreed, then they’re making room for a new student with a better attitude
