![\"\"](\"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Untitled-5-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n[img=https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/bsLOHe_whOx0_Me8raqb-RGeu_2NoLpOrdNtiuG2AQz3_k3th0mF-Ma9YoDI56oeWGdBc3HeT5N8HqIB-QnuL3ulPfUsajls12HfIhhrqiZrlpcctduyxKvZIU46klqYKo8qNX08RddushmlHjIEtnM]
*”So You Want To Quit?”: A tongue-in-cheek flow chart created by the author. *<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joyful Amateurs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Students often feel very lost at the end of their music study, whether after a few years or after ten or more years and high school graduation. If they’re not preparing a piece to play each week for their teacher, what can they even do musically? Is there a way to have fun with music without studying music seriously? If they have a vision of what a musical amateur might do for fun, this transition away from regular music lessons can be easier. A student may need to move away from the pressure of practicing daily, but in many cases, they may still enjoy playing on a more casual, occasional basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Suzuki Teachers, we work on building a vision of Twinkles to Mozart, making sure that regardless of how long a student plays, they have the technique and ability to play well. I believe that we need to focus just as much on the vision of Twinkles to Joyful Amateur. In fact, these two visions will feed and enrich each other, building skill and joy together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some ideas that may help a student become a joyful amateur:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Speak respectfully of amateur musicians. Encourage students to attend community symphony concerts as well as professional ones. Don\u2019t nitpick the technique of nonclassical players.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Teach students how to play from a lead sheet and in other musical styles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Show students your enjoyment in playing an \u201cextracurricular\u201d instrument. Can you appreciate music as just for fun or is it always part of your job?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Invite parents or community amateurs to join in a performance. Do you have a handful of studio parents who could provide a joyful, if perhaps imperfect guitar accompaniment to a summer performance?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
When a student is done taking lessons they often think, what now? My hope is that they have developed a love of music they can take in a new direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Head Toward a New Priority<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
According to Greg McKeown, author of the book Essentialism, the word priority was only used in the singular form for 500 years, meaning the very first or prior thing.[size=60]2[\/size] He writes, \u201conly in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow we would now be able to have multiple \u2018first\u2019 things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adults frequently discuss how important it is to develop \u201csticktoitiveness\u201d or \u201cgrit\u201d in children. What we sometimes forget is that it is only possible to stick to our priority if we learn to set some things aside. When we try to hold on to everything we\u2019ve ever pursued, life will inevitably feel heavy and cumbersome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be difficult to know when to push a student to continue with something hard, and when to let them move on. When the agreement is to move towards something else important, that can feel easier. Students need to know that choosing to quit is not choosing to fail, but choosing to have the time and energy to pursue what\u2019s most important to them. If we can express pride in their ability to \u201cessentialize\u201d their time and energy, they can move forward with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep What You Can Carry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Students need to know that dropping music lessons doesn’t mean dropping all they\u2019ve achieved. Even if a student will no longer be carrying their instrument case to lessons each week, they will be carrying along much of what they\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They may no longer need to practice vibrato, but they will still use their improved fine motor skills. They may no longer need to memorize a six-page concerto, but they will need to remember large amounts of information. They may no longer need to practice previews ten times daily, but they will need to know how to break a large project into small, attainable pieces. They may no longer need to sit on a piano bench with tall posture, but they will likely need to sit at a computer for long hours without pain. They may no longer need to breathe in with a duet partner, but they will still use their increased ability to listen and watch another person for clues to future behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The benefits of music lessons are large and small, physical and spiritual, marketable and priceless. Even if they never pick up their instrument again, their time will have been worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Untitled-6-1024x791.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n[img=https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/Tl55CaJBCh2-YcFPjXBQuEeX_buvW918eqwWCV0GtL5klq9q0deVKujtmTYEAjuXz9eZ4g667lLHswQ0eWUoiCmMsL6-CSlE38Bfiv7bJfwpm3F5QCje5_jQFkLn8Yei1XlZyWDEA0eakO6xeXyTsE0]
*A certificate of accomplishment presented to a student at their final lesson. *<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to Say Goodbye<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A few months ago, a beloved student gave me notice that they would quit at the end of the semester. I was fairly convinced I could talk her out of it and spent most of a lesson discussing her reasons. In the end, I could see that her decision was thoughtful and final. Knowing that final lessons with other students have sometimes been strained and awkward, I brainstormed how to make her last lesson more positive. I printed a certificate of accomplishment on nice paper and presented it to her and her parent and expressed my pride in her hard work. We spent her last lesson playing as many duets as we could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really don\u2019t know how she\u2019ll feel about violin in a decade or two, but I do know it\u2019s been the most positive quitting process I\u2019ve gone through thus far. I wanted to end her lessons as I sought to begin them; nurtured by love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
[size=60]1[\/size] Duke, Dr. Robert A. 2023. You Are What You Eat. You Play How You Think. Imagine That.” Talk given at 2023 SAU Parent Teacher Convention. West Valley City, Utah: Suzuki Association of Utah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[size=60]2[\/size] Greg, McKeown. 2014. Essentialism: The disciplined pursuit of less. London, England: Virgin Books.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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