Why I Teach Music . . .

You know, I grew up knowing for certain I wanted to work with animals.  I spent nearly 10 years of my life preparing to be a zookeeper.  And now what do I do?  Teach private string lessons!!  So, why stick with it?

There's really two parts to this question:  Why Teach? and Why Music?

Why Teach? (no particular order):
1)   Teaching something, no matter what it is, is a GREAT way to better learn it yourself.  You have to come up with different ways of showing, telling, etc, because no two people are the same, so you end up knowing 20+ different ways of doing everything you're teaching!

2)  It's great for my mind.  I know that as long as I keep teaching, my mind will remain sharp until I die.  That's a good thought.

3)  It's great for my students!  Every time you learn something, that's another connection that's been made in your brain.  Connections are good things.  So whether you're debating whether to learn to cross-stitch, the next level in math, a new game, or music, the question should really be:  why not?  Go for it!

4)  I adore my students.  Some people ask me why I don't have kids of my own.  In a way, I do - 30 of them!  I just don't have to be 100% responsible for them all the time.  But I still get to take joy in their growth, both as musicians and as people, share their sorrows, delight in their successes, revel in their joys.  I can honestly say that I love every single student of mine.

5)   It's hard to beat that "ah hah!" moment.  Helping someone come to greater understanding is immensely rewarding.  At the end of the day, I know that I've made a difference.  No, I don't reach hundreds of students.  But I get to personally interact with and get to know each of my students, and personally help them become better musicians and people.

6)  Who wouldn't want to buy a bunch of toys and prizes and be able to give them away when their students pass books or do something really amazing?  I get to have fun shopping, guilt-free!


As I said, these were in no particular order.  I'm sure there's more (gee, I'm still thinking of more to add), but these are the biggies.  I'll talk about why I'm involved with music in the next post.

Happy Playing!