Music through the eyes of the young

Last weekend, I took my 27 year old fiance Dan, who has the maturity level of an 8 year old, to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to see a family production of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. This concert was geared towards children, and since Dan has little to no experience with music, I thought it would be just at the right level to keep him awake and entertained.

We were one of the only couples there without children, but that didn't bother us. The conductor, guest Edwin Outwater, was great at telling the kids all about the different instruments, setting up excerpts, and describing how music could set the mood. At one point during Rimsky-Korsakov's Suite From the Snow Maiden, we all flapped our arms like birds, as depicted by the violins (most of the kids flapped whenever they felt the urge, not just when the violins played).

It was really fun to see a concert like this. While in my previous posts, I talked about the importance of concerts for the sake of learning and finding yourself, or finding inspiration, this was a great one just for finding simple joy in music. It doesn't have to be moving or powerful music (though when the monster theme boomed, everyone moved pretty high off their seats!), but it can just be fun. And instilling this in children at a young age could go a long way in inspiring them to play music themselves or in continuing to support the arts as they grow up.

Some of my favorite moments came from the children in the seats surrounding me. Though their parents tried to shush them, they didn't let that stop them from showing their excitement. The little girl next to me would cry out "I love the flute!" every time the orchestra began to play, while the little boy in front of me was convinced that the dancer portraying Ivan, the hunter, was actually the monster, and would shout "Is that the monster?" every entrance Ivan made. His sister was very skeptical of the Firebird's costume, and behind me, another young girl continuously dropped her program just so that Dan could pick it up for her. Sometimes it's nice to go see a top orchestra perform a classic piece without being so stuffy about it. Maybe we should all flap our arms like birds during concerts more often.

Are you prepared for who could walk into your private studio?

Are you prepared to teach a child with 2 dads? What about a Christian who's waiting for marriage while you live with your fiancee? Is your studio wheelchair accessible not just for your students but for their parents? Are you OK with all manners of race and religion? Can you adapt to a student with a disability, or will you turn them down on sight? Do you have a problem with inter-racial couples? Do you consider people with tattoos and piercings to be immature and lazy?

If you have issues with any of the above, I'm not here to judge you. But as a teacher, you do need to be prepared to be open-minded. You need to be honest with yourself on whether you can give your students the attention they deserve while accepting and respecting all manner of parents, and also students. You need to respect your students/parents' beliefs, but not allow them to compromise your own, or insult other students/parents in your studio.

In short, you as a private music teacher must think of yourself as an equal opportunity teacher. This means keeping thoughts, comments, and facial expressions to yourself if you don't agree with the values or beliefs of a family. Not treating one family differently than another based on how much money they make. Making sure your studio is fully accessible so that someone like my own fiance, Dan, can take his future children to their music lessons without needing me to tag along and help. You will have to leave politics, religion, values, current events, and opinions locked in a drawer during the times that you are teaching, meeting with a wedding client, holding conferences, or giving a recital. This is not to say you must be a robot, but your priority as a teacher should be to make sure everyone feels welcome, accepted, respected, and equal within your studio. You may not be able to control how they are treated out in the real world, but when they're with you, make sure everyone gets to be the same.