Monday, September 24, 2007

Admiration of the Students

As a teacher for many years now, I am always impressed with my older students. They are not children, where they are told by parents that the discipline of music study will do them good or because some report suggests that learning a musical instrument will make them smarter. These students are studying simply because they love it. As I have learned, love can transcend any logic or reasoning.

My older students are working at least 8-10 hours a day, they have families and other commitments, and yet still try to find time to learn the classical guitar. And I might add - this is not always a pleasurable study. The study of the classical guitar is demanding and can be frustrating. I've seen students weep over frustration, get angry, get depressed. I try to explain to them that the plateaus in study (and life) come frequently. We must learn to enjoy them as much as the climb. We must enjoy and travel on any plateau to eventually reach the highest mountains. Relax and know that those mountains will come.

classical guitar lessons, music and philosophies at www.guitar69.com

No comments: