By Erol O
While still a student in college, I attended a concert with
some friends. Two of them were fellow musicians, and one was not. After the
show was over, we were walking out of the venue and talking about how great the
show was. That’s when I noticed the non-musician being silent, so I asked him
what he thought of the show. He said: “I don’t know”.
The three of us looked at each other in
bewilderment. What do you mean, you don’t know?” I asked. Then he said
something that would stick with me for years to come.
“I don’t know….” he said, “What is music anyway?”. That took us by
surprise. We all struggled for an answer, but couldn’t really come up with
anything good. We just shook our heads and said; well I guess he just doesn’t
get it, and moved on. After that night, from time to time we would retell the
story about the guy who didn’t know what music was and get a kick out of it.
But the more I thought about it, the more I instinctively felt that there was
something deeper behind those words than we all realized.
I could “feel” the music; it made something resonate inside of me. I started
quit. My enthusiasm for music, however, pushed me to learn on my own. By
watching other players and copying records, I was soon good enough to be in my
first real band and have a real paying gig by the seventh grade! After making
those seven bucks, there was no stopping me!
So, what is music anyway?
Good question. The next time you are teaching music lessons and sitting with a student that is
having difficulty or is unmotivated, or just lagging behind, think about that
question. But not from your point of view, think of it from theirs. What is
music to them? Maybe it’s a tiny step forward. Maybe it’s blowing off their
assignment to show you the really cool lick they figured out themselves. Maybe
it’s about being a good student. Maybe it’s about nothing at all this
particular week. The important thing to remember is that it’s about them, not you. Being the one who senses
their inner fire and feeds the flames is far more important than following a
schedule that may have nothing to do at all with their particular needs. You
know what music is to you. Be a part of what music is to them.
Suzy S.