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“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful poetic things to the heart.”
~Pablo Casals
Teaching music is complex and multi-faceted. In the classroom, teachers are not just passing along information, they are creating well-rounded, creative, imaginative human beings.
This not only requires great knowledge and expertise, but lots of energy and a willingness to give. Teachers are tasked with the duties of taking care of hundreds of students and themselves at the same time.
This can be an overwhelming and exhausting challenge. The good news is that there are skills to help maneuver this obstacle course, both for you and for your students.
Just as developing the skills and technique to play a musical instrument requires time, patience, and practice, so, too, does learning to be open to the moment and acquiring the tools to be present. Practice is necessary to be able to let go of negative self-talk and to either release performance anxiety or to put it to more productive use. An intimate relationship is necessary to understand one’s feelings and how thoughts may simply be thoughts or may or may not carry the truth. This path to a deeper relationship with oneself requires dedication and deep listening.
Up to three graduate level credits are available for this course through the University of the Pacific’s Courses For Teachers Program. Details can be found here.
I've been playing drums for about 20 years with the only frustrating purpose of avoiding mistakes. With a few mindfulness lessons I learned how to enjoy music, getting into the flow and have fun! Thanks Michelle!"
It was wonderful and generous of you to spend time sharing your expertise with our students! Cal Poly lives and breathes by the mantra (or official motto) "learn by doing," and the practices you shared will continue to release their benefits in the time to come. Taking us through those practices/exercises certainly was most effective at bringing them to understanding. I know some of the students also directly expressed their thanks for your sharing and your message. One of my students this morning remarked how the practice of being "in the moment" helps to focus on the immediacy of her playing, rather than on what might have gone wrong in the previous phrase."
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