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What Is a Music Teacher?

Perhaps a better question to start with is, “What is a Teacher?” In the American culture, teachers seem to be in a sort of servant-class, sidelined to help a parent raise their children while they are off at work making a living. In some respect, this model is a little like some affluent parents who have a ‘nanny.’

In Asian cultures, the teacher is also in a separate class from most aspects of society, held in such high esteem that they are seen as some of the most valued people by comparison. Teachers are respected and honored because these cultures understand that, at the foundational level of society, if teaching and training go awry, the entire society will crumble.

I appreciate those who became my teachers over the years, in many ways and in many different subjects.

Regarding music teachers, since I was raised in a musical home, my father and mother were my first music teachers, and I will speak of them later.

Aside from them, my first memory of a music teacher was in grade-school. I don’t remember her name, but I do remember the enthusiasm she brought to the classroom as she had us singing together and reading the music of popular children’s movies of the day. It was perhaps the first time I recall feeling the exhilaration of a song’s harmonies and the ebb and flow of a melody that moved me emotionally. The lesson I learned from this experience was never to underestimate the power of an inspirational moment in a child’s life.

We are now hiring music teachers in Midland, Texas, if you are a teacher who desires to make an inspirational difference in a child’s life.

I remember singing in a grade-school choir with a well-trained older choral director. She brought a simple score for us to learn in a ‘round.’ It was called Inchworm. The same emotion I felt from those movie melodies was augmented as I heard the resonance of pure children’s voices blending in near-perfect unison. She, too, brought an inspirational element to her teaching, yet with a professionalism I later would come to appreciate. What I learned from this experience was that, even when working with young children, expectations can still be high.

I studied piano with a teacher who opened the possibility for all of her students to actually compose their own piano piece. Again, we were grade-school age. I remember, while accomplishing the task, that I sensed something special was happening. That was the first composition I had written. Since then, I have written hundreds of works, a number of them commissioned. That was the beginning of my composition career. What I learned from this experience was to appreciate the value of opening up possibilities for students beyond the normal scope of their normal work. You never know what kind of pathways this could foster.

If you are the kind of teacher who likes to think outside of the box, we are now hiring music teachers in Midland, Texas.

My first violin teacher, Dorothy Croft, was known in the community as being strict and highly ‘explosive’ in her personality. Many feared her. With me, she was very kind and I found her to be very nurturing. However, she did have high standards. Not only for her students, but also for herself. She was so highly motivated that she, from our small West Texas town, reached out to a Juilliard teacher, both to learn from and open possibilities for her students. I ended up studying with this teacher, based upon Mrs. Croft’s influence. From this, I learned to continue challenging one’s self as a teacher. This has far-reaching consequences for those you teach.

The Juilliard teacher, Margaret Pardee, eventually asked me to move to New York to live in her house with her and her husband. Even though my parents paid for the experience, Miss Pardee (as we called her) would often go beyond the expected training and augment that with experiences of taking us to concerts, communicating with networked relationships to give us performance opportunities. She even personally drove me to ensembles that I played in around Long Island on several occasions. What I learned from this is that, as a teacher, it is meaningful to go beyond what is expected, through generosity. The student may not appreciate it at the time, but the lesson will eventually surface in their memories.

If you are a generous person who wants to make a difference in a student’s life, we are hiring music teachers in Midland, Texas.

One of Miss Pardee’s assistant teacher, Kevin Lawrence, taught me, to augment her weekly lessons. Kevin was always kind, but insistent on focusing on details. Anything that was the slightest bit off, he would stop on comment on it. This made me a much better player, but also taught me the value of attention to detail. The lesson learned: the standards you, as a teacher hold, become the standard, so set the bar high and kindly insist on it.

While at Juilliard, I had the opportunity to study with Dorothy Delay, who was widely regarded as the world’s greatest violin teacher. She was kind, yet maintained the highest standards. Because of the volume of students who studied with her, she would have master-classes in which groups of anywhere from three to ten students would gather in her classroom, as each student played for the room on a rotational basis. Not only would she comment, but she insisted that each student have some productive insight to give their colleagues. What I learned from this is that a teacher’s primary goal is to bring the student to full autonomy, learning to think for themselves and to become self-motivated.

If you can bring a student to find their autonomy we would love to get you involved with us! We are now hiring music teachers in Midland, Texas.

While I was at the Eastman School of Music, I had the opportunity to study with Samuel Adler, as a composition student. (I always maintained a double-major of performance and composition.) Upon my departure from working with him, he offered that if I ever had anything I would like to show him in the future, to send it to him and he would be glad to give me his comments. It wasn’t until about thirty years later that I took him up on his offer and sent him some of my recent works. He responded to me, after studying them, giving me much praise and some critiques that I could learn from. I learned from this experience that once a teacher/student relationship has been established, it continues and is always a valued resource and even friendship.

If you want to make a life-long difference for students, we are now hiring music teachers in Midland, Texas.

I mentioned my parents at the beginning of this, and I would be nowhere without the kindness, generosity, sacrifice, insight and care that they gave me. Some of my most important development life-lessons as a musician came form them, and I consider them my first and most important music teachers. The last lesson I will write about here is to never underestimate the value a parent has to be a teacher to their children. Even if they don’t know everything, the care and insight they do know and choose to share can set the child on a course for greatness.

If you want to partner with parents to help guide an upcoming generation of students towards a successful life and productive career, we are now hiring music teachers in Midland, Texas.