Philosophies, Purposes, and Other Things That Start With P

If you read my bio, you would know I studied music education in College. In that program, they have you write all these vision statements and philosophy statements all the time. However, I never wanted to be a classroom teacher. So now, here, I will write the only truly accurate philosophy statement for me on teaching music.

The main purpose of music, in my opinion, is to be expressive. Countless times in music history we see composers fighting to be able to express emotions to others. Music expresses those emotions that we struggle with verbalizing. I know many times that only through music was I able to cope with some of the biggest losses in my life. This tool, the ability to express oneself, allows these students to create something in an intellectual way that can impact their surroundings.

So when deciding my philosophy I wanted to reflect and be able to pull from my experiences as well as my beliefs about music and teach in a way that fits in with those beliefs. 

My philosophy on teaching lessons is to create a space that allows students to learn how to express themselves in a way that is healthy. In my lessons, I try to describe and teach the instrument and how it works to create a well rounded understanding of the instrument while teaching techniques and musicality to the instrument. When teaching musical expression, scales, and the music, it is important to me to guide the students how to make decisions that allow for creativity without taking away from the music that is written. Talking about the music as a form of self expression helps take the technical assignments and transforms them to a tool and a learning technique. 

I enjoy finding new things to do with each student as well as giving students the space they need to be creative and learn in a fun and positive way that still pushes them to try their best in every area of life. Let’s get started and grow together!