Blossoming Character

Note: Yesterday the WiFi was down and so this is the post for Thursday and today!
Our next topic will be more technical on Monday, how to develop memory skills!


Teaching Music is about Relationships

Over the past years of teaching I have had the privilege of working with several students on a long term basis. The relationships that develop from this are rewarding for me for several reasons: one, it is simply amazing to be an active part of a child’s artistic development from an early age up to their adult life. From the first lessons in how to bow correctly, through the stages of beginning steps and the many recitals that come each year, the child grows into a fine musician and along the way develops life skills that we could call character traits.

Character Through Persistence

Persistence is one of the most common traits that all children develop while studying the piano over the course of 10 years or more. This one trait however is perhaps the single most important one for a child to develop to succeed at college and then outside in the world of community, business, education and government. How many stories have we heard of great people who have taught the world something about life, who had to have persistence?!!

The Life Cycle of Music Lessons!

I recently began to coach a student who has come back after a few years of college and then marriage. She has a child now and that child is coming with her mother to piano lessons as an infant. It is fascinating to me to observe this little baby respond to the music, smile at the studio children who come in for their lessons and begin to learn through the studio environment about music, art and relationships. She can not speak yet, but I’m anxious to hear what she will have to say in a year or so…

What is your child developing?

Perhaps you can think of other character traits and relationship building skills that your child is learning through music lessons, the studio environment, the parent, teacher and child interdependent relationship and home practice.

The Blossoming of a child’s character through:


Persistence, Patience, Love of Learning, Courage, Self Presentation, Nurturing Relationships with Adults, Artistic development, Empathy, Learning how to contribute to a Community of learners, Honesty in practice and lessons, Accountability, Respect for self and others, Listening to others and instruction, Creative Expression, and the list could continue for a very long time!


With Joy, Love, Peace and Hope,
Ben