Two weeks ago I had a small concert, featuring some of my own music, as well as covers of others. It was a huge experience for me – having not performed solo in years. Not that I hadn’t performed in years – I do many performances a year, but most often in conjunction of another group, or working with someone else – it was the solo part that was the difference.

It was a success, in my opinion. I was able to air stuff I hadn’t played in a while, as well as new material I had just recently written. And people came. Not a huge number, but a decent crowd.

What pleased me most was to see some of my students in the audience. I talked to them about it later, and there were a few points I took away about the importance of being a performing teacher.

1. It motivates you. I enjoyed preparing for this concert. It helped me to stretch myself as a performer, and to think about what music I love – not what I think people want to hear. If you do what you love, then people will want to hear it. I’ve made the mistake many artists have before; that of preparing what you think will go over well. This is well enough for an audition, but for a live interactive performance? Not so much. I also had to practice A LOT. I’m always being pulled a million different directions and am usually practicing music for someone else – something they have selected. This was mine. I got to choose, and therefore had to choose to put the time in. It’s what my students do during recital season. But as the teacher, I don’t usually experience that first hand.

2. It motivates your students. One of my students told me afterward that she had never heard one of her teachers actually perform before outside of a church setting. That got me thinking and questioning how students see our validity as teachers if they never see us doing the things we make them do. Sure, they see us in studio, and hopefully we are demonstrating what we teach and not just telling them what to do, but have they ever heard you actually DO it? Our resumes and bios may be impressive, but can we prove we know what we are doing? If you’re not into live performances, do some videos, or put on a recital for just your students. They will think you’re awesome.

3. It motivates your teaching. Not everyone we teach wants to be a performer. But as the nature of the music field, they will probably end up doing it in one form or another. I enjoy music for itself, and do it for myself at home, but when I do not have something lined up, I feel like something is missing. What are we doing to help encourage our students to push their limitations and share their music with others? Music is like eating – we like to do it as a group. And what’s even better is many times musicians are sharing with us AS we eat. It’s how we bond as a culture. It’s where humanity comes together and for a few moments are having part of the same experience though their emotions and interpretations are different. Sometimes I tend to see my teaching from a business side of things – how many students I have, what they need to do, what I need to prepare them for. But I don’t always think of how to motivate them to be willing to share their music. Sure, they perform it at recitals, but is it what they want? What they love? Are they doing out of obligation to me or their parents? It’s important to have recitals to learn performance skills, but we need to go beyond that and teach that music is truly a gift to be shared.

If you’re a teacher that hasn’t performed in awhile, find a place to do it, or put on your own concert. Serve cookies, and people will come. Share the gift. 🙂