Reflection | Five
I loved being a harp student. Throughout my higher education I would carefully memorize what it felt like to sit behind the harp and be taught. My teachers and I talked about phrasing, nuances, tone color, technique, solid practice habits, great performance habits, using my ear to help shape my music, special qualities of the harp, music theory, or about the composer’s intent within their piece, for example. I love the sound of the harp and how it feels, and I believe we are the instruments to our chosen instrument.
These harp lessons were sacred moments. I would not trade them for the world. Once in a great while I miss them as an adult—and what it felt like to be learning my craft with my trusted teacher guiding me as my sherpa.
It is a privilege to sit in the teacher’s chair. Lessons are filled with many special interactions. I often think of my experiences and I seek to give similar ones to others as I teach. Being a music student at any age is more than just “making music” or learning technique, or learning how to play an instrument. It can encompass a special connection between teachers and students which grows and matures as the years go by. Teachers cultivate these connections and these relationships. Good instructors understand that making music is not just about teaching the details of technique and how to read music week after week, but that the fruits from the interactions with their students can last a lifetime. These fruits may be about dedication, sensitivity, joy, care, delight, creativity, problem-solving, self-expression, self-actualization, or of course, simply about connection.
As teachers in the arts we are called to nurture calm and trust within the relationships with our students as we cultivate beauty. We have a calling to mentor, the whole student, within these lessons. We rejoice in their accomplishments. We may guide them through more challenging times in their lives, and sometimes, yes, once in a blue moon the majority of the lesson is simply talking about the music or about whatever else the student needs in that moment. Going to a music lesson may be the best thing in their life that week. This sentiment has been shared with both my colleagues and me throughout the years.
Music cleanses our souls, gives hope when we are lonely, and it colors our world, among a whole host of other gifts. Students and teachers co-create beauty and foster connections in our world with this beautiful art as the channel! Let us rejoice in these gifts. May it be so. —June, 2025
