The Right Attitude: The Five C’s

by Jamey Mann, Catoctin School of Music

It is important to understand when learning an instrument that the teacher oversees the lesson. Unfortunately, too often students (children and adults) come in with a preconceived notion of how they should be learning and what they want to learn. This is an attitude that often leads to a bad experience and failure. Keeping the 5 C’s in mind will help keep everyone on the same page: Collaboration, Cooperation, Communication, Critical Thinking and Citizenship.

It is especially important for young students to understand this. Young students will have many teachers, coaches, and other authority figures in their life. The habits and attitudes they learn in private music lessons will help them to listen, follow directions, and take constructive criticism in all aspects of life.

While the teacher directs the lesson, we do consider the students’ goals and desires. The teacher knows how to get you there in the most effective way possible. Chances are we made a lot of mistakes along the way, so you do not have to.

The following is a list of recommendations to help new students adopt the best attitude when starting private music lessons.

1. What do you want to learn? – Before starting lessons, you should know what you want out of them. Are you a serious student that is ready to practice 2-4 hours a day and be the best you can be? Or are you looking to just pick up a laid-back hobby? Maybe just practicing on the weekends? This is important to think about as it will determine what kind of school or teacher you get your lessons from.
2. Research schools and teachers – When you know what your personal goals are it’s time to for research. As mentioned above, if you are serious you want to find a school with experienced teachers with degrees in music. These teachers are often going to be highly organized and expect attendance and practice. (Lessons with these teachers often come with a high price tag.) However, if you are a little less serious you may want to find a laid-back teacher. A family member, friend, college student home for the summer, or maybe try self-teaching for a while. You can always change your mind if or when you want to get more serious.
3. Keep an open mind. Drop preconceived notions –In my experience most people come into their first lesson and it’s not what they expected. Remember the teacher you are taking lessons from knows a lot more than you do. They have spent a lot of time getting to where they are to teach you. It is best to listen to them.
4. Practice your assigned homework – Any well-organized teacher will have a record of your assigned homework from week to week. It is crucial that students practice those assignments. Although I do encourage students to explore music and try different things, it is with the caveat they should practice my assignments first. You are wasting time, energy, and money if you take lessons and do not practice your assignments.
5. Avoid outside teaching help- One of the most frustrating things to hear from a student is that they are taking advice from a family member or friend. Your Uncle Bob might be pretty good at guitar, however he is not a guitar teacher. This can be a distraction and a roadblock to a student’s progress. More weeks of practice than I can count have been wasted by Uncle Bob’s advice.
6. It’s a long road- Everyone who picks up an instrument needs to know that this is going to take time and dedication. Have patience and consistency and you will meet your goals.