I've got an awesome student group right now. I currently have 35 students at the moment. It's quite a mixed bag of different ages and abilities...Iabout 1/3 of those students are 1st or 2nd year players, and a few middle school students in their 3rd or 4th year. All of those young guys are doing really well. And then, I have this awesome core student group of high schoolers, pretty much all of which I've had since they were beginners. There's a couple of them that have been a part of my brass ensemble program since it's beginning and are now high school seniors, but they're taking lessons to prepare solos for Solo & Ensemble. And also I've bene teaching my mom horn lessons for years, too.
But my core group of students, man...what an awesome group they are. They play so well on their own, but they're even better as a group. Most of my high schoolers are in my brass ensemble, and they're sounding really fantastic as they prepare for Solo & Ensemble. I've watched them group and improve so much since they first started with me...it's been amazing. I've develop bonds with each of them, and have gotten to know them and their families. I have a number of them graduating this year, so it'll be hard to see them go.
As I think about my students, I reminisce on how great it is to be a lesson teacher, and how lucky I am. As a lesson teacher, I am one of the only adults (if not the one adult) that gets planned 1-on-1 time with them each week to help them get better at this wonderful thing called brass playing. I really get to know them both as musicians and as people, and I get to chat with them about their interests (and even mine sometimes) and just everyday life. I get to help them grow and learn how to work hard and become more confident in themselves, and see the joys and benefits of both of those. I get to work with them for up to to 8 years, and see them grow that whole time. In the most modest way I can say, I feel like I'm making a small difference in their lives, at least.
Sure, school teachers and sports coaches get to work with students a lot more during the week, but how often to they get to work 1-on-1 with them?
So it's just something really cool I was thinking of.
On a slightly different topic, I was thinking of writing an essay on my career so far as a freelancer in an instructional format and submitting it to the International Horn Society to see if they'll include it in one of the journal magazines that comes out 3 times a year. I feel like I've learned a lot in my experiences that I'd like to share to help other freelancers be successful.
Take care and value music.