The Attitude of the Pupil

by F.R. Austin

In taking music lessons a pupil should assume an attitude of earnest desire to learn all that is to be learnt; a childlike willingness to undertake anything the teacher dictates: of determination to overcome any difficulty that present itself, and of readiness to show your appreciation of every helpful suggestion and new idea the teacher gives you; thereby showing him or her the deep interest you are taking in your studies. The teacher needs encouragement as well as the pupil.

In order to be able to assume such an attitude, the pupil, of necessity, must have respect for and implicit confidence in the teacher. One's whole being shrinks and contracts when in the presence of a man or woman whom he thoroughly dislikes, and how would it be possible to receive benefit from a teacher whose ability to give thorough instruction you secretly or openly questioned? You might possibly be able to tolerate the man; but a lack of faith in his competency would prove disastrous to your progress. If, however, you have faith in your teacher, you can defer to his guidance and instruction with that trustful confidence which is so beautifully illustrated between child and parent. "We are all children in the art."

Presuming that you have placed yourself under the instruction of a fully competent teacher, your attitude ought to be one of willingness to do as you are instructed. It is your privilege as a pupil to ask for explanations and reasons; but, if after these arc clearly and freely given you still do not wholly comprehend, you must rest content to wait until you have progressed a little further in your new studies and become wiser thereby. Just as it is impossible to fully digest food which has just been put into the mouth, so also it is hopeless to expect to fully comprehend a new idea or suggestion which has just entered the brain. A music lesson is a mental meal and the time allowed between meals is for digesting it.

PROGRESS OFTEN SLOW.

All progress is a gradual unfolding - suggestion, application, . knowledge. When a new idea or thought is suggested to you, you apply yourself to understand it, and by and by the knowledge is yours. As our human brain is only capable of digesting a few new suggestions at a time, the teacher wisely undertakes to instruct his pupil in periodic lessons, one or more a week. These lessons are to the brain what food is to the body, they nourish and strengthen it in that particular line of study. In studying the piano the pupil's mental digestion of the thoughts and suggestions received in the lesson is aided by daily practice.

The pupil's practice is the practical application of the lesson and by this mode of procedure permanent knowledge is gained. Often the brain is extremely slow in comprehending a new idea. The teacher sometimes repeats the simplest facts an hundred times before the pupil is enlightened. This continual reiteration of the one fact is the drudgery of teaching. It is also a very common admission amongst music students who have gone to Europe for higher tuition that they have traveled thousands of miles, incurred much expense, and put up with great inconvenience only to learn more clearly what had been taught them at home. While this is true, the long journey, the expense, and the inconveniences are small sacrifices to make if the change of environment enabled the light to shine more clearly abroad than at home. It is the old story of leaving home and mother before you can fully appreciate either.

The importance of this subject may not at first be apparent to the reader, but in studying music it is as essential for a pupil to assume the attitude of a pupil as it is for a teacher to be capable of teaching. If you do not intend to work, if you are unwilling to receive instruction in a proper manner, in short, if you are not inclined to do your part as a pupil, sooner or later, both teacher and pupil will become disinterested. The pupil will grow discouraged and finally stop lessons altogether, blaming everyone else but himself or herself for his or her failure. The best instructor can do little with a pupil who will not do his share of the work. It is the teacher's duty to instruct, the pupil's to act upon that instruction. The former directs, the latter labors. You can rely upon the truth of this statement, the interest of the teacher in the pupil will depend entirely upon the amount of honest endeavor the latter exhibits in his or her work. - From R. C. Sunset.