Ooo Ted, I bet you lost a lot of sleep over that one!   ;-)

One little girl once described herself to me as "stupid". She has proven to be honest, hard working, and loves her guitar. Stupid she is not, and every lesson that I am able to find something to praise just makes her work harder and happier. In the process she is teaching me something of human nature. It's a humbling experience to learn from a nine year old who describes herself as stupid.

Mooh, sounds to me like she's found the perfect teacher. What a heartwarmer .... may you have many successful years working together!

Many moons ago, when I was young and inexperienced, a bright-eyed 7-yr old boy arrived at my studio for his very first lesson. I'd spoken to his mom on the phone, explaining times, fees, practice requirements etc, but I'd never met the child before.

Well, 5 minutes into the lesson I was shocked to see the child was missing part of the middle finger on his right hand. :-O    HIs mom explained he'd got it caught in the clothesline wheel as a toddler - sliced off everything from just below the first knuckle. As I sat there on 'stun', all I could hear was my own teacher's voice, and what I imagined my fellow "registered" qualified piano-teaching colleagues would have advised: "Forget it. This kid literally doesn't have what it takes to ever become a decent pianist. Show him the door right now. instead of wasting time and money and risking your reputation as a teacher ...."

But I just couldn't find the heart to stomp all over that child's bubbling enthusiasm and obvious desire to learn music. So I shut my mouth, swallowed my shock, stifled all the objections in my head, and carried on as if he were any other student. Knowing all the while that he certainly would not have been welcome in the studio of a "higher calibre" teacher than myself.

Well, he proved all those pre-judgements wrong in the long run! That child had a fine natural "ear", loved his music with a passion and turned out to be one of the most faithful practicers I ever taught. It was wonderful to watch how easily he compensated for that missing "part"! By the time he was 12 he'd finished his grade 6 on the piano, including all the technique I'd feared he'd never be able to handle at all - never mind perform up to speed with even a passably smooth tone!

Then he decided to follow in a folkie cousin's footsteps and learn
guitar as well as piano. His family moved, and the last I heard he's been writing his own material, formed a rock/folk band of his own and is now playing the local venues regularly.

If I'd turned that child away at age 7, he might have been scarred for life, musically speaking. He might have labelled himself "less than" or "handicapped", and never have found the confidence to approach another teacher. I'm so glad now that I handled it my own way; overlooking those apparent 'shortcomings' and relating to him on a caring, and yes "personal" level, rather than as a cold but "qualified" studio professional with impeccably high standards for accepting students!