Taking Lessons: Conversations with Ms. Russell

My narrative begins as a child taking music lessons. There was something rewarding about learning to play the piano. Piano involves discipline, practice, and enjoyment. (Ref: Music helps students’ learn better). My music teacher, Ms. Russell had such an influence on my life even many years after taking lessons. She always organized lessons and practice in a very practical way. She broke melodies and phrases down, created rhythms to learn scales and difficult musical patterns, and always encouraged the best sounds to guide my playing. In the early years, I didn’t have a piano to play on, so my music teacher made a cardboard keyboard, and I would practice at lunchtime at the school. She emphasized the importance of her own professional development (and taking music lessons) to become a better teacher. I always appreciated her effects to help me learn to play the piano.

At a time where music, and electives are often the second tier in learning; I knew, even as a young child that music allowed me to develop my understanding of ‘how to’ learn. Music separated me from other students and allowed me to escape. Some of the things that I learned from playing a musical instrument are:

(1) Playing an instrument for hours and hours stresses the importance of repetitive techniques and pattern learning. This is laborious, however necessary in acquiring skills.

(2) Learning can be a very isolating experience, but necessary. This isolation gives the learner an opportunity to be alone with their own thoughts and reflect.

(3) Learning a musical instrument offers the learner many ‘productive failure moments’, and sometimes these failures can happen during public performances. This exposure to failure gives the learner an opportunity to feel uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time.

There were many special learning moments that I had with Ms. Russell, and although they get blurry as I get older, my appreciation for her spending the time and effort to believe in my musical ability encourages me to continue to learn, even now.

Teachers have a huge impact on learners, and if teachers continue to learn, they are better able to connect with their students. Teachers need to remember what it feels like to be uncomfortable in the learning experience and they need to share their own learning experiences with their students. Finally, a teaching moment or learning experience can be immediate, but it can also have a longer-lasting impact, that can be reflected on 30 years later.

Ms. Russell is gone now, and I miss her. I wonder why I never thanked her enough. Sometimes as I practice my scales on the piano, I can hear her commenting on my technique, and reminding me, music is in the small patterns of notes. Just like learning is in all the small moments of the learning experiences - I learned this by taking my elective - music.