Tartellog

Last month I wrote about Pedagogy, which hopefully provided some good information on what to look out for from teachers.  Following up on that, today we’ll discuss what makes a good student.  With so much information available, there are ideas that might be contradictory, or at least appear so.  It can be difficult to separate people that are saying the same thing differently from those voicing contradictory ideas.  Here are a few important things to keep in mind.

Be Open-minded

This is, by far, the most important aspect of being a good student.  Although we may all be looking for the same result, there is usually more than one way to get there.  It’s possible that someone could offer you a path you had never considered before.  Letting go of what “you know works” could be the key to getting past what you previously thought was unachievable, or even impossible.  If you think you already have all of the answers, you are not a student.

Be Willing to Admit When You’re Wrong

It seems, especially online, people have a hard time admitting when they’re wrong.  Notice I didn’t write “if.”  I wrote “when.”  Yes- you will be wrong at some point (even you trumpet players out there).  When someone can show you that you are wrong, say thank you.  It’s okay to be wrong.  It’s not okay, once shown clearly that you are, to deny it.  Would you like to walk around “knowing” 2+2=5?  I hope not.  If you’re not able to admit when you’re wrong, you can’t be a good student.

Seek Good Sources

Please note that I wrote “sources,” not just a good source.  In whatever you are studying, there are multiple experts.  I have had the good fortune to study with several terrific trumpet teachers, including Barbara Butler, Gil Johnson, Mel Broiles, and Vince DiMartino.  Although very different players and teachers, each played an important part in my development.

Good sources are more difficult to discern than they used to be.  There are lots of people who have gotten really good at marketing that are spending their time trying to convince the world how good they are instead of actually being good.  You can learn marketing from them.  When looking for a good source, look for someone with quantifiable credentials that is going to invest in you at least as much as you invest in them.

I’ve written this before, and I’ll probably write it again: there is no 1-to-1 regarding playing and teaching.  There are great players that are great teachers.  Listen to them play, and follow their teaching.  There are great players that are not great teachers.  Listen to them play, and learn from what they did to get where they are.  There are great teachers that are not great players.  Follow their teaching.  There are people that are not great teachers or great players.  You do not need to seek out these people.

Invest in the Process

Once you’ve opened your mind to new ideas, realized you could be wrong in your preconceptions, and sought out expert help, it’s time to get to work.  There is no substitute for good work.  If you understand how to do something, but don’t spend any time actually doing it, you’ll be severely limited.  It’s the combination of taking in new information and putting it to use that leads to true growth.  When you’re working on new ideas, you might get frustrated.  That’s okay.  If you never get frustrated while working, you might not be working hard enough.

Keep Being a Student

Your education shouldn’t stop when you leave school.  School is an excellent place to be a student.  Once you leave, it can be harder to stay in that growth mindset.  In school, there are a lot of people holding you accountable.  Once you leave school, that goes away.  You might have a job that holds you accountable in certain ways, but it’s not the same.  Being able to do your job well, although important, may not have a lot to do with your continued growth.  Should you want to keep growing and getting better, and you should want that, keep working with these same concepts: Stay Open-minded, Remember that You Could be Wrong, Keep Seeking Good Sources, and Invest the Time.

Next month I’m hitting the road with Tromba Mundi.  The time we spend together is always truly enjoyable.  Yes- we rehearse and perform, but the time we spend talking about music, trumpet, and pedagogy is at least as valuable to me as the time we spend playing.  In our group of six trumpet players, there are a lot of strongly held opinions and ideas.  Because we have built such good relationships, we can have very open discussions.  As a professional, it can be easy to get too comfortable with how you think and operate.  It’s important to be able to communicate with people that have different ideas than yours.  If you can’t, you’ve limited your potential growth.

Here’s the good and the bad news: there is no end to this process.  If you think there’s a finish line to learning, you’re doing it wrong.  Done correctly, you can continue to grow forever.