What Music Has Taught Me | Utah Violin Teacher

 

 

There are so many things that I have learned from music that I could write about. Today, I am focusing on three things that music has taught me and which continued to support me in my adult life.

 

Courage

I started performing in recitals very young (about preschool age). At that age, I was confident and fearless. I didn’t worry about what other people thought about me. Fast forward to middle and high school, and it’s a different story. I really struggled with self-confidence and became really anxious. Performances started to get more scary for me, and I had to practice working through my performance anxiety. While I still struggle with those feelings occasionally, studying music has become a vehicle for me to practice having courage. I have learned that even though I have to face things that are hard and scary sometimes, I can trust myself to get through them.

 

Resilience

My music study has taught me how to fail, and succeed, then fail and succeed again. Learning how to perfect a piece is a long and tedious process, and provides plenty of opportunities for mistakes and slip-ups to appear. I used to get really caught up in my failures, but over time I have internalized the idea that failure precedes success. Although working through my failures with a healthy mindset is something that I still have to work on, being able to see my failures as a learning experience has been so beneficial for me in my life.

 

Sensitivity

I highly value productivity and efficiency in my personal life, which definitely has its benefits. However, music is never about getting through a piece as quickly as possible. You have to learn how to take pauses here and there and make tempo changes, along with other intentional musical decisions, to really make a piece come to life. Music taught me that life isn’t about just rushing around everywhere and getting things done. The slow and tender moments I experience are sometimes the ones that make me feel most alive.

 

Curious about my teaching philosophy? Read about it here!

 

Heather

 

I’d love to work with you! Please contact me for more information about music lessons!