Dream Students

A few days ago I walked out of a first lesson with a 5-year-old child, and thought, what a dream student.  He had been one of the students in my Instrument Discovery class, where I introduced a group of child to the cello through weekly classes over the course of 5 weeks.  He always practiced for these classes, even if that just meant sitting with the cello and plucking a few strings.  And in the lesson he had remembered the things we had done, and sat quietly, while I spoke to him listening and taking it in.

But as I thought about what a model student he and his mother seemed to be, I realized that the lesson just before his, with a woman in her mid-20's who is coming back to the cello and is exploring ways to play in a band with some of her co-workers, was also a dream.  During the lesson we were able to explore how to improv in (what I felt) was a productive and fun way, building on skills, going from exploring freely on different harmonies to creating call and response phrases.

And earlier in the day, even the wiggly student whose feet I comically leaned on for most of the lesson, presents some exciting possibilities.  He has a free curiosity, walking through my apartment before and after the lesson to explore, incredibly intrigued by all the instruments in the room, and constantly exploring sounds on his cello.  He likes to figure out songs by ear, to laugh.  There is so much to enjoy.

For each student, there is something very exciting to explore.  The mind works in so many ways, the body receives in so many ways, and so many combinations of these things.  It is really wonderful to be able to work in this way.