Teaching Adults - My Philosophy

One of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century, the great Russian pianist Svyatoslav Richter was at the height of his concert career when he was asked if he had ever considered becoming a teacher. He replied: “Teaching? Goodness, no…. but I would love to take some lessons!”

Is there a better way to reflect on this fundamental truth about teaching and learning? No matter how much has been achieved, none of us ever “graduate” – we are never permitted to have the luxury to stop learning.

Teaching music to my adult piano students has been so much about reminding them of this, and watching them rediscover learning in its purest form: not to get a good grade (or, in later life, a raise), not to “out-perform” someone else, but for the sheer joy of it – “Look what I can do!”

The demands of our adult lives leave us not only stiff and entrenched in our ways, but often harried and defensive – not the best disposition for learning. To sit down at the piano is the opposite of that – an escape into a different world, and a chance to experience something very special and unique.