—by Loretta O’Driscoll

I have to admit there are times when I am teaching that I am not quite there. My mind wanders to other topics: emails I need to send, what my children need for school tomorrow, what I should make for dinner tonight. We’ve all been there.

Lately, I am challenging myself to be present when I teach. Not just present as a student finishes a piece or present as I might be at the beginning or end of a lesson, but present the entire time, paying attention to the nuances. This is not as easy as it might seem. It’s not as simple as just saying, “Ok, I’m going to pay attention during Suzy’s entire lesson today.” Buddhist monks devote their lives to attaining the focus and inner peace that are required to be fully present and living in the moment. So I’m not kidding myself. I know it will not be easy to be fully present and teaching in every moment.

Why put forth so much effort to be present? I’ve realized I am a better teacher when I do. I might see a change of expression on a student’s face or a slight movement in her shoulder or elbow. These subtle details, which the student is not even aware of, are telling me something. Often, they tell me more than the student ever could. The change in the facial expression might tell me the student is enjoying a certain section of a piece. Or maybe the expression tells me she is having a hard time with it. Slight movements in the larger extremities—arms, shoulders, and elbows—can also tell me if certain areas in a piece are working well or not.

I’m not suggesting the lesson should be entirely one-sided. Dialogue with the student is crucial. I always ask a student what might be easy or hard in a given piece. She will be able to guide me. If I am present in the moment, I am also picking up on the student’s body language as she talks. Is she tense or animated? Is she speaking softly or slowly? Is she willing to make eye contact? These, too, are cues to how a student is learning. Maybe she can’t stand the piece I assigned, or maybe she loves it and wants so badly to play it well but hates to admit there are hard parts. Whatever the case, the unspoken needs to be addressed with open, honest communication.

As a teacher, it is very clear when a student has not practiced. Rather than mentally checking out, I’ve started to use this opportunity to teach in the moment as well. I simply and calmly say, “I can tell you haven’t had much practice time. Maybe we can use this as a work session to come up with ways to make your practicing more approachable and interesting.” Why waste an entire lesson allowing the student to play through music she hasn’t worked on? This can lead to more than a misuse of time, eventually it can lead to a passive-aggressiveness that should never be part of a private lesson.

All of these small subtleties that I’m able to glean from being present during a lesson add up. I can use the nuances, details, and communication to guide me to what I need to work on. I’ve shifted my thinking of the lesson as something the student prepares for to thinking of it as something I need to prepare for. Maybe I need to concentrate on a certain technique with one student. What pieces can I introduce to help with that? Maybe another student needs more theory or rhythm. What materials are appropriate for their level to help with this? And yet another student might need to put the piece in its historical perspective to help with shape and interpretation. Do I know enough about the pieces I’m teaching to create this perspective for them?

I take a few minutes before each lesson to mentally go through what I’ve prepared and make sure I have an effective way to present it. When the lesson starts, I take a few minutes to engage with my student so that I get a sense of where she is personally and also with her music. I keep notes on my student’s repertoire and her progression. If something comes to me in the middle of a lesson, I write it down  so I remember. I ask questions before they play a piece. I ask questions after they play a piece. Being present also means I am constantly searching for the best piece to help each student. I never, ever teach a piece that I don’t know or have not played myself, so I am continuously finding new music for my students. I actually enjoy this because I get to learn new music too, beyond what is in my music cabinet and the pieces I was taught years ago.

I have many distractions and demands on my time. We all do. But when I am teaching a private lesson, I owe it to my student to give her my full attention. Not only will she get more out of her harp lesson, but so will I. •