As we near the end of the year, I am reflecting on the skills I most want my students to have built over the last year. Here are my top three:
- Work ethic.
- Musicianship.
- Teamwork.
I am reflecting because I know I can’t hit each of these skills equally; perhaps work ethic suffered this year because I spent too much time on teamwork. Maybe prioritizing musicianship means learning less repertoire – or maybe focusing on musicianship early will make repertoire easier to learn later!
What about you? Can you pick the top three traits you want your students to have? Where have you succeeded, where can you work harder?
Planning for next year has already begun in my mind, and that means more than just selecting repertoire and nailing down gigs – it means checking priorities and shifting weight to support the work you want to do.