Recruiting for Beginners

Since I decided to become a music teacher I have had one main ambition: To teach kids to love music. In my mind, love is synonymous with having an outside person, object, or thing leave an indelible mark on ones desires. That is what I hope to impart on my students. When they walk away from a beginning instrumental music class, I want them to feel as if they cannot go through life without some sort of music. I want them to feel as if their instrument, whatever it may be, is not only an enjoyable pastime, but is also an extension of their emotional self. At the same time, I want them to feel as if playing music is fun. The best way to engage students, I feel, is providing them with a fun and emotional connection to something.

My hope, therefore, is to have students learn more than the basics. Yes, they will be learning how to accurately play, assemble, and handle the instruments. However, they will not be restricted to repertoire in their methods book. My students will be given opportunities to play original compositions (which can be done in groups). More than that, students will also listen to examples of trained musicians playing their instruments as solo instruments, as well as in background to their favorite songs, television shows, and movies. Basically, I want my students to learn to play the instrument, have fun with what they play, feel proud of their playing, and hear what sort of quality they can obtain with practice and dedication.

Of course, before any of the above is possible, I must get students in to my program. This is not limited to the first few weeks or even months before the instrumental program begins, however. From the early years of grade school I will have my students hear quality music and begin to make connections to how it is used throughout everyday life (such as on the radio, in the store, or at the doctor's office). Through this I will attempt to establish an emotional connection between my students and instrumental music.

From there I will use the skills I have acquired dabbling in Photoshop to create an eye-catching poster to grab the students' and the parents' attentions. I would also have a "meet-and-greet" type of day, where students can "meet" the instruments first hand and try them out. If I am teaching in the Bozeman area, I will set up a field trip to attend MSU's "Petting Zoo" as another way of introducing my students to their playing possibilities. Then my students will each have a card on which to write their name and rank the two instruments they would be most interested in playing.

Whether or not any of my ideas will work in an actual classroom, I do not know. What I do know, however, is that the best way to engage anyone is to have them get emotionally involved and have fun. Those will be my main goals when teaching first year instrumental music.