My students think they're bad, but they're not.
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- It's really weird finding myself on the other side of the table.
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This is all so incredibly true. I think most people who take music lessons as a hobby -- and who stick with them -- are a bit demanding and type A. It's funny hearing this actually because I just had a harp lesson on Thursday that indeed consisted me of being unbelievably frustrated and apologetic for why I sucked so bad and my teacher trying to convince me that I don't. (This is seriously magnified by the fact that I have a 40-string harp and my teacher has a full 47-string harp which is about seventeen times the size of mine.)
But either way, I think people who really stick with music lessons are a more likely to be inherently unforgiving of themselves. *sigh* (Yes, I'm one of them, and I still can't quite reconcile how I can love something that makes me hate my hands and my life at least three times a week.)
I think it might also be a figure/ground thing, too -- almost an uncanny valley. When you are a beginner and you really do stink, you notice your progress more. When you get better, you notice the deviations more. I think it's just that the better you get, the more the stinky bits really stick out.
Regarding seeing what's coming up next, I think adult students might also just need to see more of the landscape ahead to feel comfortable. Metaphorically, little kids are more comfortable "driving without their headlights on" since they are used to the grown-ups magically being able to see ahead. An adult needs to see more of the road since they are used to being the one who has to see ahead, to put more reasonable expectations on themselves. If our headlights aren't on, we freak out.
Agree with this, well written. Being a adult student of the violin, as time has gone on I'm less forgiving of bad intonation and tone even when its even slightly out. But I love it. :)
Janis Cortese wow! That's incredible! You crack me up, that you're complaining about an octave of strings!!! I think I can only manage an auto harp, even though I play a full size piano! :) but I'm very intrigued by your ability to play an almost full sized harp, and I haven't even heard you play!
Agreeing with everyone here, and also that is SUCH a great way explaining it. The "headlights" example is really spot on!
Krisstofer, The extra octave of strings seems to change everything, oddly. It makes the instrument taller and heavier, which mean that the strings move up relative to you, and you either have to sit far away to put them at the same position relative to your hands and the pedals feel like they are a mile away, or else you sit close enough to reach the pedals, and suddenly middle C is a foot higher off the ground than it used to be. Yikes!
I was a pianist long before I decamped to the harp; you may find that you can acclimate yourself to a pedal harp more than you realize. It's basically a piano with all white keys where you can make the black keys appear and disappear as you need them with the pedals. It's a LOT harder on the hands, though.
I am guilty as charged of doing that. It used to drive my piano teacher and both of my flute teachers crazy when I did that. I would stop playing because I thought I played horribly and he would say “ But why did you stop? That was good! Keep going!”. My first flute teacher , she would say “ I don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re playing a lot better than you did in your last lesson”😃❤️🎶🎼
Ehhh, don't we all do that to ourselves? At least we're all in it together ;)
Relatable as a student lol
Yay! ^_^
Lol! I was that teacher on a different instrument - now I am that student!! How embarrassing! I was struggling with tone so much the other day so I watched a James Galway tutorial and was so frustrated that I couldn't sound like him. Seriously. KMN. Thanks so much for making me feel better about my progress.
Yay a new video! I notice this as a student as well.
That's awesome!!! It took me way too long to realize :P
OMG....I haven't even had a lesson yet and you got me pegged LOL I never think I sound "good", or what is my idea of "good". I hear other flutists play the same thing and think "uh yeah, I suck" lol I am my own worst critic.
I will say though I got the most compliments when I thought I did the worst...I played my father's favorite hymn, "In the Garden" for his memorial service....I didn't follow the written rhythm, I played "from the heart", I know I missed a few notes, wavered on a bunch, was probably out of tune for the most of it....but I got the most glowing compliments after the service. I also had a solo a couple years during a concert that I thought I did horrible---I played it with an infected tooth and was on medication--and I get a lot of compliments from that one too (concert video is on my channel ;) lol) It does seem that when I think I'm at my worst, others tell me I was at my best...now makes me wonder what people think when I think I did my best LOL
I'm thinking it has to do with you maybe playing with more confidence because you didn't care as much? The same has definitely happened to me.
So, yeah, I'm sure you play great. ;)
I havent outright told my lessons teacher that im bad, but because of my highschool band teacher i always thought i was a horrible player and that ends up showing in my behaviour in lessons. However i have been getting over this hurdle recently and i have been gaining confidence in myself after getting compliments from my teacher and other flute players.
Hi friends! I'm actually out of town this weekend, which is why the video went up so early! ;) I'll be out and about, so I can't get to your comments as quickly as I usually do, but keep them rolling in and please feel free to chat with each other and answer each other's comments and questions! :D It's sharing time, here in the land of pracrastinators! ;) Love you all, and thank you so much for watching!
Click to my Chanel i'm a flutist please don't laugh
I'm in high school and I've been told multiple times I'm good and should get a private teacher but I can't afford one and that I'm afraid that they'll tell me I'm bad because I'm super self-critical. Hearing this is really nice😊😊
This is 100% so true on all levels! As a student, I am hard on myself but as a teacher I am not nearly as hard on my students as I am on myself. I have definitely learned from personal experience that I need to be more explicit and blunt in lessons so students understand I'm not here to judge them or make them feel bad, but I'm here to hep them improve as musicians.
Yup, I'm the same. Super hard on myself, but I go easy on my students because I know what their level is and what they're ready or not ready to tackle. We're all in this together
Hey! I just got my first student! She's a beginner and I am in high school, so I can't wait to teach her!
Oh man, have fun!!! Don't be afraid to experiment with different teaching styles and methods until you find that one that works for you and your student!
This is actually the best video I have seen on CZcams ever. It addresses the exact issues I've been facing since I started listening to very good flautists and becoming more conscious of how I sound. I can't thank you enough. It was such a relief to hear this that it brought tears to my eyes♥ Your reflection on your own pedagogy and how the internet has changed it was also incredibly useful. It sounds like you really empower your students.
As a student I'm totally hearing myself in their words!! I try to only take about thirty seconds for my self-deprecation, though. lol
But it's really good to hear that it's not something I'm doing wrong, it's just that gap between my taste and my body's ability to shape those muscles and breath.
oh my , i always think i am bad at playing the flute, and oh my im so scared, i have an allstate audition in like 3 hours, eeeek
You got this!!!
THANK YOU !! 😃
oh lord, allstate is one hell of an accomplishment. Good luck.
Rayane Gantt just had my region audition: placed 5th and advanced to area! Now I have a month and a week to perfect everything.
JustAnotherFlutist I just wanted to thank you so much, I did make it into District Band, and i seriously couldnt have done it without your video on how to sight read, i seriously thank you so much!!
I've been learning the flute for 4 years now and I always study recordings and history of my pieces which ultimately helps me to play and perform them better because I can understand the music more, but I have learnt to stop making excuses and stop trying to hide my faults in my playing because no teacher wants to hear that. If I'm having an issue I'll tell my teacher, but if I hear a fault I'll apologise after playing the piece but not have a rant about it because ultimately my teacher is there to help me and teach me. As she's been my teacher for 4 years she knows where I struggle and it's good because I don't have to explain to her what my issues are anymore, because she knows me and my playing. I'm now grade 7 approaching grade 8 which is so exciting, along with grade 6/7 music theory. While I continue to study music I know I will always pick up more faults with my playing than anyone else and that's because I know my playing ability and what it usually sounds like when I play it. It sucks but ultimately it's what drives me to become a better flautist every day
I feel like that every time I play with others... I'm playing today with a group choir and I'm totally out of tune, probably because I'm so nervous and it's cramped.. however the ladies told me how wonderful it sounded. I don't know if I should believe them. It's frustrating and I feel like I shouldn't even be playing in public because I don't play in tune all the time...
Ah, I know how you feel. I encourage you to keep playing even though you don't think you sound great because chances are, you DO sound great. You just hear your impurities. :) It's okay, we're all in this together!
Hello, Joanna! My name is Ohm. I am currently a fourth year student in college and I play bassoon. I am just recently started to watch your videos so that's why I found this video quite late. I am also one of those who think that I myself is a bad musician (bad bassoonist). Let my explain why. Because I was started to play bassoon quite late, I play saxophone before and I also play bassoon when I started high school but just for a short period of time then I go back to saxophone. I started to play the bassoon again about half a year before going to college, there are 2 rounds of auditions I failed the first one but eventually did it on a second time. I met my teacher when I took a audition to Thai Youth Orchestra, in the same year of my college audtiion, and I also take music history lessons with him since then (it is 5 years now) so I knew him and study music history with him even before I actually take bassoon lesson with him. During the time I study bassoon in college, I think my teacher doesn't really care much about how do I play. At first lesson he told me that, my first homework is writting my own curriculum (That was extreme for a fresh man student, I think). And he always gave many things that doesn't really about the bassoon at all, like I have to prepare the Power Point Presentation to assist him to his Pre-Concert Talk at Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra (to prepare for these lectures I have to discuss with him about what he gonna talk I and have to research for more information to support him aswell it was very time consuming to the point that I cannot practice at all it was very stressful for me that I once almost tell him that I don't want to do it anymore but then an audience came up on stage to tell my teacher that he really likes the presentation it was beautiful and easy to understand please keep going and my teacher told him that I (me) was the one who created it and that man applause me it felt really good). Let me tell you one thing, he is a principal bassoon there and he is REALLY good. No one literally better than him in Thailand, he has that reputation and every one in music industry know his name, he is that amazing. He once told me that students nowaday could not survive with only instrumental skills like he did that's why he put me through all this work load, I that time I didn't understand what he said at all. Because when I study with him, I will occationally play for him I did not really play every time I met him because sometimes I did not prepare enough, He understands me because work load that he gave me plus college's assignments was very extreme but every time I went to met him, he will ask me to show him the reeds that I made. He will try it and told me how to improve it, he usually sat me down and play his reed for me to hear at first and later on he will ask about how it sounds, how do I like it, and eventually if it's me how do I improve his reeds, he is literally taught me how to make reeds. With others student that he taught he just told them to play, play, play and play but with me it different. Every comments that he had for me was all the basics, all the way to the very basics like breathing, rhythmic, he told me to sing the music, sometimes a little bit of styles something like that. In the later years of my college I took many auditions, play with many ensembles, met with many good younger bassoonist (they better than me) and I felt frustrated. I told him that I felt devastated every time I failed the auditions that my younger friend won, I feel really bad that my senior always look down on my playing skills that I don't even know was he really think I am sucks or it was just his behavior that he thinks he better than everyone, I wanted to quit music. He comfored me and just simply told me that just keeps going I need to look back on my younger days till now didn't I improve a lot from a kid that know nothing about bassoon to this day. He taught me a lot about every thing not only the bassoon, not only about music but he taugt me about life itselfs which I still not fully understand it very much. My teacher he passed away two weeks ago because of cancer that he fight with it for 11 years. I went to take care of him every day at the hospital until he decided to go home. On his last days he once told me that I am already good at every thing except for my bassoon playing, that is what I have to improve upon and that was the last piece of advice that he gave me. To this day I still think I am not the best student of his, I still not the best player that everyone can think of, I still that kid who goes to college knowing nothing but I know that I can still be improving. My confidence is not come from the approval of my teacher like many of my seniors do but come from all the work that he put me through, I can proudly tell you that I am his last student and he taught me more than anyone else that he taught and one day I will be a successful musician to that I can tell his story so that his teaching method and his life will continue to live on our minds. Today I still think I am bad at playing but I know how to improve myself. Thank you for reading all this, I'm not sure you will see this or not. You might not be able to reply to me but that's fine I just want to share this story for fun! Thank you all!!!
Beginner to intermediate in just a few months? I am so depressed now.
Well, the real depressing part is that they all improve that quickly and don't realize it at all until I tell them. And even then, they still don't believe me.
So you're fine. ;)
Hi! Bassoon teacher here. I love watching your videos (and steal some ideas for my bassoons and myself!) One of the best things I figured out to do... is to say and reaffirm over and over that "mistakes are good. We learn from mistakes. and mistakes give me, the teacher, a talking point." I have found that if I reaffirm that lessons are safe spaces to explore and try new things, the students are much more comfortable and able to play confidently. I have also noticed it cuts down on a lot of the kids beating themselves up.
This video hits on so many great points! I've noticed that I've set my goals too high. When I listen to recordings with crazy tonguing, I would want to get to that stage as quickly as possible, in such a way that made it impossible. As a result, this made me even more discouraged.
Thank you for this video. I have always felt the way some of your students feel about their playing and have lacked confidence. You have really put things into perspective for me. Thank you so much.
I love her soooo much because he motivated me to become a better flutist. Because of her I got a flute that I wanted and worked better for me. My Gemeinhardt 2BLK is my favorite flute. But my very first flute will always have a special spot in my heart
I find it so funny how you always have a video put out after I go through something directly related happen with my flute professor. Especially with the part where you talked about your ear getting better. We had a long conversation last week about how I don't actually suck and I sound really, really good, but I hear things at a more advanced level so I perceive what I hear from myself as bad compared to other players.
Well, count me as another one that agrees with your teacher! You got this!
this makes so much sense, like for a while i thought i had gotten worse but i think i just started noticing more things
This is so relatable. I walk into my lessons thinking I suck and then my professor tells me I don't, and then I just think, " What?! I don't?!" And then my professor reminds me of all the progress I have made since the last lesson and I walk out feeling better. So yes, I agree that it is better for teachers to remind their students of how far they've come, because that'll usually help them focus again, and want to continue to reach their goals.
I still get this feeling as a piano student. Sometimes I really get depressed. But also there are sometimes that I can prepare things without my teacher, and that's when I know that she's doing a pretty awesome job and I'm doing my part as well. Before I couldn't prepare some works on my own... but there is this thing... as you listen to material, you want to get to the next level, and sometimes you hit the plateau, even working on things your teacher gives you, you have to slowly let it sink in deep in your brain and start becoming something that you own internally not just externally. Learning is not fast everytime. People get this feeling that learning should be always fast because they can make some big progress within a year or so, but as you get more advanced, it's a lot more of fine points and fine tuning of your skills. Nowadays I always think about that before blasting into tears with myself. Thank you for your video!
Yeah, the depressed part is pretty real. I feel that's when your mind gets ahead of your body, and you feel like you _just can't do it._ And you're so right! It takes time (and sleep!) for your brain to process new things it learns, so take heart!
Great video, Joanna, I just subscribed to your channel. This is so true with my violin lesson. My teacher even had to play the same passage to me, beautifully btw, and say "That's how you sounded to me" and I didn't even believe her.
Daniel Linh Nguyen
That was soo sweet of her!
This is So me I always listen to recordings (cello pieces to be exact) And when I have lessons I always feel like im Just a beginner but my teacher is soooo suprised at how fast im learning, i’ve been playing for 5 months now And im already playing Bach.....So now im starting to realise that im not a beginner anymore So I try to avoid thinking that way, which had actually helped me because I had to play for an audience yesterday And my teacher metioned that I only started five months ago And the audience was surprised And that made my day, So students Reading this Just know you are doing an AWESOME job And keep on doing it!!^_^
Sorry I'm late... I'm muy sick. What do musicians eat to stay healthy? FLUTES and veggies!!
The Tabletop Mage 😂 I love your jokes and puns
Noooooooooooooo, drink lots of fluids and get lots of sleep!!
This is great advise, I'll definitely have this discussion with the people I teach and use your suggestions.
I personally am one of those guys who have marathon practice sessions of 4 hours + and only stop because my belly starts rumbling. aha
I learn in a musical high school (I play on the flute) and I have a concert/test in the end of this month and I'm really nervous about that. I know I'm pretty good but still I feel really nervous.. your videos make me feel better so thanks.. btw sorry about bad English
This really inspired me as a student to realize that I shouldn’t feel bad about my playing and that I really am improving my musical abilities. ☺️ Thank you for this video!!🎵🎄
You really _are_ improving!!
I stopped taking flute lessons because I realized I just play for fun and that I don't want to hear criticism anymore. I spent too much of my lesson time anxious and apologetic.
I recently started recording myself play and I that has made me think I suck. lol my tone sounds so much better when I'm playing to when I play it back to myself. Must be kind of like how everyone thinks their voice is horrible when they hear themselves speak on a recording. lol
I sure do have that problem, but my student that's hardest on herself is my own daughter! She's often in tears before I've even said a word. She's so hard on herself!
Hey Joanna!!!! I really like to get a lot of power out of my flute. I watched your video of the Azumi 1 and 2 and was wondering if going from an oval cut embouchure hole will be too big of an issue to go from a square embouchure hole since my current flute has an oval embouchure hole. The way of playing the Azumi 1 fits me and sometimes I feel like I’m not loud enough.
Well, you gotta just try it and see if it works for you! Ask the FCNY for a trial for both :) (Use my code for the free shippings!)
Adalia Arellano , i have a Azumi, and the headjoint is a Z-Cut... One word to define... LOUD!!! The sound is só powerfull. I've change from a oval cut, to a square cut, and i love It.
BUT... as JAF says, the flute choses the flutist, so... Try It first
I've had 3 years of choir singing experience so far. I definitely notice more impurities. In our school choir I didn't notice as many because I was just starting out, but now in my new choir I feel like I'm so much more aware of the things going wrong. I'm a soprano and our parts are usually performed very well, everyone's hitting the right notes, with the same tone but when we have passages with notes in the lower half of the stave and below, tone just goes to crap and everyone's hitting a slightly different frequency. Even though it sounds like we're singing the same low c, I can hear all these tiny little interferences and so many of them. The sound just wobbles and it's really interesting to have this happen only in the lower register. I guess that's because high notes require more precision and tension to get out right than low notes. Low notes have to be sung relaxed to get the correct pitch, but that also makes room for loads of unwelcome opportunities to be a little too flat or too sharp. And it's so hard to hit the same frequency, especially since we're like ~20 people in our section.
Dang, and the problem is that not everyone is bothered by the same things you're bothered by, right? It's tough, but just remember that ultimately, you don't have the sole responsibility for how it all turns out. Do your part well and try to help others when they want your help, be kind and gracious, and then just enjoy the rest, however it turns out!
JustAnotherFlutist I know haha. Our conductor/instructor only recently pointed out that we have this issue. I know that all I can do is match the piano and hope for the best. But I'm not hugely bothered by it. It's much worse when we're singing a fast passage and I can't keep up. I could do better if I had a piano recording of the soprano part only to listen to on repeat at home, but I don't. Sadly such a thing doesn't exist on youtube, at least not for the songs I need. I learn mostly through listening. Sheet music for me is just a bunch of gibberish even though I can read it perfectly well. I just can't translate it to my voice. Kinda sucks for a singer. Ironically I can sightsing immaculately well in choir, if everyone around me knows what they're singing 😂
This is soooo relatable.
This video was so relatable when I would tell my friends they are good Flute players and they would say they are not thanks Joanna its good encourage others
Yup, it took me a long time to figure out why my friends kept saying they were bad too. It's good to know we're all in the same boat, haha!
JustAnotherFlutist I'm like that sometimes like when playing tests come around its like there is a fear of being wrong and everyone judges you but I don't have that fear anymore and I'm glad because I enjoy playing on front of people yeah it is nice to know that we are in the same boat 😄
I think most musicians are guilty of this. I know I have been. For some reason or another, what we sound like in our head can be different than the reality. Great vid, as always.
It could be because they don't sound as good after a few months as they thought they would sound so they feel like they got worse.
Hi, I need some advice, is an "Armstrong" flute worth buying? (first flute)
+Javier Yus Depends on the state of it ;) Check out my FCNY videos for some ideas!
I have an Armstrong flute and I love it! It's great
I am a beginning flutist and I have my first band concert on the 5th and I’m freaking out. I know the music, but I have to be in front and I have really bad anxiety. Next year I’m doing alto saxophone because my lip ambrochure (I spelt that wrong) is bad and my lip shape isn’t right.
I’m so scared
I have no idea what size crowd you're in but honestly concerts aren't as scary as you think they're gonna be. Imagine you're practicing and make an effort to play your best possible notes regardless. Most importantly, if you play a wrong note in the concert, don't stop or grimace, keep playing. It shows confidence and good musicianship, and to be fair most people may not even be able to tell you played it wrong. Good Luck!
You are awesome!
So are you! ;)
You have the most positive community on CZcams, 0 dislikes
Haha, too late, someone disliked this video. Oh well! I'm still super proud of how wholesome our community is
I have semi trouble playing Buglers Holiday by Leroy Anderson ( My favorite concert band song atm). Are you familiar with this piece and do you have any tips, especially during those flute and clarinet runs. poor fingers.
development is going from using google emojis to apple emojis on your Thumbnail
Hi Joanna, I recently got my flute and been playing for a few weeks now. Could you make a video about slurs, I’m really struggling with it and basically I just can’t. Thank you in advance! : )
Maybe my Curious.com course might help? I think I talk about that somewhere in my Flute Fundamentals course. Head on over to curious.com/JustAnotherFlutist! :D
I am thinking of starting lessons, and was wondering if you took PayPal?
Oh myyyyyyyy I wish you were my teacher😭
Also love your videos
Thanks so much
Are J. Michael flutes good for beginners? This is the flute I want to get: www.amazon.com/J-Michael-Flute-C-Outfit-FL-380SE/dp/B002C2XPNS
I tend to play flat like so so very flat and I'm wondering if anyone know how to fix this because I have a duet with a flutist that plays sharp and wile we are tuneing it still sounds really bad sometimes and as first flute I do not necessarily need to tune to her but she can't seem to tune to me ... Help?
TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING REBEKAH SAID!!
I would add that you want to listen to the other person more than you listen to yourself and _blend._ Blending is the key to making the tone match first, and then the tuning is matched as a _side effect._ Both people have to do it, but it really works!
He Joanna, I hate to admit I have the problem of not writing notes. I find it takes too long and they are either playing with me half listening or they sit there while I write or type as fast as I can. I feel like the momentum of the lesson can be lost so that I can write down notes. What are your thoughts?
I like to explain concepts and then tell my students I'm writing it down in their notes. I usually write a shortened form of it, just so that the notes act more as a "refresher" than a straight textbook. It makes it faster to write down. :)
Can you make a video about filling in the gaps?
That's a good idea, I'll chew on it. :)
This is so true good job and love you you are the best
Thank you so much!
Another great video about the imposter syndrome. @jaflutist have you every dabbled in the material by "The art of charm" about overcoming the imposter syndrome?
theartofcharm.com/podcast-episodes/minisode-monday-13-overcoming-imposter-syndrome/
It's so good that your students are motivated but we hope that their imposter syndrome isn't diminishing their ability to grow.
I just started the flute._.
🐉
I think I’m bad im 12 years old and this is my 2nd year with the flute and I show my brother what I can play and he just makes faces like cringed faces and then he tell me I’m annoying I’m in a grade school band and I can play high school things but idk my brother makes these cringe faces 😔
Angel Acuna Suki I think your brother is just being silly as a brother. Remember that your band director/conductor is actually educated in how you should sound and is much more knowledgeable about how you should sound at a certain point in time.
Ah! I do this all the time. I try not to but oops.
Who are the 2 people that disliked this?!
You look so young. You look like you're 20.
Im the tenth viewer and the first like!!!😁😁
WHEE!
As a student I'm totally hearing myself in their words!! I try to only take about thirty seconds for my self-deprecation, though. lol
But it's really good to hear that it's not something I'm doing wrong, it's just that gap between my taste and my body's ability to shape those muscles and breath.