Back To Basics
I had a music student once who had taken lessons for 2 years prior to coming to my studio.
He loved music, but there was an anxiety in his heart about taking lessons again. Turned out, his last teacher didn't take enough time to help him understand some very basic and fundamental music concepts. He was pushed into more intermediate playing very quickly. He learned to fake it pretty well, but the bottom line was, he still didn't 'get it'. When I sat down with him for the first time, he had a hard time just being able to tell me some basic things like quarter notes and treble clef lines. He needed to go back to the basics.
So, there is where I started with him. I assumed nothing in my approach. I wanted to make sure that he really understood every concept. And 8 lessons later, it paid off. Because we went back to firm up his foundation, his whole approach to music changed, his confidence grew, and he was eager to learn more. What used to be a mountain of confusion became easy and understandable. And, as a result, he was able to confidently move forward into the next step. Everything he learned about the basics, he would apply to everything that was ahead.
I could benefit from going back to the basics, too. Where it all began when I met Him.
It's summed up in one word: LOVE
He loved music, but there was an anxiety in his heart about taking lessons again. Turned out, his last teacher didn't take enough time to help him understand some very basic and fundamental music concepts. He was pushed into more intermediate playing very quickly. He learned to fake it pretty well, but the bottom line was, he still didn't 'get it'. When I sat down with him for the first time, he had a hard time just being able to tell me some basic things like quarter notes and treble clef lines. He needed to go back to the basics.
So, there is where I started with him. I assumed nothing in my approach. I wanted to make sure that he really understood every concept. And 8 lessons later, it paid off. Because we went back to firm up his foundation, his whole approach to music changed, his confidence grew, and he was eager to learn more. What used to be a mountain of confusion became easy and understandable. And, as a result, he was able to confidently move forward into the next step. Everything he learned about the basics, he would apply to everything that was ahead.
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I could benefit from going back to the basics, too. Where it all began when I met Him.
It's summed up in one word: LOVE
He is Love.
He loves me.
He loves through me.
It's just that simple. But, oh how I seem to complicate the matter! So much so that it becomes a mountain of confusion in my mind and heart.
I remember praying a prayer once that went something like this: "God, how do I do life with you? What is this all about? It feels complicated."
And, before I even finished my prayer, I heard my daughter's voice downstairs. She spontaneously started to sing as she played with her toys...
"Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so..."
That said it all.
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Many blessings,
Jamie Nicole
foreveryourimage.blogspot.com