- So, how did the skills of education actually pay off
other than the fact that it gets us some extra gigs?
I can partly answer that by saying this program
I started at Julliard, which was, you know
it was to train grad students
of music to develop education skills.
And it was very comfortable off there
in the periphery of Julliard life
because it wasn't particularly threatening.
The kids with big hearts would end up there
and they learned skills that
let them become better educators.
Everyone's comfortable with that until we began to discover
that what they were learning as they became better
educators, was actually starting to spill over
into what they were doing in their private lessons,
the way their work as musicians, as artists was developing
and the things they were reporting was
that being more attuned to what it is like to receive music,
which is what the educators skill develops,
changes the way they think about how they practice.
If in fact, you're very aware of what it's like to take
in this music, it may change the way you put it out.
The way they start to practice a piece changes.
It isn't just let's deal with the hard parts
of this piece and nail it.
It becomes a search for what's at the heart of this piece.
And how do I practice
in an inquisitive way that is artistically gonna reward me?
Because I know if I'm artistically alive
in any performance setting, they're gonna pick that up.
So it takes people beyond just the technical thinking.
It changes the way they practice.
It changes the way they structure their practicing
and it indeed changes the kinds of work they wanna do.
They tend to become more exploratory
instead of just following a narrow track
that will improve their technique
and prepare them for getting gigs.
They also get more curious to follow little leads
of interest and see where that might go.
They become bigger in their thinking about music.
And we've heard from the studio faculty at Julliard
that students who get that glint
in their eye of extra curiosity
about music begin to become more invested
more relaxed, more open, more playful, just as serious
but more effective in the big musical picture.
And those are the musicians that are gonna work more.
And those are the musicians that are gonna
have a lifetime resonant
with the benefits of a life in music
not just getting the gigs that are going to keep you fed
from a life in music.