The Good Musician

Photography by paulgalipeau.

Your music teacher, if you have one, is one of the driving forces behind your music. She or he will always put you into a critical light and push you forward. They’ll always know what you can do better, even when you think you’ve reached a pinnacle.

They deserve your thankfulness. Here are 7 practical ways to thank your music teacher this Christmas.

1. A Bottle of Wine

Musicians love booze. They drown all their dilemmas in it. A good bottle of wine always kept my teachers spirits up to teach me (I was a difficult student at times) and we used to share a drink now and then.

2. Start a practice diary. She or he will love you for it. Showing some responsibility for your own playing will let your teacher know your not a student he’s wasting time on.

3. Invite for ice cream following a lesson.

Tell your teacher you’ll invite him to ice cream after the lesson. To make sure this works out well, you should have practiced enough as not to disappoint him or her. This is great in summer, after a stressful period in a stuffy room, trying to discern some unreadable Bach chords.

4. Concert Tickets

Get some good concert tickets at a local concert hall for your teacher. I managed to surprise mine with a couple of rare Paco de Lucia tickets when he played in Zurich. Go to the concert with him and you’ll be able to experience not only a nice concert but the opportunity to discuss it with an expert. I learned a lot this way.

5. Craft a good practice routine.

If you set up a plan for your future practice sessions, your teacher will get the impression your doing your homework, and it’ll benefit you too! Write out an itinerary for your daily practice sessions, print it out and discuss it with your teacher.

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