Our music education
Blog
for parents and students.
In the music world of string playing and teaching, you can’t go very far without hearing about the Suzuki Method. Countless professional musicians, including Hilary Hahn and Joshua Bell, began their studies with the Suzuki method. So what is it that makes it different from traditional teaching methods?
Today we have the opportunity to share the fifth installment of our “Instructor Features” blog series! This week we have Jordan Koehlinger to celebrate. Jordan is an avid trumpeter, teacher, and musicology scholar with interests in a variety of musical styles from orchestral, to chamber, to jazz. With performing experience both in the United States and abroad, she has played with the Symphony of the Lakes in Warsaw, Indiana; served as auxiliary brass for Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound; and performed in the Opera Maya festival orchestra in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
I’ve seen so many do it this way - people become interested in learning the piano, then they go to a music studio or instructor’s home to learn it there. Or, even farther down the spectrum, they try to learn how to play via an app on a phone. Although we ought to celebrate the music-making happening here still, the benefits of having a piano inside your own home far outweigh any other conveniences or frugality in general.
Your heart races as you step on stage. Blinking at the lights, you feel the familiar threat of panic rising in your throat. You try to ignore it, but the sensation spreads throughout your body. Trembling, you begin to play, but despite your many hours of practice, the piece completely falls apart. Disappointed, you walk offstage feeling defeated and hopeless to overcome your anxiety.
If this scenario sounds familiar to you, you are not alone. Having struggled with performance anxiety myself, I can attest to its difficulty, but I want to reassure you that your situation is not hopeless. You can learn to manage your performance anxiety by implementing some of these helpful strategies as you practice, prepare, and perform onstage.
Speaking from experience, I wish I would've taken private lessons throughout middle and high school (even earlier if I had had the opportunity). While I was eager, passionate, and dedicated in my involvement in choir and band, I had to push myself especially hard to achieve certain musical skills that otherwise would've been much easier to gain had I taken private lessons early on.
