There are many ways people can benefit from and use their music education and experiences. Not everyone will be classical concert performers, but everyone should walk away from their music education with the same passion as when they started, and the desire and means to explore on their own. 

My undergraduate instructor, Marc Teicholz, used to tell me that when his daughter was young, she had a lot of fun fiddling. She had no experience and arguably no skills, yet she played all day. Later, when they found her a teacher, she was told “this is the correct way”, “you are doing this or that wrong”, “we have to learn this first”, and so on. Teicholz said that he saw the spark and passion fade away in his daughter’s eyes. After that, she refused to take violin lessons, and never played the violin again. 

That situation would be what I will try to avoid at all costs. I do believe in techniques and discipline, but if the student’s passion is killed off, there will be no one to teach the correct technique and discipline to. If a student’s interest is in the way of learning the necessary technique, I will nourish a different passion by playing and demonstrating the beauty of a different kind of music myself. I will pick for my students the pieces that will best fit their temperament and their need for technical progress, teach in an accessible way, and explore different types of repertoire of their interest. My accessible approach can be summarized in a few points below: 

1. Meet the students where they are. I’d treat all levels equally and set up realistic steps that best fit the students’ current stages of development. There will be fewer one-for-all standards, but more individual focus. Rushing into pieces and techniques a student is not ready for is only a disadvantage to their continued progress. 

2. Be open-minded. A teacher is a student too. There are such huge differences among individuals, physical make-up, nail shape, nail thickness, advantages or disadvantages, disadvantages that can be turned into advantages, different learning styles, passions and other attributes…. An accomplished musician only knows what works for them, but a teacher like myself is dedicated to finding what is best for the students. 

3. Preserve their passion, and do not compare students. The students’ levels only represent where they are at right now. In the grand scale of life, there is so much time to work on things. It is most important to preserve their passion, so they can work at and enjoy what they do for the rest of their lives. 

There are also some pedagogical principles I really believe in: 

1. Nails. Nails provide tone, volume, projection, and so much more. I would compare them to the bows of a violin. The difference is that good violin bows can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but good nail technique only requires a nail file and sandpapers with sensitivity in mind.

2. Singing is the best guide there is. Music is natural. Singing is crucial for instrumentalists, so we don’t fall into instrument-specific rabbit-holes of technique. My students will be trained and encouraged to play exactly how they would sing the music. 

3. Warm up routines. To be a musician is to be an artist, a scholar, and an athlete. An athlete has to stretch and warm up to perform well and avoid injury. My students will establish a routine and a habit of warming up to better pursue music and to preserve their health. In case my students have no time to practice their repertoire, the set of warm-ups I select from my packet will be enough to maintain their technique.

As a once-timid, scared, and struggling international student, I greatly understand the importance of inclusion, diversity and equity. I have had bad experiences, but I always felt like my schools were safe spaces for me to stay in, reach out, speak up with love and kindness. I am willing to become a contributing part of that supportive culture, and help others feel safe and included. 

There are some principles I really believe: 

1. Always ask, never assume. One never knows what other people are working against. If I were sincerely concerned about a student or colleague’s state, or curious for productive reasons, I would always provide a safe environment, and ask them to share what happened if they are comfortable doing that. 

2. Create a safe environment. I truly value learning from mistakes, and I would create a safe environment for all of my students to make mistakes, to share or ask about their troubles and obstacles, either in music or in life. Of course, none of these will bypass my obligated reporter duties, and I will fully respect my students’ privacy and not ask them to share any personal details unless they want to. 

3. Music has no boundaries, neither does culture. There should be no boundaries in music and our community, regardless of music from any cultures and genres. All music, musical backgrounds, music interests will be appreciated and respected. So too will people from different sexual orientations, ethnic, cultural, or social backgrounds be appreciated and respected. Music will be the medium for all people to live and express love and kindness. 

4. Folster equity. People do not all start at the same place, but everyone has an opportunity to shine. I would never treat any students differently because they had different backgrounds. If an underprivileged student who started late was never discouraged and keeps up the study, the gap of years can be caught up. I will seek to support underserved and underrepresented students. 

5. Respect different cultures and different language idioms. As there might be students from all over the world with different cultures and backgrounds, I will make no distinctions with any of them. As a former international student, I personally understand how different idioms in different languages might make one present themselves in a way they didn’t mean. I will always stay open-minded and ask them to explain a little bit more if I am confused. 

Sometimes they are not looking for solutions. As varied as the problems of the world can be, there are also various ways people are coping with them. Of course, I will always offer to help, but if my students only want to rant and be supported, I will help them only to the degree they are comfortable with

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