3 Tips for Music Teachers to Stay Positive

These days, music teachers are experiencing some unique challenges such as lack of appreciation, over-crowded virtual classrooms, etc. Unfortunately, all these factors gradually lower down the spirit and ruin the joyous feelings that a person experiences through music teaching. And when taking online music classes becomes tedious, it won’t be long before this feeling gets passed onto the learners. If you too are going through this phase, here’re our top three tips that would help you to foster and maintain a positive mindset.

1. Be who you are

Nothing can beat the value of positive responses from your students when it comes to getting the real joy out of all the effort you put in music teaching. Try to share your own experiences about learning to sing or play a specific instrument when taking online group classes, as it’ll help you to develop a connection that learners can relate to. Once they start to understand that you too weren’t perfect, they won’t expect an exemption from the hardships faced by all musicians. They’ll automatically start considering you someone they can relate to and most importantly, someone who actually cares for their musical journey.

2. Have carefully thought-out plans

Since every music teaching session is different, continuous planning for each of these online group classes often becomes an uphill task. But in reality, this planning actually pays off and has the potential to make your online music classes much more effective and enjoyable - both for you and your students. Remember - by planning the sessions, you’re ensuring that time doesn’t get wasted. Once you’ve taken the time to plan your classes, you’ll feel happy and proud by seeing them coming to fruition.

3. Restrict your consumption of news

Perhaps news, regardless of the platform through which you consume it, is the biggest source of negativity around us. Gone are those days when people used to check the news only in the morning. These days, news has become a major influential aspect in our lives, thanks to the constant uploading of video clips, an abundance of televisions in public places, and nonstop news feed on our smartphones. And all these increase our stress level and anxiety. So, instead of checking the news habitually, try listening to music or watching funny video clips to keep negative feelings at bay.

Closing thoughts

Apart from the above tips, you’ve to be patient with yourself. An online music class that hasn’t gone according to your expectations doesn’t mean you aren’t good at teaching music. Always remember that everyone has their moments of fatigue and disappointment. So, never lose the passion you’ve in your heart for music that you want to pass on to your students.