What Does It Take to Become a "Great Musician"?

Glory St. Germain — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

What does it take to become a “Great Musician”?

The Three D’s: Desire, Discipline and Determination.

DESIRE

One must first have a DESIRE to become a musician. Sometimes we are motivated by someone we admire and want to emulate that person. What can help us fulfill our desire to become a great musician? A great teacher! A teacher who is educated, dedicated, and has a passion for sharing knowledge and nurturing creativity.

Education in music begins with the universal language of music theory. Music theory is the fundamental tool for understanding, interpreting and communicating our ideas through performing, composing and developing a deeper appreciation of music. It is through music education that we progress from student to musician and understand music at a more comprehensive level.

Goal Setting: Outlining the goals set for each student should include theory goals as well as practical goals. Goal setting is the greatest motivation for achievement. Goal setting without accountability results in good intention. That’s why we need a teacher; we need accountability and discipline.

DISCIPLINE

Discipline requires dedication. Lesson plans that outline daily, weekly and monthly goals become part of our daily routine of practicing and studying. Understanding and improvement of practical pedagogical studies comes from DAILY dedicated focused application of theoretical concepts.

Learning Styles: Set individual lessons designed to target specific learning styles to benefit all students. Music theory includes learning the symbols and language, understanding their meaning and knowing how to write each musical symbol. This new written language helps us read our music and thus have a deeper understanding and enjoyment of music.

Goal Setting: Theory lessons, completed homework assignments and review tests; each one is an accomplishment to be celebrated; with a sticker, high five, special treat, smiley face or recognition in some way. Achieving success and reaching for excellence requires determination.

DETERMINATION

Musicians alike must have a good understanding of the theoretical concepts in preparing for their craft. Determination to accomplish our goals begins with knowledge. Knowing and understanding the fundamentals is the key to successful learning. Through sheer determination our goals can be achieved.

Lesson Planning: Theory may be taught in a class room, in a small group lesson or private lesson. The private theory lesson is often only 15 min. in addition to a practical lesson and must be well planned to cover the material as outlined in the theory syllabus. It is important to have an outline of lesson plans to ensure all material is covered and that there is ample time for practice review tests.

Goal Setting: Set a weekly goal such as identifying as many Flashcards as possible in less than one minute. Set a monthly goal such as composing a piece of music using the previous theory concepts learned in the month. Set a yearly goal to achieve over 90% on each review test as well as the final examination. Celebrate each accomplishment!

Teach with PASSION!

Glory St. Germain ARCT RMT MYCC

Glory St. Germain is a well-known and respected music teacher, lecturer, and author. Her series, Ultimate Music Theory, sets out to simplify complex concepts and show the relativity of these concepts with practical application. These workbooks are designed to help teachers and students discover the excitement and benefits of music theory education. These workbooks prepare students for the Royal Conservatory of Music Theory Examinations and the National Music Certificate Program Examinations. Lesson Plans for each level of Prep Rudiments 1 & 2, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Rudiments are available at her website, UltimateMusicTheory.com under Free Materials.

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What Does It Take to Become a "Great Musician"?