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The Main Line Muse

Welcome to the MLMTA blog! We will be posting monthly, content contributed by our very own members!

Lesson Delivery!

9/11/2018

2 Comments

 
Submitted by Joy Thiessen

I am sitting at a red light in my car—my home away from home—and I’m desperately trying to eat a few last bites of soup before I drive on.  It is not easy to eat soup while driving, though it is decidedly more glamorous than eating pizza behind the wheel.

The thing is, if I don’t eat dinner now, I won’t eat, because I am working from the afternoon into the night, driving around and delivering piano lessons.  I have been doing this for almost 20 startling years, and it’s the only way I know how to be a piano teacher.  

What makes me like this style of teaching so much, that I’ve stubbornly refused to give it up and “settle down” with my own studio?  A few things.  I love having an honest break between lessons, in which I can clear my head (and my ears!), and get ready for the next student.  I love that families are less likely to cancel, because all they have to do is just be home—easy!  I love the feeling of being more like a part of the family, if only for 45 minutes per week.  I get to pet the dog, say hello to the younger siblings, and sometimes get offered a snack.

Getting to see a student’s home setup is a bonus, too—is the piano bench the right height?  Is the piano tuned?  Are there any immediate distractions in the room that need to be eliminated?  Which style of music does the family pet bird really respond to?  

Part of the reason I like traveling for lessons has to do with my own space as well: I just don’t have enough of it to offer lessons in my house.  One day, I dream, I will have a whole room devoted to piano lessons!  I will have fewer baby toys for everyone to trip over, and I will teach all of my lessons during the daytime hours, so I can enjoy dinner with my family every night.  Hey, if I’m going to dream, why not dream big?  

But you see, it’s actually not the dinner thing that makes me rethink my love for being an itinerant piano teacher.  I am a piano teacher, after all, and working through the evening is often just part of the deal.  The thing that is really starting to get to me lately is the weight of my teaching bag.  I love to keep it full of books and binders and flashcards and other fun things—but I’m not getting any younger, you know!

In the end, at least for now, the bag that is breaking my back is not actually a deal-breaker.  I could just invest in a rolling suitcase, after all.  Right now, there’s too much I love about my current situation, so I can’t switch things up this school year.  But you can be sure that if you pull up next to me at a red light, there’s a good chance that I will be enjoying my dinner, which yes, may very well be soup.
2 Comments
Susan Koenig
9/12/2018 11:39:35 am

Joy,

Thanks for submitting an excellent first Blog article for our Main Line Muse! I love your topic and the amusing nature of teacher life on the road. As I was reading it, I found myself singing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" in my head. I know there are some other teachers that can really relate to what you wrote. It is a completely different experience driving around and teaching in someone else's home, or studio, versus your own. I have a mix of both and I enjoy having some variety in my teaching venues!

Reply
John Kline
9/12/2018 01:20:54 pm

This is so incredibly written! You are, truly, such an engaging writer. Had me interested and laughing from the first sentence.

Reply



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