PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA IN MUSIC EDUCATION: THE ART OF NOT EXPLAINING
There is a particular kind of psychological consequence that can develop in music education when a technical difficulty is repeatedly experienced as evidence of personal inadequacy.
A student cannot play in tune and hears that the intonation is poor. The sound is unstable and the answer is to practise more. A passage repeatedly collapses and the discussion moves towards concentration, effort, discipline or talent. All of those things can matter, but another question should come much earlier: does the student have a precise understanding of what needs to change, how to change it, what to listen for, what to feel physically and how to practise the task until the result becomes reliable?
If that understanding is missing, effort alone may not solve the difficulty. A student can work extremely hard while continuing to repeat the same technical organisation that created the problem in the first place. After enough unsuccessful attempts, the question can shift from What am I doing incorrectly? to What is wrong with me?
This Writing grew from my work as a violin pedagogue and from THE ART OF NOT EXPLAINING, a painting from THE JOYS OF MUSIC EDUCATION — OLD SCHOOL SERIES. The full article examines what happens when a technical problem becomes personal, why talent is often asked to explain too much, and why precise technical understanding can restore control to the learner.
THE ART OF NOT EXPLAINING, original painting by Margarita Ceko from THE JOYS OF MUSIC EDUCATION — OLD SCHOOL SERIES.
