The essence of empowerment is actually quite simple: the ability to make a choice or decision within yourself. It is in this ability that a person discovers the identity of self ownership and responsibility for any given spectrum of life. From this discovery, a world of potential is unlocked and, with the right guidance and teaching, empowerment becomes the very source to take any matter of learning to a realm of uniqueness and originality.
As a music instructor, this is the very place I wish to take every one of my students. Empowerment allows the student to see music beyond the realm of a linear plane. In other words, they begin to see what they're learning through a multidimensional lens. So, instead of practicing your instrument, to then gain the ability to play something new, to then add on to what you're learning, which really becomes a big heap of knowledge, we look at the big picture and allow the student to discover why they are learning what they're learning. Of course, the practice is important, but the student sees practicing through an entirely different perspective. They see the big picture of limitless possibilities that creativity can bring them. What is then birthed in the student is an understanding that is coupled within experience which becomes the motivation and satisfaction for the student to continue in his or her musical endeavors. The students' perspective on learning is no longer about learning point A to get to point B and so on. Rather, a bigger picture is shown to the student that allows the progress of point A to point B learning to be an inevitable byproduct.
I am not going to just copy and paste material into a student. Honestly, that's what Youtube or guitar tabbing websites are for. There will be characteristics of my own musicianship that will be reflected in my students, but the foundation is an incredibly unique gift to make and play and compose music in an innovative way that is purely their own.
When I get a new student, the first thing I look for is what ultimately captures the students attention about music. From here I build on that and allow them to experience for themselves why that captivates them. This becomes the hook for the student to begin learning from this perspective. Empowerment will then begin to take shape within the student.
Encouraging my students to learn to think for themselves and understand how to make the best musical choices is the single most important thing I can do. The knowledge of music, the theory of music, the cognitive understanding of music all hinges on the student first discovering what music means to them.
Make this the platform for learning and your byproduct will be musicians and artists that play music for pure enjoyment and expression. They'll play music because they want to.
