Lessons for Music Teachers from Folk Dancing

The Vibrant Music Teaching Podcast | Proven and practical tips, strategies and ideas for music teachers

Teachers can find lessons everywhere if they look carefully enough. In this article, I want to share with you the lessons I learnt from my years of folk dancing that show up today in my music studio.

I was that student growing up. You know the one that you complain to other teachers about because they’re too overscheduled to practice?

Yeah, that one.

The thing was, I wasn’t actually overscheduled. My parents weren’t the driving force behind my busy timetable. It was me.

I wouldn’t quit anything.

One of the many things I wouldn’t quit was Irish dancing. (Before you ask...Yeah, sure, kinda like Riverdance.)

I could’ve been a better pianist if I focussed entirely on piano. However, I believe it’s experiences outside music that made me the teacher I am today.

As you read through my lessons from folk dancing, I hope you’ll take some of them with you. But, more than that, I hope you’ll investigate some of your own experiences and think about how they’ve affected the teacher you’ve become.