Letter from the co-presidents
Dear music teachers in Switzerland,
Dear colleagues,
Being a music teacher in this day and age is a demanding business! With students having less and less time, the temptation is great to simply take lessons from an online music school. Here, maximum flexibility is promised and fun seems guaranteed. A 10-lesson subscription is available with no obligation. The setting corresponds exactly to our zeitgeist: getting results as quickly as possible without any effort, either in terms of time or personal investment, including the fun factor. It seems obvious to qualified music teachers that serious music teaching is not possible in this way.
But that this is precisely the priceless value of musical education, that the student must be committed to the course, that he must be aware that he must spend hundreds of hours practicing at home before acquiring this ability, that it takes years of intensive work with the instrument to become a professional musician, few amateurs are aware of this and it's very old-fashioned these days.
Music education is a counterweight to the fast-paced, all-encompassing age in which mental illness is increasing exponentially because there is no time left for the human being. Teaching music is not just about learning a skill, it's a balm for the soul, which needs to stop and commit to the project. The student goes to the teacher, because, as we've known since the Covid pandemic, only a real confrontation with a qualified specialist allows in-depth learning. And although terms such as "taking a break", "coming to oneself", "being in the moment" are often used in the context of music teaching, this is not a therapy where you can simply let your soul wander. Learning an instrument is a complex process that requires total attention, where all the senses must be present, the mind focused on the activity. The individual must be present in his or her entirety, with all thoughts, feelings and body. Only then can learning take place. And it doesn't matter whether we're preparing a student for a degree or working with a mentally handicapped child.
And it's precisely because music teaching is so anti-cyclical that its value often goes unrecognized. In contrast to professional musicians, music teachers are very often considered to be not very impotent. We make music teaching out to be an uncommitted hobby, forgetting that the big stars also benefited from these music lessons at one time, but that at some point they said yes in a binding way and committed themselves fully to their instrument with their teacher.
Be proud of what you do! Even if it sometimes seems difficult in these fast and loose times, when everything has to be obtained immediately, but it doesn't have to cost anything. Physical music teaching will always exist - it's irreplaceable! We are the counterweight that keeps humanity in balance and healthy. Where the present moment is still a precious commodity, where commitment and focus are required, where qualified teachers are needed. In this way, we make an important contribution to our society!
In this sense, we wish you a new year full of success - don't let it discourage you! Go forward with confidence! Once again this year, the SSPM will be at your side, doing everything in its power to ensure that music teaching gets the place it deserves at every level!
Annette Dannecker and Paola De Luca
SSPM Co-Presidents
