Teaching is a craft in its own right, entirely separate from the ability to play. If you work with students — or plan to — this lecture is a reminder that becoming a better teacher can be as rewarding and as demanding as becoming a better player.
What you’ll get out of this lesson
This session explores what it means to take teaching seriously as a discipline, drawing on the influence of one educator whose work on goals, time management, and human potential has shaped the way many great teachers approach their craft.
The Influence of Randy Pausch
In this lecture I mention Randy Pausch, a computer science professor whose two public talks — on achieving your childhood dreams and on managing your time — became some of the most widely shared educational content ever recorded. His influence on my thinking about what a teacher owes a student cannot be overstated. Pausch believed that a great teacher’s job is not just to transfer information but to inspire the student to want to learn, to respect their time, and to help them find what they are truly capable of. I highly recommend both talks as companion pieces to this lecture.
Randy Pausch — “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”:
Randy Pausch — “Time Management”:
Teaching as a Separate Skill
One of the easiest traps for working musicians who teach is to assume that playing ability and teaching ability are the same thing. They are not. A technically advanced player can be a poor teacher; a player of modest technical ability can be a transformative one. The difference lies in the capacity to observe what a student actually needs, communicate it clearly, and structure lessons in a way that creates genuine progress over time — not just in the session, but week on week.
What Great Teachers Do Differently
Watching Pausch — and reflecting on the teachers who shaped me most — a few consistent habits stand out. They prepare. They respect the student’s time as much as their own. They give honest, specific feedback rather than vague encouragement. They create an environment where making mistakes is understood to be part of the process, not a source of embarrassment. And they keep their own learning alive: the best teachers are almost always still students of something themselves.
Taking it further
After watching the Pausch lectures, consider keeping a short teaching journal — even just a few sentences after each lesson noting what worked, what didn’t, and what you would do differently next time. Over a few months this habit builds a remarkable picture of your own teaching patterns and where the gaps are.
Your homework
Watch at least one of the Randy Pausch lectures linked above before your next teaching session. Come in with one specific thing you intend to do differently — a clearer explanation, a better demonstration, a more targeted exercise — and notice the effect it has on your student’s engagement.