It turns out there IS one (or, eat your crow while it is piping hot)

OK, I apologize to my baroque flute student who has, without fail, always done exactly what I asked. And I would like to order the baked crow, with a raspberry demi glasse, and I'll chase it all down with a shot of Jose Cuervo. How this slipped my mind is no surprise because many things do. But here I will correct the omission and oversight. 

In this post, I whine about people whining about not making progress, and I discuss why they whine. 

What has happened in the case of this particular student? He has made EXCELLENT progress, even after dealing with a serious illness a few years ago (all recovered now, and in great health). I will not be giving him his money back because he has, as I mentioned, made great progress, corrected all of the minor technical issues that I pointed out, continues to improve (he's now "enrolled" in Advanced Nit-Picking), and has used all of his training in public concerts. 

The beauty of practicing diligently is that it frees you to learn other things that can only be taught by leaping out of the frying pan into the fire. 

Last weekend Student Alpha performed a demanding solo that would have crushed a less diligent player with the things that went wrong if they were not corrected on the spot in the heat of the moment. There is a reason they refer to taking lessons in a college curriculum as "applied music." You get to go out and APPLY the techniques in the context of a performance (not unlike doing drills in martial arts or basketball practice). 

Things started out OK in the first movement, then something came unglued but Student Alpha maintained his position and direction and the ensemble found him in a timely manner. In the second movement, things were going smoothly and then, when Student Alpha tried something ultra-musical (read: NEW to the ensemble), things got a wee bit rocky, but then settled down a bit as the end of the movement approached. When it was time to make a significant musical gesture to set up the final cadence, Student Alpha did something we had worked on a few times and that he had seen me do several times: he made a big body gesture while looking directly at the person who needed the most direction. It caused everyone in the ensemble and 95% of the audience, to pay more attention to what was going on and the group was tight as a drum right off the assembly line to the end of the piece. 

The rest of the piece was good, and Student Alpha held the fort when things got wacky (he's significantly more advanced as a performer than his colleagues), and the piece was successful. There was nothing he could do about one player's particularly "creative" intonation. That will be the next item for us to work on. 

Instead of breaking my arm patting myself on the back for his fine performance, I'll break it patting Student Alpha on the back. 

If I eat my crow while it is piping hot, can I have something really good for dessert?