Reality-check for young musicians and their parents

I am going to go out on a limb here and say something that might just baffle a lot of folks.  Are you ready? Drumroll please...

Becoming a musician and being a musician requires more concentration, precision, and skill over a longer period of time than doing just about anything else.

Repeat that a couple of times to yourself and really think about it because this is important to understand if we want folks to keep on studying music.  I've been developing this thought over the course of many months through my work with some of the young musicians I accompany.  There is one in particular, who has spent much of the year on a bit of a plateau which has raised some concern among those who support her.  The frustration grew so intense that her parents asked me the dreaded question, "Do you really think she should keep on playing music?  Should we really be supporting this?"  Now it's important for you to understand that this musician's parents are wonderfully supportive people so this wasn't just an unsympathetic reaction.  I partially understood their frustration on many different levels and was a bit frustrated myself because as her accompanist and coach,  I was feeling the plateau as well.  In the sometimes-painful months that followed, I had many discussions...with the musician herself, her mother, my husband (a great sounding-board!), a dear friend of mind that taught chemistry at Virginia Tech for many, many years...after it all, I was convinced of two things:

1. we couldn't give up - this young girl loves music too much and works too hard to take it away from her. 
2. it was no wonder she was struggling - some of the skills/qualities needed in order to improve on an instrument are ones that are rarely taught or seen these days, especially in younger people...

...sure there are some that are naturally gifted at being perfectionists, myself included.  We make terrific musicians because we are bound and determined to do what it takes to get every note the way we want it.  But not everyone is made that way and I don't believe that the musical world should turn these folks away, especially if they do have the ability to learn and if they are willing to work hard, like the young musician I mentioned above.   I also think it's important to note that in this highly technological age, where we are accustomed to machines and electronics doing most of our detail-work and thinking for us, music-making is not very different than it was a hundred, two-hundred years ago.  This disparity is only going to widen as the years go on and as people continue to find ways for technology to provide nifty shortcuts for everything.  It is the job of teachers and parents to walk alongside these young musicians and to help them gain the skills they need in order to play their instrument.  We need to teach them how to practice, step-by-step, we need to teach them how to make decisions about music, we need to teach them how to listen all the time, we need to teach them how to concentrate, we need to teach them how to perform, and most importantly, we need to teach them when to let go and to simply enjoy making music.

So back to my original statement at the beginning of my post...do I really mean what I said?  Am I implying that playing music is harder than, say, performing intricate surgery on a human brain? or being the President of the United States of America?  Well, in a way, yes...because for most people, the study of music starts at such a young age and consumes an incredibly high percentage of one's time and also because with music, there is only so much that technology can help with.  

Hmmm...makes my pretty amazed at what we do and makes me all the more impressed at how persistent this young girl is about wanting to play music.  Oh, and in case case you were wondering, the musician in question is doing just great - finally bought a train ticket off that darned plateau and is headed for new adventures in music!