Opinion: Make ’em laugh

A few months ago, I was teaching a new teenage student online. His mother asked me to take him on because he always seemed disheartened after his previous teacher’s lessons. She was losing the will to insist that he practised because she could see he wasn’t thriving. Following my usual new-student strategy of starting with fresh and not-too-demanding repertoire, we set off on our journey together. He was cautious at first, apologising instantly if he made an error (this habit is so hard to eliminate once it has become engrained).

One of the pieces we began working on had a central section that really sings if you use a lot of bow. I asked him to use full bows and he used a bit more. ‘Your parents bought the whole bow; use it,’ I said. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and slowly, once he had reassured himself that I was joking and it was OK to laugh in my lesson, his face lit up. Before I knew it, he was bowing away with gusto and we could both hear the difference instantly…