What is the relationship between music lessons and self-teaching?
Music lessons are invaluable. But teachers and students move. Situations change. When one stops lessons, the skill of self-teaching is critical to continued progress. With an educated ear, one is never starting from scratch. One makes musical sense by playing the notes, learning the sounds, and then checking them with the ear with each new attempt at playing “by sight.” A well-trained ear can be profoundly helpful at times when one must rely on self-teaching. It seems we get nowhere in music without dedicating time to it, and digging deep–taking responsibility for our own learning. In that respect, we are all self-taught. A piano teacher may be a necessity for good progress, at times. But whether or not we are able to pursue regular lessons with a piano teacher, we have available many teaching methods which can lead us to teach ourselves when the teacher is not available. One is creative improvising. Another is use of a proven teaching method. Another is listening to music.
