I once had a student from 3rd grade through high school. She was a quick learner, with so much potential. Playing pieces in 3rd grade that middle- and high-schoolers would struggle with.
But she didn't like to practice.
It's always tough when students have ridiculous potential, but aren't fans of practicing.
We had challenges. There were battles at home. She needed some tough conversations.
But we kept at it.
There were times her mom wanted to stop lessons. Even though it was like pulling teeth at times to push my student anywhere close to her potential, I insisted she continue.
When mom's job was outsourced to another country and she couldn't afford lessons, I taught her for free until things became stable.
There were many times our lessons could have come to a stop. But it's hard to let such potential fall by the wayside.
And then there was a magical lesson day. The kind that every piano teacher dreams of.
She came in, a high schooler now, and I noticed that her playing was so much more polished. She was doing musical things on her own. She was making more progress in one week than she had normally made in a month or two.
I asked what changed.
"I'm really enjoying practicing now."
Remembering the third grader who fought who needed to be dragged by the teeth and who fought with mom, I could have wept with joy. It was eight years of pushing, but it was all worth it for that one day.
As a music teacher or parent, you never know how long it may take for some students to find their joy in music.
But when you reach that magical day where you can see your efforts made a real difference.
You can't imagine having done it any other way.