Discover Sicong Chen's view on music teaching

Pedagogy and Andragogy have been my prominent musical interests, alongside performance, as they are highly correlated to my music-making process. Other than inserting massive knowledge into another in a confined facet, I prefer to see the teacher and student alternate roles during the class, exchange intellectual standpoints, to fuel each other's passion. This is the core value for meeting with an independent individual, including myself.

I have mixed feelings about the authority. Although it can readily provide a conventional answer to any question, it is less helpful for individual thinking development and hinders us from creating unprecedented art, as the authority might impose excessive restrictions on common practice. Nevertheless, we have the responsibility to infer the proper reason behind the principles. In my class, I appreciate questions, encourage challenges, support imperfections, and embrace mistakes. Some of the most glorious moments in my playing come from my flaws. If we acknowledge that they are part of us, why can't we craft extraordinariness out of them?

As music playing is exquisitely complex and abstract, I prioritize the current mental state in the lesson. In psychology, the action is primarily influenced by the seven modules of emotion, which we can rarely control effectively. The music crafting can be distinguishable every time, depending on the concurrent emotion module, even if one has been practicing precisely hundreds of times, especially in Andragogy. A simple sentence, such as "How are you?" or "How do you feel about the playing?" would be valuable to students who might have been isolated from their comfort mental hub. This is one of the most prominent aspects in my teaching.

To achieve further success in music playing, I focus on disciplined practice with grace and efficiency. I often reassess myself with three questions: "What?" "Why?" "How?" The questions can extend to any aspect of music playing. I usually apply the questions to the lesson to see students' rationale for their action, followed by discussing the pros and cons, and eventually optimizing the process. I ensure the musical decision is not determined merely by myself, but made after a thoughtful brainstorm.

Musicality is also a critical subject in the cultivation process. In past generations, they separated music skill development from musicality development. I am inclined to the statement: The music technique serves musicality, and the musicality shapes the music technique. Therefore, I am introducing exquisite tools to blend musical connection with the techniques alongside the teaching. Students need to understand the musical context first and apply it flexibly with suitable music techniques to their playing. For instance, "how do you see this note with dots in this Mozart Sonata, compared to the one in Imagine Dragons' Violin Cover?" 

As a teacher, I have the great privilege of envisioning students' future. I want students to build a solid, independent thinking system with exquisite practice tools. Only when we establish a solid foundation can we think thoroughly; only then can we spare the mindfulness for music itself, and only then can we understand the principles of music playing, and stimulate sparks of creativity with limitless possibilities. And my ultimate goal for a student in a lesson is to eliminate the teaching aspect, to communicate readily through music, to express freely without limitation, and to create an ultra-acoustic aesthetic that goes beyond our ordinary imagination.