Research & Reflections / Teaching & Performing

How do teaching and performing shape one another?

For many musicians, teaching and performing are not separate careers but a single, interwoven practice. This question gathers reflections on what each activity reveals about the other — and what is gained or lost when they are treated as distinct.

Selected reflections

Teaching slows you down in the best possible sense. You have to explain things you have long since stopped noticing. That noticing changes how you play.

Performer and educatorOttawa, ON

Every student I have had has changed something in my playing. Sometimes very small things. Sometimes the frame around everything.

Musician

The best performances I have given happened during periods of active teaching. I used to think this was coincidence. I no longer think so.

Performer and teacherWinnipeg, MB

Share a reflection on this question

What has teaching revealed about your practice as a performer — or vice versa?

Reflections may be shared anonymously. That said, we are always grateful when musicians and educators choose to attach their names to their thoughts.

Reflections are reviewed before they appear on this page. Submission does not guarantee publication. Attribution is always optional and confirmed with you before your name appears.