It has been a while since I updated this blog and for my students who follow this website, I hope that you are practicing instead (just kidding, but I also mean it). So I decided to use this post to make a couple of announcements and to share updates about what's coming and what's to come in terms of guitar this year and many more.
News # 1: I quit my part-time job and turned it into a dream job!
For the past 2 years, I had the privilege of working with guitar students remotely. I noticed big changes in their practice from the start of the pandemic towards today - which is more or less an endemic. My students have become more receptive to the idea of becoming their own teacher.
The biggest saying that my students echoed before this endemic is: "I practiced, but..." As a teacher, I do not have all the answers. I am also a student myself and when students come up to me confused about why what they practiced does not show during our lesson, I took some time to analyze why this phenomenon occurred and communicated strategies with them.
Believe me or not, I am always in a situation where I need to put effort for my technique to improve. Some people have it more 'automatic' than others, but that is just because our level of experience varies. It does not mean it's impossible. It can be impossible - for now. Yes, there are proven mechanics on how to be technically fluent with the instrument. However, these mechanics are just guides. Guides are a pathway to success, but never itself a solution. The student is the solution.
Having students who became independent thinkers and who proposed to me solutions educated me as a teacher and this pushed me to quit my job working for a private music studio and becoming my own business instead. This year, I am taking a couple of students freelance, while pursuing my career in education. The rewards have been sustainable and gratifying.
News # 2: I quit music school because I did not want to be in debt!
BIG PSA: I am no longer affiliated with The Eastman School of Music. Last August, I made a haste decision to join the guitar studio at Eastman. I was so lucky to be in the presence of such great faculty and colleagues who supported my endeavors. Prior Eastman, I was already in debt and did not have a full-time job. Teaching guitar was a long and hard road for me. I started with 1-2 students several years ago and traveled to their homes just for the love of it, even when I was paid little. I joined Eastman with no concrete plan why: (1) I needed another Bachelor's Degree and how (2) to pay for it. The concerns interfered with my time and commitment to schooling all over again. Therefore, I decided to give music a different meaning in my life. I am still teaching and have students who never lost their faith in me. I guess I'm lucky in this matter.
News # 3: Andres-Francheska Duo
Last July 2021, I fell in love with a friend, who is now 1/2 of my duo and my beloved partner. I went back to San Francisco after 2 months of being in Rochester, New York. Together, Andres and I have been playing music and enjoying the company of each other. We both have full-time jobs, but this never interfered with ideas and hopes of performing for a bigger public. We are also in the process of recording several videos and partaking in opportunities to watch, perform, and study our instrument. Please follow this page and my YouTube channel to see our videos.
That's all for now!
- Francheska
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