Earlier this week, I taught an adult student who, by the end of the lesson, seemed quietly discouraged. He didn’t say that he wasn’t making progress, but I could sense it. Just before he left, I mentioned that I could clearly see his improvement, and that there had been a noticeable shift in his playing this year. He looked at me slightly confused. In that moment, I realised something important: the way he perceived his progress was very different from how I saw it. I needed to be specific, because he was completely unaware of the many small victories that had happened along the way in his journey of learning an instrument. Progress is often measured against expectations rather than reality, and expectations can be far harsher than the truth.
As music teachers, we spend our days listening closely. We listen to notes, rhythms, and all the musical details that come with learning and playing an instrument. But more than anything, we are listening for effort, growth, and perseverance.
It’s completely understandable that the focus often falls on the “big” milestones: exams, eisteddfodau, and performances. Of course these moments matter. But those “big” moments are only possible because of hundreds of quieter achievements that happen throughout the learning process.
Learning an instrument is not linear. The process is often slower than expected, and it doesn’t always move neatly from one skill to the next. Some weeks everything seems to click, while other weeks it can feel as though nothing has moved forward at all. Progress is often invisible to you. But as a music teacher, I’m here to remind you of the growth that’s happening, even when you can’t yet hear it.
When we listen and observe in lessons, we often notice improvements in things like:
- improved posture
- a more consistent tone
- fingers moving with less tension
- rhythms being corrected independently
- the note in bar 10 is now correct (even though the F# in bar 20 is still slipping through)
- breaths no longer interrupting a phrase
- confidence replacing hesitation
- curiosity replacing fear of mistakes
- growing independence instead of reliance on the teacher
- practice happening even when motivation is low
There are so many things to notice, and none of them are small. These are the building blocks of musicianship.
The next time you are practising, or hear your child practising, I encourage you to celebrate these small victories. Doing so not only builds confidence, reinforces good habits, and keeps motivation alive, but also teaches students that effort matters.
Ask yourself, or your child, questions like:
- What felt easier this week?
- What did you stick with, even when it was hard?
- What do you understand better now?
Over time, students begin to notice these wins for themselves. They learn that progress is not always obvious, but that it feels different. The focus shifts from “Am I good enough?” to “Am I growing?”
Some of the most important breakthroughs never happen in front of an audience. They happen in the practice room: when a tricky passage can finally be played without stopping, when counting out loud becomes natural, when a mistake is fixed instead of ignored, or when hands finally coordinate together.
Learning an instrument teaches patience, discipline, resilience, and self-awareness. When we pause to celebrate small victories, we honour the process and remind ourselves that every confident performance was once a series of tiny, brave steps.
And those steps are worth celebrating.
