原文: Five ways to make your music teacher smile [The Good Musician]

If you take musical instruction, here are five tips to keep your teacher happy.

1. Show up. This should go without saying, but you’d be surprised at how ditching just one lesson can mean the difference between a so-so musician and a good musician. Even if you can’t play or sing, you can talk through the music with your teacher.

2. Be prepared to play or sing on the dot. Arrive early enough to soak your reed, warm up your instrument, or vocalize–whatever you need to do to be prepared to get right to the music. Make the most of your time with your teacher–focus, listen, respond–if you want to chat, do it before or after the lesson, not during.

3. Complete your assignment for the lesson. If your teacher asked you to run a particularly tricky passage until it’s fluid, make sure you have practiced enough during the week so the phrase lays naturally in your fingers or voice and you can move on to new material.

4. Remember that your teacher wants you to improve musically. Don’t take criticism personally–it’s all about growing as a musician. Mark your music so you will know what to work on for the next lesson, and make sure you understand your next assignment.

5. Impress your teacher with supporting information you’ve found during the week on other pieces by the composer you’re studying, some tidbit about the life of that composer, or similar works by other composers. It adds depth to your musical knowledge and understanding, and you just might surprise your teacher with some juicy dish!

Keep in mind that practice makes possible–don’t worry about the perfect. If musicians were perfect, there would be no room for learning and growth. It would get pretty boring with no challenge to improve. I’m sure you’ve heard musicians who are technically proficient, but have no emotional connection with the music or their audience. Do your best every time you pick up your instrument or open your mouth–it’s all about building on good habits and communicating with your peeps.

译文: 使你音乐老师感到快乐的五个方法

      如果你在上音乐课，这里有五个方法使你老师感到快乐。

1、多露面。这需做而不说。但你也许会惊讶，一节课居然体现出在普通的音乐家和杰出的音乐家之间如此大的差别。即使你不会弹奏也不会唱歌，你也可以跟你的老师谈论音乐。

2、为准时地弹奏或演唱作好准备。早些到达，以便有足够的时间浸你的簧片，调试你的乐器，或者练练声——做你需要做的每一样事情，为表演作好准备。充分利用与你老师在一块的时间——专注，聆听，回答——如果你想聊天，请在课间聊，而不要在课上聊。

3、完成课程任务。如果你的老师让你流畅地弹奏一段特别高难度的乐段，务必一周之内要反复练习，以便足以让那些乐节在你的指尖或从你的口中自然顺畅。这样你才能继续新的学习内容。

4、请记住，你的老师希望你在音乐上有所提高。不要把批评放在心上——那都是老师希望你成长为音乐家的一片心。给你的曲目作个记号，那样你就可以知道下节课要做点什么，也保证你知道你的下一个任务。

5、提供补充信息来给你的老师留下印象。一周内，你已找到你学习的作曲家的其它片断，关于他生活的一些小细节，或者其他作曲家的一些相似作品。这些不仅会增加你对音乐的知识和理解，而且一些实用的信息可能会助你给老师带来惊喜哦！ 

      请记住，实践出可能——请不要担心完美。如果音乐家们都很完美，那么就没有学习和成长的空间了。没有挑战去进步，会令人厌烦。我相信你已经欣赏过一些音乐家们表演：他们技艺高超，却与音乐或者观众没有情感上的交流。每一次弹奏或者演唱，请尽你最大的努力——这都是在帮助你培养良好的习惯，和关注你的人交流。