Building Trust: Enhancing Music Learning for Special Learners

a child with Downs Syndrome smiling at an adult teacher with a piano below them

What is trust?

Trust: noun, “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” (Oxford Dictionary) When I go to the doctor or meet with an expert who specializes in business or special education, I take great comfort and confidence when I know that I can trust them. Not just because of their expertise, extensive education or qualifications, but because they demonstrate they’re speaking the truth and I can depend on them to be reliable.

When I can trust the person I’m working with in these situations, I’m much more likely to have a positive outcome and be open to learning from them. For me (as a business owner) to truly learn from a business guru, I have to be willing to show my vulnerabilities or questions and be ready and willing for them to offer suggestions, advice, critiques and trust that they are sharing them in a spirit of truth, confidence and with good intentions. 

Trust. 

In a professional relationship such as a teacher/student, doctor/patient, mentor/mentee, trust is a vital element, and one of the most necessary components for a successful working relationship.

Why is trust important when teaching special learners?

Think of it this way: 

Since I (Elizabeth) specialize in teaching this wonderful population of learners, anytime I share anecdotes from my students with colleagues, friends or online, there’s a reasonable assumption that I am referring to a student with a disability. (This is one of the reasons I’m extremely cautious and careful with sharing videos of my students, even with parental/student permission.)

While students with disabilities or learning differences come to our studios with a myriad of unique gifts, they also come with challenges that can make learning a musical instrument quite difficult. These challenges are often very visible, and this can cause the student to feel very vulnerable as they play and learn the instrument. 

A few visible differences you might observe: 

• difficulty with hand/finger coordination

• low muscle tone

• tic’s or stemming

• limb differences

• visual impairments

• mobility challenges

• impulse control

• sensory regulation and responses

• meltdowns due to triggers

  
  

…and the list could continue on for quite a while. These are just a few of the facets of disabilities that might make our special learners feel vulnerable as they learn an instrument that is heavily reliant on coordination of fingers and their physical ability.

Their insecurities are, in a sense- on display for us in the lesson, and we as music educators have a weighty responsibility to immediately establish and maintain a constant atmosphere of trust and respect.

Over the next several blog posts in this series we’ll explore practical and effective ways we can demonstrate and build an atmosphere of trust for our students, to help them feel more at ease in the music learning process. This isn’t a popular topic in pedagogy forums and I’ve yet to hear a presentation or lecture about this, but I think it’s vital to ensuring positive outcomes in the music learning process for our special learners!

I’d love to hear from you- what are your thoughts on building trust in the music studio, especially with students who have learning challenges? Reply below and let me know! 👇

Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to ensure you won’t miss any of the posts in the series! If you found this topic insightful or helpful, would you share it with a fellow music teacher?

Until next time,

-Elizabeth