1 Teaches 2 Learn: Private Music Teaching and You – Eloise Hellyer

As educators, we cannot successfully put out knowledge if we have forgotten how to take it in.

In this book, Hellyer offers many of the crucial perspectives needed to take do so
— to “learn”.

Humility, as an example, is frequently overlooked when teaching pedagogy.
Here, that topic is addressed with structure, and sourced from many experienced perspectives.

It is a treasure in my library, and I am confident it will be for every artist
who attains a copy.

Eloise Hellyer shares her valuable pedagogical insights and wisdom in her book, 1 Teaches, 2 Learn, collected over decades as a violin teacher.
How fortunate for us all!!
A treasure trove for any instrumental teacher, and definitely not limited to violin.
(I am a cellist.)
I’m so happy to have it in my library and I will certainly be rereading and using it for reference time and time again.

This book is a must-have for every string teacher. Beautifully written, it should be required reading for teacher trainees. It offers clear, practical advice on how to handle the personal and professional issues that come up for private instrumental teachers, such as how to manage parent-child dynamics, ways to keep your own self secure as the teacher, and challenges the reader to think fully the consequences of our actions as we nurture the joy and skill in creating beautiful music in our students.

1 Teaches 2 Learn, by Eloise Hellyer
Review

If I had ever had the time to write a book about general principles of string pedagogy and what it takes to be a first-rate, world-class teacher, this is the book I would have written. Over the course of my own thirty-five-year career, I would have been deeply grateful to find a book such as this one.
Grounded in sound psychological and pedagogical principles, and peppered with wisdom, 1 Teaches 2 Learn is all about meeting the student where they are and connecting with the person in front of you, without your own projections, biases, and preconceived notions of how lessons should be.
To be a truly great teacher, one must transcend the limits of personality, mood, exhaustion, or personal circumstance and tune in to where the student is in this moment. Ms. Hellyer, who writes the popular “Violin Teacher’s Blog”, discusses how to do that effectively and with compassion for ourselves as well as the student sitting or standing in front of us. She discusses the elements of deep concentration and listening with the kind of focus that every student deserves and that sets the exceptional teacher apart from the mere “good” instructor.
As teachers, we are not there to be loved, revered, admired, or venerated. We are there to transmit our musicianship, our values, our insights and our help and feedback to students on their musical journeys. Ms. Hellyer’s book provides valuable insights into the art of teaching with sound practical advice to teachers at every stage of their careers.
As if the wisdom in these pages were not enough, a special bonus section at the end of the text provides interviews with world class violin soloists who generously share their journeys as musicians, the lessons learned throughout their lives and careers, and their own special insights into the learning process that are truly inspirational. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

This is a very thought-provoking book, and one in a class almost all of its own. There are many books about pedagogy, many very good, but very few about the essence of teaching. OK, perhaps there are, but the author here addresses the issues a string teacher faces in a very direct and accessible way. Along the way, we are invited to consider the choices we might make in various scenarios, and are guided to those that actually benefit the student (and by extension, everyone: student, parent, teacher). She is forthright and we may disagree at times, but even then the discussion is valuable.
The interviews with renowned players are fascinating and often bluntly revealing.
Highly recommended.