As I plan to teach music some day in a conservatoire, I’m attending teaching lessons regularly in order to earn a diploma. Today, we studied official texts about teaching in France and discussed what curriculum would be best-suited for the children. One interesting question was whether we should continue to have them play the old and traditional pieces and methods, or if we should be a bit more flexible.

For instance, if a student suggests a tune he would like to play other than that of the traditional repertoire, say, a piece from contemporary music, what might be the best choice for him?

Funny enough, yesterday, I was in this very situation. A student of mine told me he was fond of a song from the musical, "Les miserables" (the adaptation of the French novel). As I wasn’t aware of the song, I looked it up at home and eventually decided to transcribe it and allow him to play it. Because he already knows and likes the melody, I hope this encourages him to continue to stay motivated with the piece as he learns it, in contrast to the usual work. I will see.

(This time I tried not to look up any words in the dictionary, to see what I could write without any help.)