Unemployed

So I got fired. Sort of. I had been teaching piano lessons to a guy here for a little (very little) extra cash flow. He was excited about starting and learning, had played sax in middle school but forgot most of it and was eager to get things going. We had a good first lesson learning the notes on the lines and spaces of the bass and treble clef, I gave him a scale to learn, taught him the C Major chord and all was well. I was determined to teach more than notes on a page, and more than chords to fake with. My student was going to be a well rounded musician knowing not just how to read and play music, but how it worked. But then we missed a week, then he asked for an extra week because he needed to practice. then we met, then there was a bad storm. It was one of those things where somehow you just know it's not gonna be easy. Every week we did meet I'd asked how he did practicing and every week it was "well not so great".
The thing is this guy really reminded me of myself when it came to making excuses about practicing. I haven't had a good, regular practice schedule . . . well ever, and I have a degree in music. It kind of gave me that point of view of how maybe my teachers saw me and what they experienced while working with me. So last week I came to the lesson and he told me it would probably be our last for a while. The thing about teaching adults is that they are paying for the lessons themselves. A kid doesn't worry so much about missing a week of practice since he's not paying for the bill, but if you're shelling out your own dough you soon realize if you're not practicing you're wasting a lot of money. My student realized he just didn't have the time to practice and so lessons were not worth the investment at that time in his life. I asked if he wanted me to teach him then and he said yes since I took the time to come out. I told him I wouldn't take the whole time but wanted to give him a few things he could work with if he ever did find the time.
So I talked about major thirds and minor third and how to put them together to make triads. I talked about the scale degrees of the major scale and how each note has a corresponding triad. I wrote out the circle of fifths and showed him how to find the sharps and flats in each key. All in all it was a fairly brilliant lesson if I do say so myself.
I haven't decided how I feel about teaching music to adults. To be sure, there is the intellectualness that comes from working with someone of maturity. Also the reward of beautiful sound is easier to achieve and can reach greater levels. But there is still something in me that loves teaching kids. I think to see an adult grasp the understanding of secondary dominants is not nearly as rewarding as seeing a child grasping the understanding of same and different, or loud and soft. Peace.