There is a student whose songs I don’t tend to like, and she played another one the other day. Once again, I wasn’t sure what to say. I don’t want to bullshit her and smile “what you are doing is great” when I don’t really think so. Her musicality is very good, better than many others but for me her lyrics don’t make sense, they sound like she’s “trying” to make a pop song instead of singing something that sounds authentic, that sounds like it has to do with her real experience. A music teacher did me a great favour years ago when I went for a lesson, and stopped me a few minutes after I started playing and told me I didn’t know what I was doing. I was relieved. I totally didn’t know what I was doing but had no idea how to admit that to anyone. I have no idea what she’s talking about in her lyrics and I would like to tell her, not to insult her but to pose the question. It could be a catalyst for a different kind of introspection …or it could offend her and spark confirmation of other insecurities, and a prescription for anti-panic attack medication, who knows? She often asks my opinion about this artist or that artist, so I sense she wants to know what I think of her work. Before I knew it, two other students complimented her lyrics and then the class was over and they were all out the door.