In one of my small a cappella singing groups we have passed a real milestone: the singers themselves recognize the beauty of their sound very specifically in how focused it is and how good it feels. It is a matter of shared attentiveness that produces the desired result and that observes so keenly both the inner and outer success of their efforts.

This aspect of self-evaluation is missing in so much music training in which the teacher is usually the one who decides whether or not the performance is good. But the student is the one who has to know on his or her own terms.

It very often happens in a piano lesson that I will accept a student's playing as good enough but the student, noting spots that need fixing, will promptly fix them. I find this spectacular when the student is ten years old.