For me, at least, part of taking lessons is being in a music environment. I try to provide that for my students by briefly chatting about music stuff. Perhaps about a gig, or the biz, or whatever pops up. I think most of my students enjoy that as long as it doesn't chew up too much time. In one recent exchange with a 16yo and her father we talked about the evolution of pop music instruments of choice.
When my parents were young the piano was the most important instrument. There were others of course, but the piano was the centerpiece. Studying piano was a component of a classical education in some homes, along with studying Latin, literature, etc. This attitude prevails today in most colleges and conservatories. No matter what instrument you major in, you must also achieve a certain level of piano proficiency to graduate.
As a child in the fifties I gravitated toward the guitar primarily because of the rock and roll influence. Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, and Ricky Nelson all played guitar and I thought that was pretty cool. (And I was right....it is.) Then came the folk music craze and I was fully hooked. But popular music as a whole was still dominated by the piano and the guitar was still considered a lesser instrument.
That all changed with the Beatles and the subsequent "British Invasion". The guitar was king (long live guitar!) However for most the guitar of choice was electric. There were a few of us who remained true to the acoustic, but it seemed that the rest of the world preferred the electric guitar. Previous generations hated it. They always do. In a live performance, John Lennon introduced the song "Help" with, "This is our latest song....or electronic noise depending on which side you're on."
Like the piano before it, the guitar became the centerpiece of pop music for decades. And although it still dominates, electric guitar sales have taken a backseat to acoustic sales. Traditional piano sales have fallen and replaced with electronic keyboards. And the instrument poised to become the most popular tool in music is (drum roll please....) the computer.
When I mentioned that to my student she smiled and nodded in agreement while her father just shook his head in disapproval. The younger generation is fashioning pop music to their own taste and the older generations hate it. They always do.