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Sophist
Professor of Pedantry
Joined: Apr 24, 2005
Posts: 6170
Location: St. Louie
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 Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:01 pm Post subject: ... |
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Seems like a sound plan, xazar.
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thatrsdude
Proud owner of a custom title
Joined: Jul 15, 2005
Posts: 1176
Location: SA, Australia
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:18 am Post subject: |
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I used to learn guitar, and my last teacher said that I learn a lot quicker than most other people he has. He said to me "You're so easy to teach, everyone else is just dumb!", which meant a lot to me. But I had a hard time keeping interested in it. But I may go back to it. I would like to play in a nu-metal type band one day.
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xazar
Emu Egg
Joined: Jul 26, 2005
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:02 pm Post subject: Here's how the first lesson went ...... |
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Thanks to all your help, the first lesson went great. He was a very nice kid and I liked him right away and found him to be quite bright and creative. He was very demanding of himself and harsh on himself when he didn't immediately get something right. He said a few times that he would never be able to do a certain thing and I replied that even though it was possible that he would never be able to, it was much more likely that he would, in time. And then within a few minutes he would pull it off. At which point I would shriek with delight and stop everything dead in it's tracks and ask him if he remembered saying he would never be able to do what he just did? He would look at me slyly and say 'Yes' and I just told him i wanted him to recognize that he had just done something 'impossible'. He really liked me pointing that out. Then he kept throwing all these ideas at me and I kept saying 'Yeah' 'Yeah' Yeah' 'Great idea' and he was so happy. His best idea was that he burst out and said "How about we take turns, I teach you something then you teach me something" and I said "Deal". He would then make up some riff and I would learn it and then I'd show him something and he would learn it. Finally he said, "Wow, somebody likes my ideas" to which I replied that music is a great place for idea people because the best music is a mix of structure and ideas that come from out of nowhere and stretch and sometimes break the structure and he really seemed to get that. His mom was ecstatic and all was well.
Thanks again for all your help
Danny |
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stlf
Phoenix
Joined: Jul 13, 2004
Posts: 668
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| Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:45 pm Post subject: |
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| WELL DONE xazar!!!! sounds like you are a great teacher! |
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Sophist
Professor of Pedantry
Joined: Apr 24, 2005
Posts: 6170
Location: St. Louie
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| Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 11:57 pm Post subject: ... |
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Danny, sounds like you're a great teacher with a smart and lucky student! 
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DeepThought
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 574
Location: A chair in the USA.
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 6:57 am Post subject: |
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Wow, I wish my attempts at getting lessons 30 years ago were more like that instead of just chopsticks, rudiments and common time.
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The Rhymin' Red Rover, that's what they called me,
Too old for a sailin', too young for the sea;
Set sail for the sunset, to a land that is free,
I'm the Rhymin' Red Rover, and that's where I'll be. |
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xazar
Emu Egg
Joined: Jul 26, 2005
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 7:27 am Post subject: Wow, i wish ..... |
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Thanks for all the positive feedback everybody.
I also explained to him that sometimes I'd ask him to do 'Work' and that it wouldn't be fun but I said I'd keep that as quick and painless and possible. I told him to tell me 'Enough work' anytime he wanted and we'd switch back to having fun. Every time I said 'Let's do just a little work' he'd brace himself and agree and we'd do a little rudimentry stuff. Not once did he invoke his 'Enough work' privelage!
Having fun is definately the best way to learn and what I love most is to bring out a persons creativity and originality so this kid was bursting with that so it was fun for me to just help shape his ideas. He kept making up these riffs that he couldn't really execute but I could see where he was going so I'd say 'It looks like you're trying to do something like this ...' and he would say 'Yeah that's it!' really excited and I'd show him how to pull it off.
I'm sure he had sweet dreams that night.
Danny |
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DeepThought
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 574
Location: A chair in the USA.
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:14 am Post subject: Re: Wow, i wish ..... |
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| xazar wrote: |
He kept making up these riffs that he couldn't really execute but I could see where he was going so I'd say 'It looks like you're trying to do something like this ...' and he would say 'Yeah that's it!' really excited and I'd show him how to pull it off.
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I suspected something like that would happen. I am glad to hear that you were open to working with him on his terms while at the same time not letting him completely dominate the lesson plan (can't find better words right now). I am interested in being kept up to date on his progress and yours.
I did start wondering though if the ways in which lessons are given have changed in the past 30 years. I was in chorus in junior high school (middle school) and found that fun because what I was learning was specific to achieving an immediate goal. I never was able to learn to read music or name notes by just hearing them, but I was always able to effortlessly match, or harmonize with notes I hear (e.g. someone can play a note on an instrument and I can match the note on the guitar, or piano, but if asked to name the note I often have to look at the keyboard). I am a visual thinker and my brain does not associate the text form of a note (A, B, C, D, etc...) with the sound of it. I am unable to retain that information in memory, but easilly retain the sounds in memory and their locations on the instrument, or if I watch someone play something then I know it. Formal lessons were very difficult for me whan I was young and I was belittled through most of my life because despite the fact that I could play very well I had no technical knowledge.
Sometimes I feel like it is pointless for me to try to communicate with someone like an instructor because I feel that as if they judge my ability based on what technical knowledge I have, as opposed to what I can do naturally (which is more than most instructors, no offense, just being honest and thinking out loud). However, many of the most respected musicians in history had no technical knowledge (e.g. Jimi Hendrix), so I guess I am ok, which I knew anyhow... I guess I just get interested in hearing an instructors perspective on all of this sometimes, but very few people know enough about Savant Syndrome to really understand.
Sheesh, I was thinking in type, reasoning with myself again.
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The Rhymin' Red Rover, that's what they called me,
Too old for a sailin', too young for the sea;
Set sail for the sunset, to a land that is free,
I'm the Rhymin' Red Rover, and that's where I'll be. |
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xazar
Emu Egg
Joined: Jul 26, 2005
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:21 am Post subject: |
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The way I do it is to play to the student's strengths and desires. If he's a technical wiz and wants to play highly structured music, so be it. If he's a punk rocker and he just wants to bash and scream then I bash and scream right back. It's all good and there are as many types of genius as there are living things.
Danny |
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DeepThought
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 574
Location: A chair in the USA.
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:34 am Post subject: |
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Danny,
I may be wrong about this because I am not exposed to a lot of people, but it seems that you may be one of the unique ones as far as your ability to teach. Your teaching philosophy is much different than what I was exposed to as a child and much more suited for teaching an Aspie.
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The Rhymin' Red Rover, that's what they called me,
Too old for a sailin', too young for the sea;
Set sail for the sunset, to a land that is free,
I'm the Rhymin' Red Rover, and that's where I'll be. |
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Tak
Toucan
Joined: Jul 31, 2005
Posts: 278
Location: Minneapolis Minnesota
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:34 pm Post subject: Re: Here's how the first lesson went ...... |
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| xazar wrote: | | He was very demanding of himself and harsh on himself when he didn't immediately get something right. He said a few times that he would never be able to do a certain thing and I replied that even though it was possible that he would never be able to, it was much more likely that he would, in time. |
That sounds exactly like me 20 years ago, and I finally decided I couldnt hack it and quit. With my teachers encouragement. I've dabbled with easy stuff like Ducimers and native flute, but it was never the same.
I always regreted it, and for my 40th birthday I bought myself a nice guitar and I'm hoping after I move I can find a teacher HALF as good as you!
Thanks, I needed some encouragement.
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"I need to start after I move because my picking harmonics out through a metal pedal is driving my ex nuts"  |
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xazar
Emu Egg
Joined: Jul 26, 2005
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:39 pm Post subject: Good Luck .... |
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| Thanks for the kind words and you can have a teacher twice as good as half as good as me, if you move to Long Island, New York. Otherwise, maybe you can just be your own awesome teacher. Have fun fun fun and learning can't help but happen. |
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Tak
Toucan
Joined: Jul 31, 2005
Posts: 278
Location: Minneapolis Minnesota
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| Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 11:20 am Post subject: Re: Good Luck .... |
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| xazar wrote: | | Thanks for the kind words and you can have a teacher twice as good as half as good as me, if you move to Long Island, New York. |
Sadly I'm going the opposite direction "Seattle Washington" From Minnesota.
But I did spend the morning seeing what I could remember, I"m suprised to see how many chords I can still remember, though I'd be happier still if I could remember what they were called. 
Thanks for the encouragement. |
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LB
Forum Moderator
Joined: Mar 20, 2005
Posts: 132
Location: oakland, ca
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| Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| BeeBee wrote: | | ...ask if an instruction is clear. know my son would say yes to please you so if you were teaching him, I'd ask you to ask him to repete back the instructions in his own words. |
| Vertivert wrote: | | one thing - it'll probably be best to write things down rather than relying on audio only (i.e., you telling him stuff). and ask HIM what he wants - 10 years old is old enough to know a bit about yourself. |
I think these ideas are very good. I would also add that breaking down the oral instructions into small steps and the written ones into small well-formatted parts might be helpful too.
I have been playing guitar for over 20 years, mostly self-taught, or copying other guitarists. I tried lessons several times and a couple of classes too, and i couldn't learn anything that way. It sounds like you are a very good teacher and that he is a willing student. A good match! I wish you both many happy jams
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