How to identify a good teacher

[trumpet56]

The Fundamentals of Teaching.
"A good teacher can never be fixed in a routine. Each moment requires a sensitive mind that is constantly changing and constantly adapting. A teacher must never impose his student to fit his favorite pattern. A good teacher protects his students from his own influence. A teacher is never a giver of truth; he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. I am not teaching you anything. I just help you explore yourself".
Bruce Lee.

[Raggerty]

I'm not a Trumpet teacher, I used to be a regular teacher before it got the better of me.

The things mentioned in the above post are only part of the story, and they are usually brought up because much of the teaching we come across neglects them in favour of drill, facts, proven methods.

But that boring and traditional stuff is important too, and the best teachers combine it with Mr Lee's approach.

[OldKing]

When you read about the great ones, one thing always jumps out at me - they seemed to care about the individual, not just his or her playing.

I've had some greats, and some just filling a teaching slot.
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For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? - 1 Cor 14:8

[Richard III]

I usually just pass these threads by but something just hit my head. I had a teacher recently who used a different method. He played and said essentially immitate that. I tried. Then he offered a suggestion. I tried again and got closer. He played. Immitate that he said. I got even closer. Another suggestion. I kept working. I've had amazing progress.

Hold the sound you want in your mind. Play the sound.

I've had teachers who never played. I've had teachers who played badly. I've had teachers who played well but couldn't explain what to do.

If I were looking for a teacher, they better play well. I'm still learning from that last teacher and I haven't had a lesson in over a year.

Listen and try to sound like that. Really listen and you can hear what they are doing with every part of the body, oral cavity and lips. I can. I can tell you where their tongue is in their mouth, where they are with air and where tension is in their system. My last teacher taught me to listen and be a good teacher of myself.
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Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

[Turkle]

Back when I was teaching (years ago) I used to tell my students:

"You will teach yourself to play the trumpet, by learning to play these exercises slowly and carefully and working them up to speed gradually.

I will teach you to be a trumpet player. That means how to carry yourself, how to be responsible for the music, how to be an artistic leader, and how to play with bravado and class."
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Yamaha 8310Z trumpet
Yamaha 8310Z flugel
Curry 3.

[aTrumpetdude]

My best teachers were the ones that demanded my best and expected more of me than I thought was reasonable at the time. I made more progress with these kind of teachers in a few months than I did studying for years with warm fuzzy patient teachers.
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Scodwell Boston
90's Bach Strad MLV 65GH
1950 Bach Strad 38
1969 Conn 8b Artist
1980 238 CL
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm1qCev_sfof-Bfj5MAMLrQ

[jhahntpt]

[trickg]

I recently took on a trumpet student - a recently graduated HS student who was hoping to maybe make the college jazz ensemble.

I think that sometimes there is a disconnect with some students where they have the idea that because they are taking lessons, then the teacher is going to somehow magically breathe new ability into them, and the mere act of taking lessons is all it's going to take to do it.

I laid some very simple truths on this kid - I told him that all I could do was show him the way - it was up to him to put in the work, and that there was no shortcut. It was going to take structured time and effort toward a goal.

I only had the summer to get his chops up to speed, and had he put in the time and work, he might have gotten there - a lot of progress can be made in a short amount of time for the students who are disciplined and put in the work, but it can't be a half-baked approach.

Getting back to the subject of the thread about what makes a good teacher, I don't know if I was a good teacher - I assessed where he was and what he needed to work on, then I prescribed the drills and exercises that would build the technique, I gave him music to work on that would be fun, so that he could better enjoy the fruits of his labors, (stuff from the party band book) and I modeled by example by also playing and demonstrating during the lessons.

The question is, did I fail to inspire the kid, or was he just lackadaisical in his own approach? I don't know - maybe a bit of both? This is the first student I've taken on in a long time, so it's hard to say because I don't have anything else to compare it to.
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Patrick Gleason
- Jupiter 1600i, ACB 3C, Warburton 4SVW/Titmus RT2
- Brasspire Unicorn C
- ACB Doubler

"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP

[Andy Del]

There's lots of good comments here, but the two posts above nail it for me.

Teaching bands, instrumental lessons in brass and class music all day every day is my gig. And my workplace is now very reflective on teaching practices, student well being, etc. etc. etc.

We have some overarching policies which could mean students make great progress in their studies. As a school we consciously have high expectations of all students (for their current situation) and are expected to know out kids we can achieve this and also differentiate for their needs.

The level of engagement in adolescence feels (FEELS) like it is slowly dropping off to the point it is vanishingly small. There is a corresponding lessening o progress, which feeds even less engagement, etc.

Countering this, engaging kids and having them make progress is the yardstick of a good teacher. It's no longer enough to give them the information and expect them to do the right thing... so do we (as in my school's faculty) get it right now? Not all the time, but it has given us a good guide on navigating today's educational climate.

Why it is? That's another topic, but suffice to say standardised testing has a lot to answer for would not be an exaggeration!

cheers

Andy
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so many horns, so few good notes...

[chuck in ny]

frank lloyd wright on contractors, you can't get good work out of someone who doesn't know how to produce it.
life is a put up or shut up game. your playing has to improve based on the superior knowledge of the teacher. i love these stories of teachers who act as if the student's playing difficulties are their own fault, profitable week after week and month after month. presumably these poor souls are the outliers of some hackneyed, guaranteed method that works for most.
plenty of flimsy service providers out there. trumpet exposes this in a harsher light with the difficult mechanics of playing.