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Teaching private lessons via Skype



 
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Blackquill
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Joined: 03 May 2018
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Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:06 pm    Post subject: Teaching private lessons via Skype Reply with quote

Okay, so my nephew has asked (okay, his mom, actually) to take private lessons from me (he's been playing trumpet for only a couple of weeks), but the problem is that he lives 400 miles away, so we have to do them over Skype.

Do you have any suggestions on how to be effective with this? Obviously being there in person is a lot better, but on the bright side he seems to be pretty quick to understand things. We had one lesson so far, and somehow I managed to get him to make a note without buzzing his lips (The Mystery to Mastery idea), but that may have been more his talent than my ownn teaching ability.

My nephew is using a particular trumpet book in band, so his mom bought the book for me and shipped it out (I haven't gotten it yet, but will get it probably in the next couple days), so then I can at least give him some suggestions on what to work on as well as how to do it.

Any advice on how to be an effective teacher online? Also, this is a more generic question, but do any of you have ideas on how to make practicing trumpet FUN? One of the things I want to do most is to keep him interested in playing it. Assigning him fun tunes to play, perhaps?
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LSOfanboy
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Joined: 08 Jul 2018
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Teaching private lessons via Skype Reply with quote

Blackquill wrote:
Okay, so my nephew has asked (okay, his mom, actually) to take private lessons from me (he's been playing trumpet for only a couple of weeks), but the problem is that he lives 400 miles away, so we have to do them over Skype.

Do you have any suggestions on how to be effective with this? Obviously being there in person is a lot better, but on the bright side he seems to be pretty quick to understand things. We had one lesson so far, and somehow I managed to get him to make a note without buzzing his lips (The Mystery to Mastery idea), but that may have been more his talent than my ownn teaching ability.

My nephew is using a particular trumpet book in band, so his mom bought the book for me and shipped it out (I haven't gotten it yet, but will get it probably in the next couple days), so then I can at least give him some suggestions on what to work on as well as how to do it.

Any advice on how to be an effective teacher online? Also, this is a more generic question, but do any of you have ideas on how to make practicing trumpet FUN? One of the things I want to do most is to keep him interested in playing it. Assigning him fun tunes to play, perhaps?


Hi,

A genuine question, made with no mal-intent: why don't they just find a teacher near them who they can visit in person?

All the best
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richardwy
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 7:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Skype works. I took a season's worth of lessons using it.
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omelet
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Joined: 08 Nov 2007
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 10:31 am    Post subject: Re: Teaching private lessons via Skype Reply with quote

Blackquill wrote:
Also, this is a more generic question, but do any of you have ideas on how to make practicing trumpet FUN? One of the things I want to do most is to keep him interested in playing it. Assigning him fun tunes to play, perhaps?


While you can have fun in your lesson, it might not be enough, since there are many things out there competing for his attention. What motivated you to practice?
I would suggest that you provide him the tools to succeed and that may be the only motivation he needs. People tend to like the things they're good at.
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starkadder
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Joined: 01 May 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is about more than trumpet lessons. Connect with your nephew. Spend some time sharing a common interest. Get to know the boy. Make it work for both of you.

He needs to have good memories of his uncle.
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GideonJazz
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Joined: 08 Oct 2018
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Location: Detroit

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi, I'm planning on setting up skype lessons, I took a few in the pass.
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trumpetman146
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Joined: 14 Nov 2018
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know Jeff Purtle is on here pretty regularly and teaches a lot of Skype lessons, he would be a good person to ask.

As for making practicing fun, find songs that cover the techniques you want to teach that your nephew enjoys. Everything we do doesn't have to be an exercise or method book. Want to work on staccato tonguing? Find them sheet music to a song they like that uses a lot of staccato tonguing etc.
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Eliot
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Joined: 05 Nov 2018
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whether the following makes any sense or not, I'll leave for readers to decide, but FWIW I would suggest:
1) Anyone taking up an musical instrument and desiring to learn how to play it needs a reason to practise.
2) That reason can be in the pleasure found by creating music, ie, hearing the tune being played (an almost immediate reward), the realisation of intermediate goals along the path to a long term goal as in a professional player as a soloist or part of a band or orchestra.
3) For me, intermediate goals can be found in learning to succeed in recognised music exams. These set an objective standard that can lead to admission to conservatory type learning experiences.
4) Becoming a member of a "band" such as a school band or the local town band or even a small group (quartet/quintet) provides a compelling reason to practise.

Perhaps forming a duet Skye "group" with your nephew would also give a reason for him to practise.

Like I said FWIW.
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Jerry Freedman
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Joined: 29 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 4:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Skype can work. Did it for trumpet and math There is file sharing with it which I haven't tried but sounds useful. I have found it easier to use Facebook messenger
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camikaye
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Joined: 29 Sep 2009
Posts: 5
Location: Colorado

PostPosted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with starkadder. Connect with your Nephew and start him out! Enjoy the time with him and show him how fun trumpet playing can be!
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MF Fan
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Joined: 26 Mar 2002
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Location: The Great White North

PostPosted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I imagine a lot of us caught the bug after hearing a talented player perform in person or on record. Spoon feeding him recordings that you think he might find interesting would be another way pique his interest and give him an idea of what it sounds like when you've reached a degree of mastery. With the advent of YouTube there are countless performances captured on video. You could even look at a video together during the lesson to get the blood flowing.
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John Mohan
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have been giving lessons on Skype now for many years, and it works great. But I'm not so sure about how great that trumpet book is (that the kid's school uses). Every band beginner book I've ever seen seems to have the goal of creating a not-totally-horrible-sounding ensemble as quick as possible and does little to nothing to actually develop most of the fundamentals required of a brass player in particular.

Claude Gordon's book Physical Approach to Elementary Brass Playing is an excellent beginner book. It also assigns supplementary material out of the St Jacome book, though after writing it, Claude came to the conclusion that the St Jacome material progressed a little to quickly in difficulty and he suggested to us that it was best to substitute the appropriate material in the beginning of Herbert L. Clarke's Elementary Studies for the Cornet book in place of the St Jacome material.

Best wishes,

John Mohan
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