Lessons

[_swthiel]

All,

I came across this post by Tootsall in "another forum" and thought it would be of interest here. I PM'd him and got his permission to re-post his comments here. Enjoy!

Steve
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One of the things that beginners (especially adults!) fear about learning a new (or first) instrument is "LESSONS". "Good grief! What if the teacher is (shudder) YOUNGER THAN ME!???" Maybe private lessons are really expensive? "What if I have to sit outside their studio waiting while all these young kids are walking in and out and playing waaaay better than me!?" "I know...I'll just buy some method books and hide in my own garage!"

Those are very real concerns that need to be dealt with. Let's take 'em one at a time.

First: Who cares what age the teacher is? As you get older, more and more of the population is going to be younger "compared to you". Let's say you're 80 years old...you want a 90 year old dentist looking after you using techniques (and equipment) he/she learned maybe 65 or 70 years back? Or some young hotshot with the latest in technology, diagnostics, etc.? I know which I'd take. Get over it...sometimes the youth DO have an advantage!

Second: The cost....I thought that private lessons would be costly. To "prove it" to myself I phoned the local university music conservatory. Guess what? 1/2 hour cost me $17.50 Cdn, PRIVATE, with a "student instructor". Hey...they let me do engineering, I let them make music. Eveybody has to start somewhere. Another option is to see if you can find a local Community Band organisation that has development levels within. Sometimes you can get dirt-cheap lessons that way and even get to play and learn in a group. Believe me, there are things you are going to learn in a group setting that you will NOT learn "in private and/or by yourself". Counting is #1 on that list, playing in tune with the rest of the group is #2.

Third: Kids taking lessons and hearing your clams. Get over it. Some of those kids popping off notes that you don't dream of reaching (yet), have been at it for three, four, five years longer than you. It's just one of the things that you have to say "Hey...at least I'm starting and my parents aren't forcing me". (Chances are that in 10 years they'll have quit and you'll be just hitting your stride anyway.) I used the similarity between this and when I went back to University for my second degree. There I was, 38 odd, married and with kids and in a classroom with all these 19 to 21 year olds. Sneaky...I had an advantage. "Age and cunning overcome youth and exuberance every time". I was able to relate to that previous experience to make the most efficient use of my time and essentially breeze through. Apply that same thinking to learning to play.

Fourth: Hiding in your room will NEVER teach you how to count properly. What are you going to do? Woodshed and play music for yourself the rest of your life? (If "yes", then why are you bothering at all? Go watch TV!) Or do you want to get together with others and make MUSIC!? Then you have to count, stay in tune, etc. The discipline is good for you... remember ...you are having to learn to be a TEAM PLAYER. And, in my mind, playing in a group is the most serious form of teamwork that I've found, all sports included. If everyone in the band isn't thinking in lockstep and doesn't EXECUTE properly, you end up with a train wreck. And from personal experience, there is NOTHING more humiliating than having to stop and restart a piece "in concert".

So do NOT fear "jumping off that precipice". Honest...it's not that bad. It's the fear of the unknown that is worse than anything else...get over that and you've got it "made in the shade".

Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together.

(with apologies to Red Green)

[_swthiel]

... of course, I had some follow-up comments about Tootsall's comments, too. I thought it would be best to post my own thoughts in a second note to preserve the integrity of Tootsall's text.

I really liked this post because it resonated with some of my personal experiences. I wasn't so concerned about cost, but I do have a "do-it-yourself-er" attitude about a lot of things, so I'm likely to tell myself I can learn what I need to on my own. And I certanly wouldn't want some "kid" (you know, like a grad student in the trumpet program at CCM!) hearing all my faults ... or even worse, the undergrad students in the halls hearing my faults while the grad student is giving me a lesson ...

Unfortunately, for all my preaching about lessons, I've only been able to arrange to take a few, basically because my job has had me travelling a lot and unpredictably. I didn't want to schedule lessons and have to cancel at the last minute, which I think is unfair to the teacher. I can't wait to move on to a more settled phase of my career, the current turmoil is really hurting my development as a musician!

But those few hours made a world of difference in my playing! My teacher kept bringing me back to sound, which I was tending to ignore when playing technically challenging passages. He kept bringing me back to playing at the pitch center. And he kept encouraging me to get my head out of the technical studies and to play some fun stuff, for Pete's sake! (Another wise friend advised me to "play tunes" more in a PM discussion.)

A while back, I asked my wife (not a trumpet player ) if she could hear any differences in my playing. The difference she noted was in my sound, and she heard exactly improvements in the sorts of things my teacher got me focused on.

Bottom line -- lessons pay off. I'll be back to them as soon as my job situation permits!

End of testimonial!

Steve
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Steve Thiel

" 'Learning the piano?' ... And I suppose you want to go and practise eh? Marching up and down the square not good enough for you, eh?"

[ This Message was edited by: swthiel on 2004-01-17 03:06 ]

[WxJeff]

Steve: Thanks for reposting Tootsall's exhortation and for your additional comments.

The "being around kids" dynamic is actually kind of fun. I took a few lessons from the band director at a local private school (he is a young guy, too, so I identified with that point) and found myself occasionally waiting in the lobby of the Fine Arts building with 5th and 6th graders (and their parents.) I took advantage of the opportunity to prosleytize (sp?) At first, everyone thought I was one of the instructors, but I quickly said, "No, I'm starting again after 25 years." The kids thought that was cool and would quickly ask, "Is it hard?" "Do you stink, I do!" and we'd have great conversations about perseverance, etc. and I'd encourage all of them to never, ever quit. The parents would join in and comment, "Y'know, I need to get back into playing (piano, sax, whatever) like I did when I was a kid because that was a lot of fun," and I'd have a chance to encourage them.

The instructor admitted he wasn't sure he was helping me all that much, and to be honest, we mostly just played duets together. As much fun as we had (and I think I was a real boost to him after having just endured a couple hours of kids) we both recognized it was time for me to move on to another instructor.

I'm now facing the same time constraints you mentioned, Steve. What do you (and others) think about a once a month lesson goal? I could probably make that work with some consistency, but am wondering if that is just too much time in between lessons?

I will miss hanging out with the kids, though
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Kanstul F Besson International 800 Bb
Jupiter SCR-520

[INTJ]

I think it is important to find us to find a teacher who we "connect" with. We ned a teacher who approaches things in a manner we can accept. When were were kids, we were flexible enough to put up with our "elder" teachers, even if their input came with a lot of baggage or we had a clear personality conflict. When we were young, many of us were humble and motivated enough to put up with just about anything in order to improve our playing.

Well, I am now in my mid 40s. There is no way I'm going to put up with the same junk now I did when I was 16. I have a pretty good idea who I can get along with and accept instruction from, and who I can't/won't. There are lots of good teachers out there. I am not willing to pay money to and make the effort to get along with someone I am not "in synch" with when there are other choices. Trying to force such a situation nearly always leads to poor results.

I have found a kindred spirit in Pops. Rich Willey is another person I could take lessons form. I am sure there are more.

I don't think weekley lessons are optimum for me. I take a lesson from Pops about once every 3-4 months. Of course, I do keep in touch via e-mail and phone. I find that after a lesson I have a lot to work on and it just takes a while to fully get the stuff into my playing. I suually see good improvement in the weeks following a lesson, but after a while I plateau again. Then it's time for another lesson. I don't think there would be any gain to having a lesson more than once a month for me.

Blaine

[valvepimp]

[_swthiel]

Another recent thread brought this one to mind, I thought it would be worth bringing back to the top ....
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Steve Thiel

Matthew 25:31-46

[LANSTARR]

Cool read
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- L.A. (a.k.a. LANSTARR)
www.lanstarr.com * www.dirtybathwater.com * www.redstarnetwork.com

[ltward]

I signed up for lessons at my local music store a while back. You can only take weekly lessons, which kind of irked me, because I can't get in enough practice time between lessons to really work thorugh what we covered in the lesson, you know? I'd have much preferred every other week.

The guy was younger than me, and there were lots of little kids going in and out of the store and it never occurred to me to worry about how I sounded. I was just focused on him, and the lesson. He talked mostly about air, and consistent air, and more air (guess I need to work on my air, huh?).

His age didn't bother me, either, because every week he'd explain something in a new way, and a little light would go off. He'd listen to me, and suggest something - a new way to look at the phrase, perhaps - and I'd sound better. It was so cool! He could just zero right in on my trouble spots. He put me at ease, too, by encouraging me to "overdo" it. He said, "Who cares if you make a fool of yourself? That's how you learn your limit, and what works, and what doesn't. Besides, you can always back off a bit." I really liked him.

I took for a couple of months, and recently quit. He was great but I simply don't have time right now to do it justice, and I hated feeling like I was wasting my time and his. My daughter is still taking from him, though, and I made sure he knew it wasn't him, it was circumstances. We're trying to move and after work all I seem to have time for is wallpapering, and painting, and boxing up stuff... gimme six months and I'll be looking for an instructor in my new location

[gregc]

I'm a 47 year old guy who started taking lessons almost a year ago now. My teacher is probably in his late 20s. The other students I see at his studio are as young as, or younger than my kids (elementary school to HS). He always kids me about being his oldest student (good natured, of course). Do I let any of that bother me? Hell no! I've learned so much. He's such an excellent individual, motivator, and instructor for me, I thank my good luck to have found him, every day. The $25/half hour I give him is worth every cent. I've learned so much, so fast. He's put me in a place where I love to play, love to practise, and look forward to lessons every week. I'm becoming so much more 'musical' in every way, I can't imagine not doing this now. I also think HE takes a special satisfaction in what he's been able to impart to me. It seems he really enjoys teaching a mature, sincere individual with a good music background, amongst the 'usual suspects'....
gregc