Be Your Own Teacher

Quadruple C · Heavyweight Member Joined: 28 Nov 2001 Posts: 1448

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-24 14:59 ]

tcutrpt · Posted: Wed May 29, 2002 9:53 pm Post subject:

Great post David. In my two years of study in college, I can thank my professor the most for teaching me how to fix playing issues on my own. Without that, I would have had quite a few days filled of frustration and little if any progress. By learning how to fix response issues or articulation hold ups and being able to find ways to get them better on any given day is crucial and has helped me a ton. I am a lot more consistent now because I can get to a very similar level each day when i am done warming up. Just thought I'd add a few (hundred

) words of support.

matt

EBjazz · Posted: Wed May 29, 2002 10:16 pm Post subject:

I agree C4, but with some suggestions.
I studied with Claude as I'm sure you know and he was the king of discipline. I practiced 8 or more hours every day just to get to everything.
Being "my own teacher" is fine when I'm going good. But when I'm having trouble, I often go back to the lesson plans that Claude laid out for me and follow them to the letter.
I find that it's a lot of work and time but it gets my head back right.
Remember that we always must improve. Sometimes I, as my own teacher can be too easy on me. This can make me complacent and I think that is not good.
Trumpet teaching is about solving problems and increasing musical awareness. At the same time.

Eb
_________________
Eric Bolvin
http://bolvinmusic.com/product/the-modern-jazz-trumpet-method/
www.bolvinmusic.com

Emb_Enh · Veteran Member Joined: 29 Oct 2002 Posts: 455

Bobby Shew
(a student of no-one) observed...

"...to find out things I decided to buy books, Maggio, Gordon, Callet, etc. There are a lot of dangerous attitude among methods out there: "Do what I say". This is the egomania or "guru-syndromes".

Remember: "The best teacher is yourself."

You know earlier Ithough Maynard Ferguson was "inhumane", but because of Buddy Rich I had to learn how to do this.

One day I had the courage to ask Maynard behind the stage: "How do you do this". He showed me a book called "The science of breath". This was a yoga book not a trumpet book.

Later I asked Bud Brisbois to show me his system. It was very opposite of the normal stuff, like lift your shoulders, etc. I went home and tried it.

I played from the back of the Clarke book, the glissando exercise, a gliss from E to high E. Suddenly I went above that high E and ended on a big fat high A. This was my first high A.

With this new system I also got up to double C.....

Facts versus opinions: I have done more than 25 years of research in this field now. I have read a lot of medical books, etc. There are a lot of opinions about breathing and misconception like breathe from the diaphragm etc.

I needed to know and a doctor showed me some facts. I have been talking to a lot of people. Several of my students are in medicine, physics etc. I always ask my students questions.

Some points:
High notes = fast air, not lot of air.
Avoid over - blowing.
Back off = access to upper register.
Relax = wrong word, efficiency - good word

....clever thinker / player / enabler / fascilitator Bobby Shew!

whole article here....

http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/ntf/nr2-99/Clinic.html
_________________
Yours Roddy o-iii<O
www.R-o-d-d-y-T-r-u-m-p-e-t.cC

[ This Message was edited by: Roddyo-iii<O on 2002-05-31 05:40 ]

Lex Grantham · Posted: Thu May 30, 2002 9:59 am Post subject:

As a doctoral student some years ago, I had a professor in a course about the improvement of college teaching. He presented a number of premises for discussion by the class attendees, and the one that has stuck in my mind for about 30+ years is:

"A student is better off when he has charge of his/her own education."

But that would require that the student be able to make MANY wise decisions with regard to where he/she has already been, where he/she currently is in the development stage of learning, and where he/she plans (wants) to be in the future.

Sincerely,

Lex Grantham

Quadruple C · Heavyweight Member Joined: 28 Nov 2001 Posts: 1448

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-24 14:59 ]

RJ · Veteran Member Joined: 27 Nov 2001 Posts: 121

Yeah, this is exactly what I'm working with now. After being out of school now for a few years I realized that instead of continueing to improve I've been kind of just floating around. Not really getting any worse but not taking that point I was at right out of school and building on it.

So I decided to make some changes in my way of life and dealing with stuff. I decided to make my own private music program, I found some trumpet studio outlines from a few universities and sat down and seriously charted out a 4 year course of study for my own private "school".

I found a new private teacher that I really like and I'm even taking compositions lessons once a month, AND (this is a big one) all those hand outs from ear training class I started but never really did- just crammed for the test, (who had time to study? I was to busy practicing)

I'm actually sight singing from them everyday and going through some theory stuff.
I'm even schedualing recitals for myself at the end of each "year" to give myself some real goals to come up to.

And I think at the end of the 4 years I'm going to go for it and try out for some symphonies and some armed forces bands, just the experiences would be great, even if I didn't get a job from it.

And the best thing about all of this is it's all geared towards really understanding myself and learning what truly works best for the way I play. I really want a higher understanding of all this- and I have to say a lot of it has come from all the great ideas and dialoge on this forum, it's awesome.

well, once again, when I get started I can't stop. what can I say, trumpet can be really exciting when you have the right mindset.
later,
RJ

[ This Message was edited by: RJ on 2002-05-31 02:40 ]

NCTrumpet · Veteran Member Joined: 03 Jan 2002 Posts: 113

"The role of any good teacher is to become obsolete."

_Don Herman · Posted: Fri May 31, 2002 8:55 pm Post subject:

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own" - Benjamin Disraeli
_________________
Don Herman/Monument, CO
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music." - Aldous Huxley

Hillbilly · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2002 5:38 pm Post subject:

NCTrumpet · Veteran Member Joined: 03 Jan 2002 Posts: 113

Hillbilly was correct, but only in a small sense of what I meant. No, one doesn't have to take from the same teacher for years and years.

However, I am still learning from my first teacher and I haven't seen him in 13 years. I've probably learned more since I stopped taking lessons with him than I did in the previous five years. A good lesson is a lesson for life. Sometimes it takes a while for it to sink in.

My statement is that a good teacher should not teach a student "what" to learn, but "how" to learn, meaning: a student should eventually be able to teach himself.

I sometimes say to my students, "You're going to be stranded on an island one day and a box with a trumpet and a pile of music in it will wash ashore. What are you going to do?" My message it to them: be self sufficient and independent.

JC.

PH · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 11:05 am Post subject:

The root of the word "educate" is "educe". Educe means to draw out. Western education seems to only focus on "pouring in" and then retrieving.

Hillbilly · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 7:11 pm Post subject:

Yep NC I hear what yer sayin. I have a real simple way of looking at things and I think I'd be a bit less than happy if I had the same teacher for 13 or so years and hadn't learned enough to move on down the road a ways. The fella can only show you so much then it's up to you to put it to use. If ya don't put it to use I'd think you are kinda like a mule I once had, couldn't think for himself and it took a beatin to get him to do anything worthwhile.

Hill Billy

walter · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 7:14 pm Post subject:

[ This Message was edited by: walter on 2002-09-20 08:38 ]

Nicholas Dyson · Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2002 2:27 pm Post subject:

A lot of great thinking going on in here! First, thank you all for sharing your insights. I would like to briefly (we'll see!) expand on our North Carolinian friends thought: ...great teacher makes themselves obsolete...

I agree whole heartedly.

The best teachers, in my experience have taught me to teach myself. So, that puts you both in the teacher AND teachee seat. This can be a great thing... often times different schools of thought are nothing more than different ways to explain the same idea. The reason those different explainations exist is because different people learn different ways. So, learning to teach yourself you hold the key, because IF YOU'RE HONEST WITH YOURSELF you can learn concepts on your own much easier because you understand your learning style, your goals, your drawbacks... again, if you're honest with yourself.

The other thing is, great teachers know when to ask questions, seek advice, compare notes, shut up and practice. So, maybe we can rid ourselves of a lot of the mudslinging by prefacing each post with:

I have a student who.........

If you are your own best teacher (and you are!) then, you DO have a student. Compare notes as an educator with other people (educators).
_________________
Nicholas Dyson
Ottawa, Canada