Music teachers?

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Darowyn
Date: 03 Apr 09 - 11:22 AM

Until my retirement in September last, I was a lecturer in Music Production in an FE College, though I only taught the Higher Education (over 18) students.
That involved that peculiar crossover between the creative musical skills and knowledge, and the thorough understanding of all the techie things you need to create, perform and record music in the 21st century.
So was I a music teacher- am I even a musician?
I have no idea!
I studied languages at A level, stats at University, and spent a large part of my life teaching either Music or Motorbike engineering- both of which I have been learning about for my entire life.
Cheers
Dave

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Mooh
Date: 03 Apr 09 - 10:54 AM

Will...Yeah, all's well, and you? I do see you around the net so I trust you're well.

We're planning the second Greenfield (Nova Scotia) Music Boot Camp for this July. It's a kids day program with guitar, bass, keys, drums, voice, recording (Garage Band) and whatever else comes up. Last year we had 20 or so kids and anticipate more this year. We may add a staff member too, as last year it was just my buddy Brad and myself doing music and my wife doing crafts. It's a wonderful community we like to support and visit...a nice break from Ontario.

I have done other summer music camps and schools, but there's not a lot of time as I continue my own studio lessons through half the summer and take the rest off. Not much point in being self-employed if I don't get vacation.

Music instruction is my only job besides a little gigging, and I often wonder what would have become of me if my parents hadn't been so wise as to encourage music in me. It's the best job in the world.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Will Fly
Date: 03 Apr 09 - 08:59 AM

Hi Mooh - good to hear from you - how's it going? Hope all is well with you.

Will

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Mooh
Date: 03 Apr 09 - 08:52 AM

I teach private lessons for guitar, electric bass, mandolin, banjo and ukulele (in that order of popularity) full-time from my little home studio. The odd student gets some voice or other instrument training though I don't profess to be as skilled with those. My usual annual enrollment is between 55 and 62 (62 currently) persons in a mix of half and full hour lessons, with a few who do longer lessons as required. I am the only instructor in my business but my bride does most of the booking and office stuff and one of my kids is paid to do various chores.

In summer I will do a camp or two.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Will Fly
Date: 03 Apr 09 - 06:49 AM

I used to teach in person but now I do what I call "demonstration" pieces on guitar on YouTube which are aimed at the novice to middling player. In "demonstration" mode I'm playing tunes which can be quite challenging but I'm playing them (I hope) in such a way as to tempt the player to have a go at it - and I also provide free music, tab and chords to these pieces on my website.

Some stuff is more obviously "instructional", where I use combinations of live playing, moving chord and note diagrams, and sometimes stop-motion to show how the piece can played. What is gratifying is the number of people who've either commented or emailed me to say that watching the videos has inspired them to pick up the guitar and have a go. I can't ask more than that.

You can see something of what I do at Picking A Country Blues In E and Georgia On My Mind.

It's simple stuff but can be quite effective.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Bruce MacNeill
Date: 03 Apr 09 - 06:27 AM

Yes, Eve, teaching is a great learning experience. I don't know how many times, while teaching computer repair back when the things were the sise of a house, I'd be explaining some circuit and suddenly discover that what I'd been taught was wrong and I finally understood how it really worked.

One of my students, the older of the two, is very inquisitive as to why the lower strings are wound (basic physics) and how things work. I have to tell her that we'll get to that later in the book but first she has to learn how to make a clear sound. The younger one is the classical student and I'm still trying to get her to position her right hand so that she plucks across the strings rather than pulling up on them. Meanwhile, they both are still just learning where the notes below the 5th fret are. They were both resisting putting their thumbs behind the neck so I jumped a few pages ahead and showed them the C chord, which they can only make by putting their thumbs down where they belong and told them to practice that for a few minutes in their spare time. Then they at least knew a reason why they need to do it right. I think it's important to give students a reason to do all the basics rather than just because that's what's on page such and such.

I also think they need a goal. After looking through song books we've arrived at "Hotel California" and "Study in Bm" by Sor since they're basically the same song ( same chords anyway )so both girls have the same goal, in their own terms and can compete to see who gets there first. It's going to be awhile.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 03 Apr 09 - 12:03 AM

I couldn't call myself a teacher, but recently I volunteered to show the local harp chapter what I know about MIDI, computers and music. We had a great session. They didn't move for two hours!

It was gratifying.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Don Firth
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 10:00 PM

I first got interested in folk music around 1952 or so, and took my first folk guitar lessons from Walt Robertson. Then, in 1955, I started taking classic guitar lessons. A couple of friends asked me to help them get started on the guitar, and within a couple of years, I was giving guitar lessons a couple of afternoons and evenings a week.

In 1959, I met Barry Olivier in Berkeley. I had heard that he was teaching ten week courses in folk guitar to groups of ten students per class. I was doubtful that this could really be done, but Barry invited me to sit in on a couple of classes, and I was downright amazed. At the end of the first evening, he sent his pupils home able to play two chords and sing two songs, one in 2/4 and the other in 3/4. In subsequent classes, he added chords, added songs, right hand techniques and such. Barry generously gave me some of his teaching materials, a whole course syllabus actually, and spent time explaining to me how he went about it.

When I returned to Seattle, I began teaching folk guitar classes (groups of ten or twelve) at the University of Washington student YM/YWCA. Shortly afterwards I was asked to teach the same classes at the downtown YWCA, and at the Kirkland Creative Arts League. Busy time. I taught classes three evenings a week, took private pupils in folk and beginning classic guitar during the days, and sang a regular gig on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, along with out-of-town concerts and such.

My class teaching improved considerably after I attended a workshop conducted by Bess Lomax Hawes at the 1964 Berkeley Folk Festival. She was teaching groups of up to 60 in Los Angeles and had been doing so for years.

It tickled me pink when some of my students started performing at coffeehouses and other places.

How can I help?

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: gnu
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 08:59 PM

Yup. Sometimes, it's best to just teach the good ones very little.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Mark Ross
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 08:54 PM

I've been teaching, guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, harmonica, and autoharp. The hardest part is coming up with steady students,
Especially in these rough economic times.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Eve Goldberg
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 08:15 PM

Hey all,

Thanks for chiming in! I'm looking forward to hearing from more Mudcatters over the next little while.

Bruce, I didn't have any particular question I wanted answered or problem to solve, I was more interested in hearing people's perspectives on teaching and I was hoping we might be able to carry on a conversation about what teaching means for us, how we approach it, what we like about it/don't like about it, things we've discovered that might be of interest to others.

I was a student of Rick Fielding's, and it was Rick who first told me he thought I'd be a good teacher. At the time, I probably wasn't quite ready. I tried for a while, but I wasn't able to get things going sustainably, so I went back to "normal" jobs for a while, and continued working on my music and getting better as a performer.

Along the way I became one of the organizers of The Woods Music and Dance camp, a week-long folk music retreat for adults. It was always a struggle for us in programming to "cover" beginning guitar, so I started teaching the beginning guitar class. I've now done that for at least 14 years, and I love it!

That eventually led to really starting to teach in earnest about five years ago, and I haven't looked back. Over time I've developed something of a "curriculum" but I don't end up following it very closely most of the time, unless I'm teaching a class or a workshop. I've got about 10 - 15 private students a week, give or take, and I enjoy each of them for different reasons.

I find I learn a lot from my students, because I find it's only when I have to break something down and explain it to someone else that I really begin to understand it fully myself.

I love teaching beginners, and I like demystifying music-making. I'm always proud when I see my students improve, and I'm always in awe of their bravery and enthusiasm.

Those are a few of the things I love about teaching.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Acorn4
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 06:28 PM

I retired from Primary Teaching three years ago, and teach a few guitar lessons - I would have never have got to know about Greenday, McFly, Kaiser Chiefs without pupils asking me the chord the songs.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Sorcha
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 06:15 PM

Guest dear, you failed to 1) leave a name, 2) leave a place of residence....so no one can help you yet.....and you may get 'deleted' soon.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Jane of 'ull
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 06:15 PM

That was me in the last post, I didnt log in. I'm in Hull.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 06:12 PM

I'm not a teacher but I'd like one, to help with my fiddle playing. Actually, not so much a teacher as a mentor really, and someone to inspire me so I will practise! I want someone who is open to many different styles as I like playing all sorts of stuff.

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 05:50 PM

Last June I left full-time elementary music teaching and slowed down to a more-or-less-sane pace of living. I still direct a 50-voice women's chorus, which uses all of my teaching skills, and more recently have begun teaching private voice lessons.
And today my DH and I delivered our application to our local state council on the arts, in hopes of getting on their artists' roster for 2010, so we can go into the schools and teach that way. We don't need the arts council to do that, but it's one way to get good PR!

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Rowan
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 05:49 PM

I've always believed that if you know how to do something that is not commonly known, you have an obligation to teach it to someone else.

Ditto! Which is why I've been a teacher/instructor/wally upfront/smallvoice downtheback for five decades by now, but can teach music only by example. Which works often.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Music teachers?
From: Bruce MacNeill
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 05:19 PM

Eve, I'm sure there are many Mudcatters who teach. They mention it from time to time.

I taught beginner guitar at a music studio when I was a teenager, which was way back in the past century, and I'm trying again. A friend, with no money, has 2 teenaged daughters who wanted to learn to play and I said I'd teach them. For me it's a way of finding out if I can do it without taking money for something I may not be able to do and for them it will at worst be a free start. We're only a couple of months into the process but the girls are practicing and getting better week by week. One wants to learn pop/rock while the other wants to learn classical. I don't do much pop/rock but I do play classical and jazz. At this point it's all the same anyway, music theory, how a guitar works, where the notes are and either flatpick or fingerpicking. I'm using Mel Bay books.

I've always believed that if you know how to do something that is not commonly known, you have an obligation to teach it to someone else. I've taught other subjects back in my real career as a computer geek (retired).

If you've been at this for awhile, you may be more help to me than I'd be to you but you can always ask a question and if I happen to have an answer it's yours, for free. Was there anythng specific that caused you to open this thread?

Subject: Music teachers?
From: Eve Goldberg
Date: 02 Apr 09 - 04:40 PM

How many other Mudcatters teach music?

I teach guitar lessons, songwriting, and sometimes voice to adults. Mostly private lessons, but I also do workshops and classes. It's become a major part of my income and my working life. And I love it!

I'd be interested in hearing from others who teach, and maybe exchanging information and tips now and then...