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contact
Seth Austen & Beverly Woods:
phone: (603) 569-2341
email Seth:
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where noted, all material and photos ©2000-2003 by Seth
Austen & Beverly Woods
Site designed and maintained
by Seth Austen & Beverly Woods
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HOW
TO FIND A MUSIC TEACHER AND TAKE LESSONS
Having taught thousands of music lessons and master classes to
hundreds of students over the past 25 years, I'd like to offer
some ideas both on finding the right music teacher and how to
get the most out of taking lessons with that teacher. I hope
to offer perspective not only as a teacher but also as a student.
In my own continual, never ending learning process, I have taken
occasional classes or one on one lessons from master players,
and learned greatly from this, both as a player and as a teacher.
All too often, a person just calls up the nearest local music
teacher, schedules a lesson in an empty slot, shows up with instrument
and check in hand, hoping to be magically transformed into a
great player. Sometimes one miraculously stumbles into the right
situation, but all too often, students are mismatched with a
teacher who doesn’t play the style that the student wishes
to learn, or are simply paired with an instructor whose teaching
methods don’t work with that students’ learning style.
Find out what kinds of music the prospective teacher plays, if
you want to play bluegrass, and they only play rock and roll,
or vice versa, neither person is going to have much fun in this
scenario. If you want to learn to play by ear, and they only
teach from written notation, you’re not going to develop
all the skills you desire. I think a good teacher can give you
what you want while at the same time giving you the things that
they know from experience that you might need.
There are as many teaching styles as teachers, but I believe
you can narrow it down to a few basic approaches. One, the master
player who has created their own inimitable style, and is able
to demonstrate to you how to play what they play, using only
their pieces and/or arrangements as examples; and two, the master
teacher who is looking at who you are as a player and seeing
what might be the necessary next step for you to realize your
own musical vision. One of these teaching styles is not better
than the other, either one can be a good experience depending
on your particular needs at the time. If you are particularly
interested in emulating the first type teachers' style, and there
can be good reasons for wanting to do this, by all means go with
them. If you are looking for where to go next in your own musical
expression, try to find the second type of teacher.
In the same way that we know (and trust) that a good psychologist,
doctor, lawyer, auto mechanic or any other professional can evaluate
a client, patient or car in the first few minutes as to what
the problem might be, and quickly come up with a treatment plan,
often in one visit, a good teacher can similarly evaluate where
the student is`with a few questions and seeing/hearing the student
play a few examples. With that information, it is possible to
quickly come up with an on the spot lesson plan to focus on that
students' needs.
When I've taken lessons from other teachers, I've spent some
time before hand thinking about what I was hoping to achieve
and would prepare myself for a master class style lesson by thinking
of a few questions or topics that I was interested in focusing
on. I’ve always found this approach helps me get a better
lesson. Of course, in the hands of a master teacher, I have had
the wonderful experience of asking a question, and they didn't
answer it, but instead masterfully answered some other question
that I didn't even know that I should have asked.
I had a klezmer violin lesson last year that beautifully illustrated
this point to me. I went wanting to learn what the right ornaments
were and how to do them properly, so as to sound more authentic
in my klezmer fiddling style. Instead, the teacher told us that
one should be able to play a klezmer tune without a single ornament,
and still be able to make it sound "Jewish". In interest
of giving us what we wanted, he also taught us the ornaments.
I went home and started working on playing the tunes in my repertoire
with no ornamentation, instead focusing on my phrasing and bowing,
and, sure enough, the teacher was correct. My playing made leaps
and bounds, and I sounded better than ever within just a couple
of weeks. Of course, subsequently I also spent considerable time
working on those ornaments. Incidently, I have applied this same
concept to other musical styles and instruments with great results.
Ultimately, the relationship we enter into with a teacher is
a reciprocal one. The more a student can communicate to the teacher
their goals and aspirations, the better the teacher can help
the student attain them. One cannot expect to simply show up
to a music lesson, write a check, and miraculously learn. Most
music teachers aren’t mind readers, no matter how gifted
a teacher they might be. Take a proactive approach, ask questions,
practice, and take responsibility for the directions your teacher
takes you. If you don’t feel well matched with the teacher
you have found, let them know. Perhaps with more information
they can better fill your needs. If they don’t feel they
can meet your needs, perhaps they can recommend someone more
suited to your musical aspirations and/or learning style. Ideally,
the right student/teacher relationship can last for many years,
and will be a wonderful and joyful experience for both participants
as the teacher patiently and expertly guides the student towards
their own unfolding musical vision.
My goal for all of my students is to provide them with the same
skills and knowledge that forms the foundation of my musical
expression. If I do my job well, and the student works hard to
learn and practice the materials, each of my students could excel
way beyond my own abilities and expectations. It gives me great
joy as a teacher to watch the process of someone realizing their
artistic vision, and I greatly anticipate hearing the wonderful
music my students create for many years to come.
© 2002 Seth Austen |
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