Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 214 Location: Hong Kong
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2005 4:25 am Post subject:
Yeah, I agree re one of the best or worst jobs... I used to teach 6 days a week for about 5 years. Had some real gem students that went on to carve out a living in music. After a while I really got sick and tired of kids asking me to teach them Eruption before they even know there basic scales first.
They would get a shock when I recommend them to go through all three books in the Berklee Guitar Method series!!! If the students were into Steve Vai, I would explain to them that Steve went to Berklee and would have studied these books... I would always break the lesson up so they could learn a mix of theory and technique as well as some of their favourite licks - trying to show them how it all fit together... I think that is the best approach for teaching.
"When The Student Is Ready, The Teacher Appears." - Zen Proverb
. _________________ "My day job feeds my family, my night gig feeds my ego!"
I've had a few students over the years that want short cuts etc. In the main though, I find that if you give examples on how different aproaches will sound, it gets their interest.
I've recently had an 11 year old boy who's only interest is in Green Day and Billy Joe Armstrong. I've tried every way I can to get him interested in the mechanics of the instrument, to learn about chords, scales etc, but to no avail. Every week its the same, "I want to learn this green day track today".
Its when you get the students that want to learn, that wnat to push themselves, that actually make you go back and refresh on stuff to keep on top of your game that it makes the job worth it. Some days it sucks, but having worked in a pipe factory that almost killed me for 14 years up until I left in 1999, I wouldn't do anything else. _________________ Dont practice till you get it right, practice till you never get it wrong.
I've recently had an 11 year old boy who's only interest is in Green Day and Billy Joe Armstrong. I've tried every way I can to get him interested in the mechanics of the instrument, to learn about chords, scales etc, but to no avail. Every week its the same, "I want to learn this green day track today".
In this situation I would try getting the kid to learn through the Green Day tracks. Analyse them as you learn them and get him to understand what chords and scales they are using (in the guitar and the vocals).
Theory is only of use in application to music, so he can learn the theory that is applicable now, and then maybe in the future he will open up to learning more.
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