Quote:
Originally Posted by jschmitz54
Thanks Spock,
You offer some good insights. I’m 66, been playing for about three years and I’d like to play well. It’s hard to know what I want to know when I don’t know about it. If that makes any sense at all.
I do understand what you’re saying though.
I guess I’d like to play things I’m familiar with to begin so that probably means rock, folk and 1960s and 1970s. I’ve also been drawn to blues.
As far as theory I would like to understand why music works the way it does and how to improvise.
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I understand what you're going through because I went through the same thing.
I agree with what everyone says. First, define your goals, then find something specific you want to learn. I think this is the most important thing. I wasted a lot of time instructor hopping because of this.
I would go bigger picture and ask them what I should expect after X amount of lessons, and what subjects will be touched upon. I might even ask what the student success rate might have been, how long the instructor has been doing this and state all your concerns and see how he/she responds. Also don't forget to ask if there's any commitment involved and what happens if you're not satisfied.
Knowledge and knowledge applied are different. The latter will take much longer, but I think this is where the fun really begins.
When all the lessons are done, I think a good teacher should be able to leave you ready to refine the skills learnt and add in your own ideas on the subject matter on your own. You should also be able to do independent learning by yourself without getting lost moving forward.