Lesson Report ..

[jasperguitar]

I took my second lesson. Very frustrating, for sure.

I brought along my book, the book I found in the cellar.
First up, I show off my warm up routine, which I got off
of you tube. Then? A scale or two in the first position.

I played some of the music in the old book, the teacher
told me I was doing great, and the next student came
along.

Maybe I'm old school, I would rather have the
teacher assign a lesson. Then, after a week of
work on the lesson, I play the lesson, a new lesson
is assigned, followed by another week of work.

The knowledge progression.

I have two more lessons, prepaid. I don't expect to get much
from either one. I will keep at the old book, as it does push
me along. I also have a newer book; the Hal Leonard Guitar
Method. This book even has CD's. Ha Ha Ha .. Play along with
Hal.

The two books are very different, as they were written many years
apart. My old book has the old cellar smell, a few coffee stains,
a tear here and there. The instructions are written in a matter of
fact style. The theme is; sit down, play. The cover photo is black
and white, the man playing the guitar looks like an insurance salesman.
He has on a thin tie, about all that is missing is the Lucky Strike.

The new book with cd's? Like getting in the new car at the dealership.
Bright colors. Happy instructions. The theme is; wow, you want to
play guitar, wow,, .. good for you... you can do it .. just
have fun... look at these photos ...

I like the old book more.

Remember when you had that old bat as a teacher? She was ancient,
smelled like a rug, wore the same dress every Wednesday? You
hated her until about ten years later, then you realized how much
you learned.

Guitar books today with the color photos, the cd's, the web page,
are nice, but you would never think of ripping out a page of the
Hal Leonard book. I just tore a page from the old book,
and now I use it as a book mark, that is the sign of a true learning tool.

I could go on, but the man in the black and white photo with the
thin tie, white shirt, nicotine fingers, is beckoning me, prodding me,
calling out .. play .. play .. play .. He also sells the encyclopedia
Britannica, and long play records of the world's greatest music.

I like this guy more and more every time a play.

[TJE]

I don't think I'd be happy in your situation either. I've learned the guitar both ways, self taught and with a teacher. It took me three tries to find a really good teacher. The info he has given me is unreal, somethings I still hadn't come across on my own after twenty years. My point is a good teacher is nice but there are very few good teachers. IMHO

Good luck, TJE

[rhancox]

It sounds like you know more about what you're doing than that teacher.

I just read your other lesson thread. Here's a little off-topic (sort of) take:

I coach youth basketball at the local Y. We only get one hour of practice a week and we only play 8 games. We get a Saturday as our first get-together/practice and then once a week after that.

The first thing I do, when calling the parents to introduce myself and let them know the practice schedule, is to ask them about their child and how much they've played before. I even ask them how big their son/daughter is.

When I get to the first practice, I do simple drills with/without the basketball to assess their abilities and agilities. I then tailor the rest of my practices on what I learned from my players.

You teacher, whether it's his fault or yours, doesn't know enough about you to know where to start. Until he does, it appears to be a waste of both y'all's time.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with teaching yourself, especially given your background. You seem to have the gumption. Just don't get discouraged or be too much in a hurry.

[mr. beaumont]

I just posted something like this in another thread.

Have you told your teacher what your goals are?

[jasperguitar]

Beaumont .. My goals?

Not really. I'm at the beginning of my
guitar journey. At this point of learning,
I am concentrating of the foundation.

Scales, chords, rhythm. Etc.. s's..

I am not interested in only one type of music.
I like pop, folk, whatever. Therefore, I feel I
should just get a good foundation, and go from
there.

My teacher is a very good man. He seems interested
in my development. But.. a 1/2 hour lesson? I just
don't get enough from that.

I was hoping for handouts, printouts, music, something
to take home and practice.

But.. .. didn't get a thing.

I will continue on, practice from my old cellar book,
take my next two lessons, and move on to whatever.

I have posted a note on a social network site..
maybe I can find a practice partner there.

[mr. beaumont]

It helps the teacher set context. Gives you something to reach for--the carrot on the stick.

I can teach you 10 open chords, or I can teach you 10 open chords using two of your favorite songs.

Which would keep you more interested, therefore, more likely to practice?

You can get plenty from a half hour lesson. But you have to know what to give.

You gotta have goals. "to play the guitar" is not a goal--that's gonna happen through your goals.

Sit down with a pen and paper...

here's some example goals:

"I want to fingerpick blackbird"

"I want to be able to hear a song on the radio and figure out the chords"

"I want to be able to play a melody line while a friend plays chords"

" i want to write my own music"

These are long term goals--something that might take a year or more to get to. But if you were my student, it's what I'd ask for. Then I could structure your lessons around what you WANT. You'd still get all the information a book would give you, but I could rank things in terms of urgency and importance. It's context--every learner is different, and that's the beautiful thing about private lessons--they're private--the lesson plan can be catered directly to the student. There's no map I have to follow from point A to point B--rather, rather, think that I have the layout to a theme park in my hands--we're gonna go on all the rides--but there's some ones we want to hit first, and others that can wait.

[Badfrog]

Originally Posted by jasperguitar

Beaumont .. My goals?

Not really. I'm at the beginning of my
guitar journey. At this point of learning,
I am concentrating of the foundation.

Scales, chords, rhythm. Etc.. s's..

I am not interested in only one type of music.
I like pop, folk, whatever. Therefore, I feel I
should just get a good foundation, and go from
there.

My teacher is a very good man. He seems interested
in my development. But.. a 1/2 hour lesson? I just
don't get enough from that.

I was hoping for handouts, printouts, music, something
to take home and practice.

But.. .. didn't get a thing.

I will continue on, practice from my old cellar book,
take my next two lessons, and move on to whatever.

I have posted a note on a social network site..
maybe I can find a practice partner there.

Man, sometimes it's hard to help someone by trying to type messages on the internet. What exactly does your old book have you doing? Do you understand how the major and minor scale works? Do you have a metronome?

Honestly, my first teacher had me work out of an old book. He didn't teach me much, just a few small pointers from time to time. The book and myself did the rest. So long as you are working out of a book or something with a guideline and are working as much as possible each day, then that's good enough. Just keep reading and learning as much as you can. Pop in here and ask specific questions from time to time and folks can help quite a bit.

[naccoachbob]

Just based on what you've said, I'd ask for my money back. It doesn't sound like he's giving you anything. Like he's just listening to what you picked up elsewhere and applauding your efforts.
Heck my wife can do that. And I'd rather pay her.
If he's not going to lead you, he's not doing the job he's paid for.
My 2 cents worth.
Better luck finding someone else.
Bob

[jasperguitar]

Badfrog.. I have an old book, but it is a good one. I'm plugging along,
playing tunes in different keys. A few scales. I'm just getting started
so I'm not in a big hurry. I have a basic understanding of music, I can
read music, and although I am rusty, I've been doing some music theory
reading...

Tomorrow I'm planing on moving up the fret board some.

Little each day.

I also own a brand new Hal Leonard book, but I'm saving it .. once I finish
up with my old cellar book, I will go through the Hal book.

[walternewton]

Sounds like he's not the right teacher for you. Since you've got a couple more lessons coming up, maybe try to come up with a list of specific questions you can ask, things you'd like him to demonstrate, etc. to at least try to get something out of them.

[Doug Young]

Have you considered talking to this teacher and discussing what you're looking for? Might be more helpful than telling people on the internet. If I had a student show up with a book in hand, offering to play me stuff from it, I'd expect that's what he wanted, offer some feedback, and assume that was useful. If you come and say "please assign me something", I'd ask what you liked to play, figure out what your level was and find something to offer as an assignment. The benefit of private lessons is you get to ask for what you want. If you don't ask, it's unlikely the teacher will read your mind and give it to you.

Originally Posted by walternewton

Sounds like he's not the right teacher for you. Since you've got a couple more lessons coming up, maybe try to come up with a list of specific questions you can ask, things you'd like him to demonstrate, etc. to at least try to get something out of them.

We made a point of this in the first thread. There were also a lot of great responses and helpful tips, in the first thread...


I still don't think this is true:

Originally Posted by 55hz

First of all, lessons paid for in blocks of four (sometimes five, if there are five weeks in the month...) is a fairly common practice. It's common enough, anyway, that it shouldn't raise any "flags".

Sorry 55hz, from my perspective, I do NOT have money to throw away. Where do you see this, and WHY is this common? From my experience, it is a smart thing to do AFTER you feel comfortable with the instructor. I absolutely refuse (even if it is expected) to commit to an instructor until I've had one, two lessons (really, as many lessons as it takes) to determine that he/she is the right instructor for me.

And, from my own personal experiences, good instructors are completely comfortable with the idea that you may not be sure if the (instructor-student) pairing is a good fit or not. They know -- If you like them, if they are really good (in the sense that they can potentially teach you so much), and they can give you what you seek... You'll come back!




I'm not sure why you're sticking with this instructor, if you aren't happy. I'll be frank -- You weren't happy with your first lesson, I had a strong feeling you wouldn't be happy with your second. Do you just feel like you're going to waste money? That's part of life! You make mistakes! It doesn't mean you have to ride out your last 2 lessons, and continue to be miserable...

From my POV, it was a mistake to pay for a bundle of 4 lessons, without being sure that this teacher is perfect for you.

I think you're wasting your time, if you are going to attend any more lessons. A lot of guys keep pushing the fact that you should telling your instructor your "goals", basically getting on the same level with your instructor.

What good will that do? Will his teaching approach change overnight? Will he suddenly become an amazing teacher for the 3rd & 4th lesson? -- I don't think so. I think this is the way he's taught for years and years. I think, wholeheartedly, you are searching for something else.


So.. Go out there! Search for someone else! Finding a teacher isn't (usually) a first try thing, the search is difficult, but well worth it...

Sorry to be harsh, this is how I feel. I assume that when you posted the tread (asking for advice?) this is the type of input you are looking for.

Beyond that, I noticed a lot of other people giving you really good input. But are you actually listening?

Originally Posted by jasperguitar

Beaumont .. My goals?

Not really. I'm at the beginning of my
guitar journey. At this point of learning,
I am concentrating of the foundation.


I am not interested in only one type of music.
I like pop, folk, whatever. Therefore, I feel I
should just get a good foundation, and go from
there.

My teacher is a very good man. He seems interested
in my development. But.. a 1/2 hour lesson? I just
don't get enough from that.

I was hoping for handouts, printouts, music, something
to take home and practice.

But.. .. didn't get a thing.

If you don't know your goals, even if they are very simple... How can someone else (an instructor) decide your goals for you? Maybe you should think on that...

Even short-term goals? You seem to be searching for that "good foundation", can you share why?

Maybe you want to get your basics really good -- so that you can play complex pieces! Maybe you really, really like Tommy Emmanuel and, you would like to be proficient enough to play his songs!

What i'm trying to say is... if you don't know, who does? You know better than anyone else what you want, and what musical improvements would make you happiest...



About the 1/2 hour lesson... We keep sayin', It's plenty man! It's not about how long your lesson is, it's what you make of it! I also feel very strongly of this, if you are paying for the lesson, you should have the ability to spend it however you like.

For my vocal lessons, we've worked out a good system. For example, we don't waste time at the beginning of every 30-minute lesson warming up (I warm up at home, instead). Every few weeks though, my vocal coach likes to hear my warm-ups just to gauge my improvement from practice at home. We work together, efficiently, to try to make the most of 30 minutes. But honestly -- She's told me many times, it's MY lesson, I can do whatever I want in that 30 minutes!

If I come into my lesson extremely prepared, I get lots of feedback, I can practice in my room all day and night, man!

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by osweetmelody

I absolutely refuse (even if it is expected) to commit to an instructor until I've had one, two lessons (really, as many lessons as it takes) to determine that he/she is the right instructor for me.

And, as an instructor, I ask that you give me a month to figure out if I am right for you.

I let my students pay for the first lesson outright, with no strings/commitment. If they come back for a second, I ask them to pay for the month. Helps secure my income (albeit supplemental income, I have a day job) in case the student "flakes out." I don't think it's out of bounds--you pay for a semester in school whether you go to class or not, right? I'm not even asking for that long of a commitment.

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

And, as an instructor, I ask that you give me a month to figure out if I am right for you.

I let my students pay for the first lesson outright, with no strings/commitment. If they come back for a second, I ask them to pay for the month. Helps secure my income (albeit supplemental income, I have a day job) in case the student "flakes out." I don't think it's out of bounds--you pay for a semester in school whether you go to class or not, right? I'm not even asking for that long of a commitment.

Lesson packages tend to be cheaper, but... I've never been in a situation where I couldn't purchase just a single lesson (even if it is slightly more expensive)

mr. beaumont, I understand what you are saying, and I mean no disrespect. Teaching is a tough business, and students flake out too often, so I completely understand your point of view.