Getting the best out of a learning experience requires four basic understandings of how one learns how to learn.
- Don't bite of more than you can easily achieve, in other words take an easy gradient, getting to the top of a ladder is done in many steps not one giant leap. All great artists began with playing one note or chord !
- Make sure you don't go past a word you don't fully understand. As every subject has its own particular technology, music is no different, music has many words, symbols and concepts that must be fully understood. The moment you get confused or tired or want to give up it's because you have gone past a word, symbol or concept you didn't fully understand. A music dictionary is a valuable resource.
- Make sure you have a decent instrument, and one that is setup, regulated and in tune by a professional technician, the difference can make or break a student. It's even more important for the beginner. The beginner has no reference as to what is at fault, the instrument or student. Only through experience does one become knowledgeable as to what is a problem of the instrument and what is the problem of the player.
- Have fun, don't get to serious, keep the spirit of play high and enjoyable.
Get in touch with as many teachers as you feel the need to make your selection.
Some points to make a note of in selecting are
- Different teachers have different teaching techniques
- Can specialize in certain age groups
- Can use a particular set of tutorial books
- May prefer to teach particular styles of music such as Rock, Jazz, Country, Classical, Contemporary Etc
- The discerning parent should choose a private teacher not a school.
For those who live in a place where teachers are not accessible, or perhaps are a shift worker, an online teaching studio such as ArtistWorks would be the best option.
Regards
Russell Collins
PS Support your local music scene, it's were you live, work and play.
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