| As a student I'll tell you what a student wants.
1. Friendly . I've had teachers who's personality just made me walk away. I'd always say "Forget that, I'm paying for these lessons, why the heck should I feel uncomfortable.
2. Skills. I hate showing up to a new teachers house to find out that the guy isn't any better than me. It's sad but its happened.
3. Knowledge. If I ask my teacher a question, I want to be able to get an answer. I should be able to ask any question about basses, theory, setups, technique, etc and they should be able to answer.
4. Teaching skills. I've had teachers where they were great players with no teaching skills. It was pretty much them telling me "Here learn this" or "Figure this out"
5. Fun. I want to have fun at my lessons. I don't want to go to a dull little room and be told to play something. I know that theory may sometimes get boring but you should have something else that the student can do to relax and enjoy playing. (EX) If you've just taught something is theory, think up an exercise that use what the student just learned and make it fun for them.
6. Homework. Your definitely going to want give homework to your student. Whether they do it or not is his choice, its his money either way and you get paid either way. To encourage them to do their homework, give them something fun.
7. Listener. Listen to what the students have to say. It is them who are paying for the lesson. Listen to what they want to do with they're bass playing and their goals.
8. Teacher. I don't want a friend when I go to lessons. Sure I may stick with the guy and become friends but I dont want to go to a room and just sit around talking for an hour and paying for it. I want someone whos going to help me achieve new levels of playing so I become a better player.
9. Patience. Sometimes it takes a student a little while longer to learn something. Just use a little patience and give them time to learn. If they're serious about playing, they'll be practicing till they're fingers get raw, if not, who cares. You still get paid so its win win situation.
10. Students learns what they want. I want to learn what I want to learn. Not what you want to learn. I wanted to learn how to become a better player so my teacher taught me to read, theory, and all that good stuff. It wasn't the most fun experience but it paid off in the end. Don't try to mold your student into a mini version of you. I hate it when teachers try to do that.
Of those of you who took lessons from a bassist, what did they do right?
-They taught me bass and not a 4 string version of guitar.
How did you measure your progress?
-To measure my progress I just though, am I a better player than when I started
Did you jam/improvise with them - if so, did they play bass or guitar?
-I've jammed with previous teachers. We'd both normally play bass and one of us would play a bass line while the other showed off some chops. I always loved watching my teachers just go off.
I hope this helps and good luck with the teaching.
*PS* Kiwi Kid, I hope you were joking because that kind of scares me. You'd definitely wipe a grin off my face.
Last edited by JonTheBassGuy : 07-01-2005 at 03:00 AM.
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