How do you know when it's time to find a new teacher?

Gburlesquegirl · #1 01-05-2005, 12:14 PM

I've been taking lessons from this teacher for about 5 months. I've never been all that impressed with his teaching style, but he was good enough for me to just get back to playing bass and remembering some of the basics. But when I show up to lessons, he asks me, "So is there anything you want to learn?" On the one hand is kind of cool, but I feel like he should be more in control saying, at the very least, "Here are some of the things you could work on. What are you interested in?" I suspect I should find a new teacher, but I just wanted to get some feedback.

golden_boy · #2 01-05-2005, 01:42 PM

that is exactly how i feel about my teacher - he is great and I really like having lessons with him because he has great taste in music, but first off, he plays gutiar mainly, and hasnt played bass for a good few years, and also, he doesnt tell me a thing to learn at all - all i do is go in and show him what i have learned and that is it, he never directs me to do things like a teacher should. But, he is the only bass / guitar teacher we have in our school (its a tiny school - only about 150 in it) so it would be hard to find another teacher close to us who I could go to. Anyway, Im off to uni next year, so hopefully I will be able to find a new teacher then

Suckbird · #3 01-05-2005, 01:59 PM

My teacher also says "What do you wanna play" and "what did we do last time" and his playing guitar, he can play a little bass but i dont feel like he's learning me anything so i'm going to quit, he says "i have this track blabla and this and this what do you wanna play" it's always somekind of boring classic blues/rock stuff i dont learn anything from and it ends he just write everything down on a paper and let me learn the song at home and nothing more,
he also learns the song wrong, he says "bring a cd and i tab it out" i took a "at the gates" and he was going to tab out "blinded by fear" he said the first part was like on "sweet dreams" by marlyn manson and that it was stolen, i have to laugh my ass off.
but the worst part is:
He's sick every second lesson so i can expect 2 lessons a month, it totally sucks!
if you want a teacher, get a teacher who can play bass or is playing bass.

brianrost · #4 01-05-2005, 02:17 PM

Every good teacher I've ever had NEVER asked me what I wanted to work on, they listened to me play a few things and then TOLD me what to work on. I.e. they had a PLAN that would take weeks, months or years to complete.

One guy was even cool enough to tell me he had taught me all he could (he was your typical music store teacher who taught anything with strings on it) and I should look for another teacher.

If your teacher has no plan (and neither do you....ha ha) it's time to move on.

Cacklingjackyl · #5 01-05-2005, 02:44 PM

Sounds to me like you might ought to try to find a better teacher. You should be able to sit at home and figure out songs by ear. Good teachers should be helping with theory, timing, technique, sight-reading, ear training, abd many other things. I know you can work on such things by figuring out songs, but a teacher should be bring more to the table than just teaching songs.

They should be able to assess your ability and help you build a plan for your future. They should take your interests into consideration, but in the end, a good teacher will show you how to get where you want to go. This means laying the foundation and giving you the mechanics necessary to become a good, well-rounded musician.

stephanie · #6 01-05-2005, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cacklingjackyl

Sounds to me like you might ought to try to find a better teacher. You should be able to sit at home and figure out songs by ear. Good teachers should be helping with theory, timing, technique, sight-reading, ear training, abd many other things. I know you can work on such things by figuring out songs, but a teacher should be bring more to the table than just teaching songs.

They should be able to assess your ability and help you build a plan for your future. They should take your interests into consideration, but in the end, a good teacher will show you how to get where you want to go. This means laying the foundation and giving you the mechanics necessary to become a good, well-rounded musician.

+1

And I also agree that a good teacher should have a lesson plan. I picture a scenario of a new young bass player going in for his first lesson, not even having a clue what he wants to learn (maybe not sure what is goals as a musician are yet), needing some guidance...and the teacher having no set lesson plan. What a waste of time and money.

My teacher sometimes asks me what I want to work on...but you know what? It's because the week before he may have given me more than one thing to work on. So it's my choice what I feel I need to work on more. But I'm never going into a lesson with nothing or feeling I'm not going to get anything out of it. I always leave with some new insight and an expectation of what the next lesson will contain (well, sometimes there are surprises).