Need a reality check (my lessons)

Oldie but noobe · #1 12-18-2006, 07:41 PM

I have been noodling around about a year now. I just started taking lessons maybe three months ago.

My teacher is a great guy with lots of students. He is part of a popular local band.

I have been moving along well , But, I keep getting this there is something is wrong with this picture feeling. I don't know if it is my expectations are off or maybe somethings not right.

He jumps around quite a bit for instance he gives me stuff to work on each week, but rarely checks what he gave me the previous lesson. I will walk in and he will have other students there who are way ahead of me and have us jam. I will be like trying to keep up and learn the song under the gun.
He will transcribe a song and give it to me and say go have fun with that. I asked about my mechanics and he got defensive saying don't worry they will just get better on there own.

I have had some fun and been making progress but it feels weird. Like I said I need a reality check. Maybe being 57 is just making me look for more structure.

Thanks

pretaanluxis · #2 12-18-2006, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldie but noobe

I asked about my mechanics and he got defensive saying don't worry they will just get better on there own.

That would worry me too

scottice · #3 12-18-2006, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldie but noobe

I have had some fun and been making progress but it feels weird. Like I said I need a reality check. Maybe being 57 is just making me look for more structure.

I would ask for more structure. How can he know how you are progressing if he cannot gauge it by previous sessions? And how can you know you are progressing if he does not accurately critique your playing?

Jamming with those better than you can indeed help... but if you are paying HIM for HIS time then get the time you pay for. You can always jam with some friends.

This is just my 2 cents... and I'm only a beginner... but the few lessons I've had have been one-on-one and I felt like I was getting all of his time and he was actually watching and listening to my playing and stupid questions. I'd say find another teacher... but go with your gut feeling. Maybe talk to him honestly about your concerns?

stephanie · #4 12-18-2006, 11:40 PM

It's good that he has you jamming with others but, like was mentioned, this is your time that you're paying for and I just don't feel that the whole lesson time should be spent jamming.

And instead of him transcribing a song for you, you should be the one doing the transcribing, with him teaching you the mechanics for doing so...such as ear-training and theory.

MarkTAW · #5 12-19-2006, 12:59 AM

It took me a while to find a teacher I liked, and when I did, he wasn't a bass teacher! I've had two teachers in my life.

A blues guitarist who happens to live nearby who I met in a local guitar store. We struck up a conversation & I asked if he gave lessons. He didn't know a lick of theory, knew the blues and grooved like nobody's business.

A classically trained composer, who I went to to ensure I'd filled in the fundamentals of theory. We ended up spending time split between a very difficult ear training course & composition.

A teacher should be giving you a few things.

- Feedback. They should be paying keen attention to you and pointing things out in a finer grain of detail than you can see.

- Information. They should be running you through the paces to ensure you have a well-rounded education so when you go out in the real world, there aren't any major gaps between what you know and what you need to know.

- Encouragement. You should want to continue playing bass, and want to continue the lessons.

The first thing my composition teacher did each week was check my homework. Yeah, I had homework, and I did it. And after a few frustrating months of ear training, he said "you couldn't do that when you walked through my door" and I realized he was right.

If you feel you aren't getting these things, you should get a new teacher. There's no harm in quitting & going back, or trying out someone different.

steveb98 · #6 12-19-2006, 01:18 AM

I look at it as a two-way street. If student isn't asking questions I have to assume they aren't having trouble with the material and I can spend more time on new material and other things. But as a teacher I do need to spot check to insure student is getting it right. Usually I will do a verbal review at beginning lesson of what we were working on, hoping by mentioning it, it will initiate comment.

As for technique everyones hands, fingers, and ability are different. I will give a student technique exercise to do on their own. I will mainly focus on what they should sound like. Then student sees the typical way to perform the exercise, but on own work on it and adjust as necessary for his hands, fingers, and etc. Watching the student during the lesson I should be able to see if they execises are working.

arbarnhart · #7 12-19-2006, 04:39 AM

Based on your ID, I am assuming you are an adult student. A lot of instructors are more reactive than proactive with adults, meaning they give you what you ask for rather than following a set course. So you need to ask him to listen to you play what you have been working on and give you some feedback. I would be concerned about paying lesson rates for jam sessions and I would expect some answers on technique.

JimmyM · #8 12-19-2006, 05:22 AM

I don't think I'd want to pay for a teacher like that. Your mechanics will not get better on their own. My recommendation is for you to stop going to him.

arbarnhart · #9 12-19-2006, 07:28 AM

A little more...

I have not taken "real" bass lessons yet (I have been instructed between songs by a guitarist who used to gig as a bassist) but I had a really good mandolin instructor. There were a lot of reasons it was a good situation but one of the biggest is I could talk very openly with him about how I felt about my progress and how the lessons were done.

MarkTAW · #10 12-19-2006, 12:38 PM

I haven't taken real bass lessons yet either and I've been playing 16 years!

tZer · #11 12-19-2006, 12:44 PM

I believe your teacher should be very concerned with your technique - especially since you are a beginner. Your instruction should be relative to YOU and not and idea of what you should be. He should be paying attention to whether or not you have mastered last week's lessons and should be adjusting your instruction accordingly.

If you are not practicing and not making any progress, he may be trying to figure out a way to engage you more - but based on what you said, it sounds like he is trying to apply a "one size fits all" approach where "custom tailoring" is required.

Also - jamming is one thing - but if you really want more focused attention on specific aspects of your playing or musicianship, he should be accomodating your wants and needs and not trying to force-fit you into some other model.

I am 39 - stopped my lessons very recently due to schedule issues - but my experience with my teacher was like this:

1. Met with him - explained my wants - he designed a program to accomodate me
2. Each week he made me demonstrate mastery of the previous week's lesson before moving on
3. If I practiced and mastered last week's lesson, then he provided me with more instruction that was designed to take what was in the previous lesson and build on it.

Ultimately we were working toward MY goals as a player and his lessons were the same ones he gives to other students, but tailored to my needs. I was the only factor in whether or not I progressed. If I practiced and did what he instructed, I improved substantially. If I was lazy and did not, he told me that I was being lazy and we spent that lesson re-covering last week's lesson to reestablish it in my head for that week's practice at home.

Oldie but noobe · #12 12-19-2006, 04:27 PM

Thanks to all for your input.
I feel better knowing I was reading the situation correctly.

tzer I want my lessons to go like yours do.

I figure I will have a sit down with my teacher and just lay down what I would like, and see how he responds. He is a great guy so I want to give him the opportunity make things right. He has been working hard with his band and many times looks preety worn out. Maybe he just has to many students and too much on his plate. We'll see

JimmyM · #13 12-19-2006, 05:35 PM

Not an excuse, my friend. I'm sure he's a great guy, but if a guy's too tired to perform a job he's being paid for, that's not your problem. He should lighten up his schedule or suck it up and pretend he's not tired.

tZer · #14 12-20-2006, 07:10 AM

You are welcome - and JimmyM is right - He chose to be a teacher so he should live up to the responsibility. My teacher is a working pro who was constantly having to go out of town for gigs and sessions, but when I was at a lesson, he was 100% there and 100% on MY lesson. I will admit that I found a really good teacher, but I still believe that anyone who is calling themselves a teacher and accepting your money should be delivering the goods.

You are right to talk straight to him too. He very well (and again, no excuse) could be complacent due to having lots of beginner students and thinking that he can coast. I have been playing for about 25 years, so when I started taking lessons, my teacher knew very well he needed to deliver at a very high level - but I know that he does that for all of his students regardless of skill level.

Good Luck!