Back in the teaching studio again

[matthewbrown]

I took a long hiatus from teaching bass, but at a jam session a guy liked my solo and asked for lessons. So I posted in a FB group that I was starting up again, and now I also have a ten-year-old girl taking lessons. She studied violin for a little bit and her dad plays bass; she wants to get into the middle school jazz band). I have never taught bass to someone in elementary school. I would love to hear from those of you who took music lessons in elementary school or have taught younger kids. What would you suggest that I include? And what should I avoid?

 

[Bob_Ross]

Ugh... it has been a long time since I gave anyone lessons, and a really long time since I taught a ten-year-old...but one of my distinct memories of teaching said ten-year-old was how difficult it was for him to make his hands or fingers do anything that was connected to the music.

iow, he could put the correct finger on the correct spot on the neck and excite the correct string at more-or-less the correct time, but there was no sense that he understood or could control how his physical actions impacted the sound that was coming out of the instrument.

To this day I'm not sure how I would go about teaching that. Back then I was clueless, and so I was relieved when the kid got bored and quit taking lessons after a year or so of this agony.

 

[Snarf]

Ugh... it has been a long time since I gave anyone lessons, and a really long time since I taught a ten-year-old...but one of my distinct memories of teaching said ten-year-old was how difficult it was for him to make his hands or fingers do anything that was connected to the music.

iow, he could put the correct finger on the correct spot on the neck and excite the correct string at more-or-less the correct time, but there was no sense that he understood or could control how his physical actions impacted the sound that was coming out of the instrument.

To this day I'm not sure how I would go about teaching that. Back then I was clueless, and so I was relieved when the kid got bored and quit taking lessons after a year or so of this agony.

What you're describing about impacting the sound of the instrument, that comes much, much later. You can mention it, but spending lots of time on it so early on is probably going to be counterproductive. Just getting a note to sound AT ALL on a bass or a guitar is a win. Sound comes with time and experience, neither of which a ten-year old could have yet.

At that age, it's more about being able to play something they can recognize. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using tabs to this end. After a handful of songs and technical exercises you can start to expand the curriculum. But it's so critical to keep it light and fun. Every student is a balancing act with how much you can load on to them at a given point.

 

[BBQisgood]

I took a long hiatus from teaching bass, but at a jam session a guy liked my solo and asked for lessons. So I posted in a FB group that I was starting up again, and now I also have a ten-year-old girl taking lessons. She studied violin for a little bit and her dad plays bass; she wants to get into the middle school jazz band). I have never taught bass to someone in elementary school. I would love to hear from those of you who took music lessons in elementary school or have taught younger kids. What would you suggest that I include? And what should I avoid?

I was a very young string student who added bass to the violin. My best teachers all encouraged me to play things I was interested in on top of the usual curriculum. Nowadays I sometimes tutor adults. My advice: listen to what she says, be open and allow many questions, and focus on rhythm and feel.

 

[groooooove]

To this day I'm not sure how I would go about teaching that.

it's a funny thing, this topic.

it's been covered, in depth. but folks never know where to look. it's hiding in plain sight, almost.

I guess i need to list my qualifiers: music educator since 2008, full time public school orchestra teacher, masters degree in music ed, blah blah...

you'll notice there is a robust population of good string teachers who get their students to play with musicality, not just good notes and rhythms. Ironically, the method they're following is essentially teaching teaching a classical string instrument, the way a rock guitarist would learn on their own.

yet, when students interested in playing pop/rock/etc on guitar, their lessons often look very different. There seems to be this disconnect between "self taught people do x y and z, with lessons we do A B and C."

Suzuki method.

Suzuki, in a nutshell, believed we aught to learn music how we learn to speak. lots of repetition, hearing it, feeling it. Suzuki method does not teach note reading. (it's a beginner-only method, not intended for more than setting a strong foundation.)

imagine teaching someone how to use a slang term. now imagine how you as a teenager, or any random teenager today, learned the common slang of their time. In this instance, the best way to "get it" is just to hear it, and experience it over and over until the explanation is harder to grasp than the actual use of the word.

Suzuki's method is often misunderstood. he produced master musicians. this was not a "learn by rote" program - though there is quite a bit of that. this was a method for developing a deep appreciation and love for music. Developing intrinsic motivation. if the sound is beautiful, and the technique is flawless, the repertoire is quality... the student will be driven to get better naturally.

this quote from him comes to mind constantly when I'm teaching:

“Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.”

 

[matthewbrown]

This is excellent to hear, and when I have the opportunity, I'll try to put it to use. I have some research to do, though, as I learned using the Random Method (jk). Seriously, I learned how to read music on flute in elementary school and hated it. Then I applied what I learned to bass by teaching myself and taking band and jazz band. I've always thought that starting out young kids with what they KNOW is always the best thing, but I didn't experience that in music education as a kid.