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Teacher got mad at me last week.
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
You're not actually telling me anything I don't already know. I know a lot of people use tab and just hang on to it for dear life.
The internet is interesting, because people from all over can easily explain away why they do what they do because they claim it has been so successful. It doesn't really matter. I still don't know you from Adam and if any of those students hit up an MTI part-book for something like Hair, Rent, or Next To Normal, they better be able to read dots, not tab.
That's just my experience. I've never been in a situation where TAB was useful. Maybe because I'm playing with other musicians for whom tab is not used. Even when I took classical guitar and piano, we never even looked at TAB beyond the very first page of instructions where they diagrammatically lay out the fingerboard/home-position. Unless you're teaching kids 14 century lute tunes or organ tunes, TAB is just another rock n'roll shortcut.
We have a joke around here (which I'm sure didn't originate in my city):
"How do you get a guitar player to turn down? Put staff notation in front of them..."
The internet is interesting, because people from all over can easily explain away why they do what they do because they claim it has been so successful. It doesn't really matter. I still don't know you from Adam and if any of those students hit up an MTI part-book for something like Hair, Rent, or Next To Normal, they better be able to read dots, not tab.
That's just my experience. I've never been in a situation where TAB was useful. Maybe because I'm playing with other musicians for whom tab is not used. Even when I took classical guitar and piano, we never even looked at TAB beyond the very first page of instructions where they diagrammatically lay out the fingerboard/home-position. Unless you're teaching kids 14 century lute tunes or organ tunes, TAB is just another rock n'roll shortcut.
We have a joke around here (which I'm sure didn't originate in my city):
"How do you get a guitar player to turn down? Put staff notation in front of them..."
I don't think you knew jack about me, yet you assumed and seemed to jump to the worst-case scenario in addressing my experience and methods as a teacher.
I can assure you all my students who stayed with me became competent sight readers in standard notation. Nobody paid me to serve solely as a live TAB subscription.
Exactly... You eventually got them on to notation. That's fine by me.
Operational cues (like tablature) have a place on "Page One" to help you find the notes initially.
But I think we can agree that it's WAY overused.
Operational cues (like tablature) have a place on "Page One" to help you find the notes initially.
But I think we can agree that it's WAY overused.
Your key word is ME. I had put in good shed time on the song. I just did not notice something I should have noticed.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Part of learning to get better at sight reading is keeping your head on the page, as opposed to going by what you think sounds "right".
But nothing wrong with talking with your teacher if you have questions about his/her methods.
But nothing wrong with talking with your teacher if you have questions about his/her methods.
Edited... there's a big difference between annoyed and mad.
I'll add...another edit.... I'm ashamed that there are so many snowflake bassists... I thought we were tougher than that.
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okcrum
in your chest
That's cool. You just hit the most common tripping point in the sight reading process: anything that says "D.S. al XXXX" or "D.C. al XXXX". The two are different. Now you know that's the first thing to check when you see the chart, to make sure you know how it flows.
I had to ask on a gig this week for one tune, since the chart in iRealPro did not have the sign that matched up with a D.S. al Fine. It turned out it should have been a D.C. al Fine.
okcrum
in your chest
I don’t like the word snowflake, but I will agree that artists of all types should be able to field constructive criticism easily. It’s hard to fully tell whether that’s what we’re talking about here though. I don’t think wigging out as a student is productive though.
If there was a better term than snowflake, I couldn't come up with it. I'd be more than willing to accept an alternative term.
My guess, (and that's all it is is a guess) is that the OP made a thread title, then described the situation more accurately in the thread. In my experience, if a student under performs, an instructor should know what motivates the student enough to react in an appropriate way. In this case... the OP did what needed to be done and improved his performance. The teacher did his job. Is it always the best way to motivate... no... but a perfect example is high level athletes, and the military. They strive to be the best and typically when they underachive, there's negative reinforcement to get them on track.
Realistically, if a teacher isn't annoyed with subpar performance... I'd assume they're just taking up space, and collecting my cash for a lesson.
You guys ever seen Whiplash? Now THAT teacher was mad. 
What you describe about your teacher is not an issue in my opinion. I don't understand the negative feedback here stating he's a bad teacher. That's ridiculous. Being mad is simply an emotion and a lot of teachers that I've had have gotten mad at me because they expected more. As a result it pushed me.
What you describe about your teacher is not an issue in my opinion. I don't understand the negative feedback here stating he's a bad teacher. That's ridiculous. Being mad is simply an emotion and a lot of teachers that I've had have gotten mad at me because they expected more. As a result it pushed me.
Flower Children Get Dumber After Every Bummer
Fast Cars Get Driven Away, Even Buicks
Okay, hard to know the exact situation here, but... I am a teacher. If I had a student who was committed to learning how to read, I would be overjoyed. Either you are not telling us everything that goes on in the lesson, or your teacher needs a serious beating. Reading is a mystery that can be cleared up but it takes patience. Maybe your teacher is not a good reader and it is a challenge for him also? I don't know... as an educator your attitude would make me ecstatic.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I figured out years ago the less I read the better I play ...
Also most sheet music and tabs are wrong and some badly wrong ...
For me a good ear is more important than good reading skills
okcrum
in your chest
It is, up to a certain point. But David Santos can say what happens better than I can. He's worked for Billy Joel, John Fogerty, and Toto, among others.
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Real talk, I teach for a living (not music related) this is a surefire sign. Also, just because you can do something doesn't mean you will be a good teacher. Knowing thing and effectively conveying that information are two separate skill sets.
