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Double Bass What makes a "great" double bass teacher?
- Thread starter Andy Mopley
- Start date
It does sound like my manifesto because I know I try to belong to the former sort.
In my mind there are two levels of great teacher. Your first teacher may not be as good a player or be as in practice as the "finishing" teacher(s) but has the absolute bucketful of knowledge and recipe book full of ideas to generously impart and inspire you with. Having done his job he is willing to pass you on to your next level of teacher when you are ready. The finishing teacher(s) will take you forward by refining everything and extending your repertoire. Politically this can be good if they happen to (say) be a professional in your orchestra of interest or teachers in well known colleges.
Be aware that a very good player might not be a very good teacher, no matter how hard they have worked to reached their sometimes dizzy heights.
Tom might even agree with me!!
Cheers....
DP
In my mind there are two levels of great teacher. Your first teacher may not be as good a player or be as in practice as the "finishing" teacher(s) but has the absolute bucketful of knowledge and recipe book full of ideas to generously impart and inspire you with. Having done his job he is willing to pass you on to your next level of teacher when you are ready. The finishing teacher(s) will take you forward by refining everything and extending your repertoire. Politically this can be good if they happen to (say) be a professional in your orchestra of interest or teachers in well known colleges.
Be aware that a very good player might not be a very good teacher, no matter how hard they have worked to reached their sometimes dizzy heights.
Tom might even agree with me!!
Cheers....
DP
One who helps people to get jobs... that's a pretty good start, if you're going to devote your life to this. Might as well get a job at some point, too?
The best teacher for one's self is a teacher who can inspire you to work to the best of your ability, both intelligently and efficiently. Sometimes this might mean that you don't necessarily get along with your teacher, you might not agree with a lot of the things he/she advocates, but as long as it is someone who can inspire independent, creative thought, I think that teacher is a good bet.
A good double bass teacher will, first and foremost, understand that the physical aspect of playing this instrument is a much greater factor than on any other instrument, and not try to impose the same "system" on a student that's 5'5" as on one who's 6'3".
I have had a few bass teachers and many other teachers in my life. I do some teaching of sorts as well. For me the key to a good teacher is the ability to understand the unique way each person learns and to address this by including methods and materials that resonate with that person. At the same time these unique learning styles can pose as limitations - if I want to play by ear as opposed to learning theory say. A good teacher will see the weaknesses and strengths of the individual and compassionately push the student to address their weaknesses - not in a negative way but help the student see their limitations. I also think progressive learning with measurable goals is really important. I'm studying jazz upright. Ideally I would like my teacher to play the piano so I could accompany him and have him critique my playing.
powerbass, I agree that progressive learning with measurable goals is really important, not only for the student but also to keep the teacher focused. In Australia we have the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) Grade system that is similar to the English Trinity and Board systems. Do you have something similar in the US?
Doing Grade exams helps motivate some students more than others and should be only part of the learning process. There is much, much more to learn and teach than the prescribed syllabus for each exam.
DP
Doing Grade exams helps motivate some students more than others and should be only part of the learning process. There is much, much more to learn and teach than the prescribed syllabus for each exam.
DP
