 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetgiggirl
Date: 2003-08-11 10:56
I am interested to know your experiences with different teachers or if you teach, your perception of your pupil's experience.
Do you/your pupils always enjoy your lessons and come away feeling motivated?
Until recently, I have enjoyed every minute of every lesson but I am now finding the level of criticism I receive (whilst usually justified) quite demoralising and even upsetting.
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Author: krawfish3x
Date: 2003-08-11 12:15
i get that sometimes, its all in how prepared you are an how much you practice.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-08-11 12:23
Ah yes, teachers! I've had 5 teachers along the way and have learned something from every one of them. But their methods differ quite a bit. Whether you get along with them depends quite a bit on the personality and style of teaching, and how flexible you are to accepting instruction.
It's very important, however, that a teacher understand that a student wants very much to succeed and to do what is indicated. The problem usually isn't a lack of wanting to improve, it's a lack of skill. That skill will improve if the student is encouraged and directed. Being encouraged and directed doesn't mean being harassed and picked on. I've had very good clarinet players insist so much on things that it was discouraging and intimidating.
My most successful experience with a teacher has been one who has learned how far to push me and at the same time showing real pleasure at seeing progress in this or that point that we were working on. If a student sees that the teacher is genuinely pleased with their progress, the student will try that much more to accomplish even greater things, even practicing longer each week to polish things that little bit more before lesson time. Positive comments, when given regularly, help to balance the impact of the necessary firm correction that has to happen if any improvement will take place. After all, there are times when we've slacked off and we need the teacher to get on our case! It's a real skill that some teachers commendably have developed.
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Author: dfh
Date: 2003-08-11 22:20
If a teacher is criticisizing you with out giving you a method or a tool to fix the problem (and it's not just lack of pracitcing), then you may want to change teachers.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-08-12 00:17
Quite right, criticism without direction is just nagging;
You're damned no matter what you do if there's no instruction manual.
Who's paying for the lesson, anyway?
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Author: chicagoclar
Date: 2003-08-12 04:36
I've had some pretty discouraging lessons in the past. I think the worst was when a teacher turned to me and said, "You're just not getting this....Have you ever thought about switching instruments? Maybe flute or saxophone? This was in college and I thought I was going to cry. Luckily, I am the kind of person who gets mad and then proves that I can do whatever I was told I can't do......Maybe he knew that about me? As for my students, if they just aren't practicing, I find that I am not as nurturing to problems. If they are practicing, but are having a discouraging lesson, I try to bring them back up at the end of the lesson. This may be by saying what went right or even just breaking down exactly what they need to focus on in what order. I find that if students know exactly what is expected, they generally produce the desired affect (assuming there was an affect desired)
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Author: clarinetgiggirl
Date: 2003-08-12 07:07
Some interesting and encouraging thoughts. By the way, I DO practice. Lots, and I have actually been reduced to tears in a lesson when my efforts were not recognised.
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Author: Anon
Date: 2003-08-12 14:02
Just a thought: sometimes even a well-qualified teacher is not right for a particular person. We don't all get along and sometimes even in a professional situation, that friction is apparent. Some of the best advice I ever got was "If you don't think your teacher believes in you, find someone who does." Of course, this only applies if the student has been truly practicing what the teacher has asked and has been receptive to new ideas. I'm not advocating that a student switches teachers constantly until he/she gets one who only praises! I left a very prominent teacher several years ago (with no hard feelings) and moved on. It was a great move.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-08-12 14:18
Criiticism has to be also directed in such a way, but there has to be encouragement and tools and knowledge in return to achieve the relsults you seek!
David Dow
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Author: Keil
Date: 2003-08-12 14:36
I have found with me that too much praise can be more frustrating than not enough. I being the type of player who's self-motivated and entirely too hard on myself don't always accept a compliment. I feel I learn more from a pre-verbial tongue lashing, even though I rarely deserve one. I find that too much praise can cause too much security, a false sense of security indeed. I guess what's best for me might not be best for you. Overall you need to know what makes you grow. I recently had a teacher who had a very take charge attitude in that if he noticed a problem he would jump on it immediately as oppose to waiting for me to work it out in the practice room. I liked that pro-active response.
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Author: Meri
Date: 2003-08-12 18:56
I've studied with two different teachers, my first one for about three years, my second one for about 4 months now. I absolutely loved my first teacher. (both as a teacher and as a person) I remember how sometimes he would almost literally torture me about some aspect of my playing (yet always in a sense of good spirit). I took to his idea of having the student write what they wanted to work on at each lesson like a duck to water. Sometimes I called him at 10, 11 or even later at night, to ask him something I was not sure I understood. (he was okay with that--he told his students that you can call him late at night, but never before 11 am.) I almost always came out of my lessons with him completely rejuvented. Even when I challenged his ideas (like why he says the bell should be above the knees), he convinced me to see it his way. We're still on good terms with each other; I sometimes ask him for advice on my teaching, when I have no good ideas or have run out of them to teach a particular idea to students.
My second teacher is pretty good, too, though he seems more into a relatively "pure" student-teacher relationship, although we like to discuss our common interest in cats every so often. He has already done wonders for my staccato tonguing though, and helped me with the problem of focussing my student's sound, because he worked on that with me at one lesson.
As for my students, I can honestly say that I enjoy teaching all my students, most of the time, anyway. Occasionally I know I or they are having a bad day, so we try to do something different than we usually do, like theory or listening. I try to find music that fits students' needs and interests , or, if they bring in something they want to learn, find some playing and musical ideas I can show them. Example: A few months ago, I wanted to teach one of my students the chromatic scale, one of my students mentions he wanted to learn Mendelssohn's Spring Song, which, when I looked at the music, has chromatic scale patterns, because I knew that if he doesn't see the connection to actual music, he won't practice it. All of them enjoy the duet playing I do with them. Many of my younger students (under 12) seem to really like Paul Harris' Summer Sketches.
Meri
"There is a difference between being flat and sounding in tune, and being in tune but sounding flat. The first I can live with; the second I cannot."
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Author: n_hanson12
Date: 2003-08-13 03:14
My worst experience was with "Teacher X" as I will call him. He actually fell asleep, during my lesson!
Can you believe it?
~Nicki
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Author: Benni
Date: 2003-08-13 03:54
Instead of pointing out what I've done wrong, my teacher will often ask me if I know what I've done wrong - if I know, I have a chance to correct it on my own, if not, she helps me out and I still get a chance to correct it. Not a bad system, in my opinion!
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Author: Barrie Marshall
Date: 2003-08-13 18:17
I have to admit that I fell asleep when I was teaching somebody, I was sat down playing the guitar as my pupil played and I fell asleep over the guitar, the lesson was finished at once to be continued later, the amusing thing about this is the tune the pupil was playing at the time...Hushaby..you have to laugh!
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Author: CharmOne
Date: 2003-08-13 19:16
I had been with two teachers already and they're about the same. Except one who is a female who mastered the drums and the other a male who mastered wind. Both are friends and knew each other a bit. Not to mention they don't charge me as much unlike most wind teachers in Seattle....
CharmOne-
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Author: clarinetgiggirl
Date: 2003-08-14 18:40
Its great to share experiences - I feel much better for it.
I am continuing with the lessons and with the teacher - we are very close and have such a strong relationship, it was never in doubt.
There have been lows and I don't doubt for a minute that there will be more rough spots and even tears, but there have also been many, many great moments and I wouldn't want to miss out on these in the future.
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