Re: First Lesson -- Bad Vibe or Wrong Expectations?

Cliff expounded in news:8d859137-29ee-46c7-9cbb-
ab77a4b3193b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

I went to a guitar teacher for a first "trial" lesson last week and am
wondering whether to continue with him. The experience gave me a bit
of a bad vibe, but maybe I just had the wrong expectations?

Me: mid-life beginner with some classical violin training (no longer
play) and 3 years on bass guitar. Goal is to be able to play with
friends and do the occasional open-mic before I turn 50.
....
We start the lesson with "20 questions" as he tries to figure out
where to start. He seems a little flustered that I know the theory
he'd usually present in a first lesson (I don't know that much,
really, but...)

Hey Cliff, sorry to hear that things didn't go as expected. I personally
think its too early to decide the matter. I remember when I started
taking lessons-- I think it took several sessions before the teacher knew
me well enough to know where I wanted to go and what I was looking for. I
don't think I even knew that at first (though it sounds like you do).

He doesn't ask
about the Berklee book

If your goal is to learn theory, it is possible this teacher is not your
guide. Of course this doesn't mean that you can't learn other valuable
things about playing from him. Your decision will eventually be based
upon how important the theory aspect is.

and instead plays a I-IV-V progression with
some suspended chords thrown in and has me try to repeat it. It's a
little tough to hear what's going on (he's got a flanger and some
other effect on his amp -- I brought an acoustic).

Ask him if he can turn off the effects for you. Test his reaction to that
request. If he can't be helpful at that level, then this might spell
trouble for the long run.

I don't know the
shapes, so I can't get beyond the first two chords. He shows me
again, a little too quickly for me to get all the shapes, and then we
give up. (We don't return to this idea at all in the lesson.)

Bring a musical notepad with you (if you didn't). Ask him to write those
shapes out for you to practice. If he can't be bothered with that, then I
think for me that would be the end of that road. He is paid to help-- if
he ain't helpful, then he's fired!

Finally, he says that because I've got some theory, he's just going to
teach me to play ("to wail" I think were his words).

I think the translation there is "I can't teach you the theory you want
to know".

I think my assignment is the finger-strength exercise and the barre
chord shapes. Not quite sure how to practice those in any context,
but I'm gaining on the "bar" part of the chord. I'm also working more
on the Berklee book on my own.

Sounds kind of lame to me, but to give him the benefit of the doubt, you
only had one lesson. Be prepared to suggest some songs you want to work
on (but I would ask him about good songs to learn first to see if he has
any suggestions that work for you).

So... Is it me? Did I go in with an agenda that just isn't
appropriate? (I teach physics occasionally, and I have to deal with
students who want to know all about "dark matter" before they learn
the basics of regular matter...) Or should I go find another teacher?

Thanks!

--Cliff

My suspicion is that he will not teach you any of the theory that you are
looking for. Once this is confirmed by a few more sessions, I think the
next question for you is "Am I learning enough from this guy to make it
worth my time and money?" If theory is first and foremost on your list,
you may need to look elsewhere.

The main question really is whether he is able to help you [enough]?

WRT the theory: this is more the cerebral side of things where you can
sit down, read books, do exercises and hopefully check results. Obviously
having a teacher that can check results and answer questions would be
helpful.

Sounds like you're already up for that studying task however. Over time,
I've been acquiring used books on music theory-- as a sponge, I hope to
absorb more with each passing year. Abe Books (abebooks.com) will give
you access to cheap books for almost the price of shipping. I've had good
experiences so far with them.

What I do appreciate about my teacher however, is that with his knowledge
of theory, he teaches me to identify patterns, styles, chords,
modes/whatever in the classical music that I am learning to play. In
other words, its not just about "performing the notes" but to learning to
recognize things in the music itself.

This leads me to the next suggestion: I don't know your preferences
Cliff, but if you're flexible enough to include classical music, then you
may want to seek out classical guitar instruction. Even though I love
electric guitar, I also appreciate the aspects of the acoustic guitar,
especially WRT to classical music. I wasn't sure about this direction
when I started, but I got to say that I quite enjoy it now (my teacher
was helpful in encouraging me to try this).

Classical instruction is taught from standard notation and uses finger
picking. Your classical teacher should be well versed in music theory if
he is teaching that material. Even though my goals include electric
guitar, I believe that being trained in classical music will only help my
in my overall quest (I believe that Mark Knopfler was classically
trained). Looking back, I believe this was one of my best decisions early
on.

I don't know how easy it is to find classical training in your area, but
that is one idea to consider.

Snark.

--
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