FREE MUSIC&VIDEO DOWNLOAD

The best way to learn an instrument is to find a music teacher. In fact the best way to learn anything in life is to find a tutor of your chosen subject and to take on the task head on - to learn from actually doing.

People say that you learn from your mistakes - partly true due to the fact you end up knowing what NOT to do. But I believe there is a key point missed here - at least you are actually DOING something.

A teacher is someone to show you the path, the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. At the end of the day they know what they are doing and talking about - you probably don’t - and it’s because of this, the fact that you put all of your trust into your teacher, that you should be very careful about ensuring the one you choose is up for the job.

Here is some advice on choosing your teacher and what to look out for.

Advice 1 - Previous Experience.

It is essential that your teacher has experience in two specific areas - performing music and teaching music. It is important that your music teacher is actually a musician - the best example I can give is this - imagine that instead of learning an instrument you want to learn how to scuba dive. Would you let yourself be taught by someone who has studied diving from a book but who has never actually been under the water?

If your teacher shows that he has performed music it gives you some guarantee that they are of a high enough standard musically - chances are they wouldn’t have been hired if they couldn’t play their instrument.

The second is teaching experience. After discussing how it is important for your teacher to have actually been, or still is involved in music it is also important that the have experience in teaching music. Teaching is a completely different art to performing. Most musicians tell me that they learn more through teaching than they do from any other source - when you teach you instantly reveal your own weak points.

The opposite of this is true as well actually - how many times have you heard someone who recently passed their driving test say you don’t learn how to drive until your out on the road on your own - after your lessons and test (This carries over to a future article - Why performing is critical to your progress as a musician.)

So - make sure your teacher is both a musician and a teacher.

Advice 2 - Attitude and Personality.

It is fairly common for people to ask for character references - estate agents, employers - most people looking to hire someone - this is also true for finding a music teacher as at the end of the day you are hiring them to teach you.

Learning is much easier in a friendly environment - did you ever notice that the teachers at school that had a laugh and were fun often taught you the most each lesson? In human nature it is common to be stubborn and resilient and it is a teacher’s personality and character that helps connect with you, therefore making the experience enjoyable and thus increasing the productivity of your lessons.

It is not generally going to be possible to get a character reference from a teacher but try and use your first lesson as a trial - Get to know your teacher a bit and get a general feel for the lesson - if you have fun and enjoyed every minute then you’ve probably found a teacher with a good teaching attitude rather than if it was drab and boring.

If you can try and talk to some of your prospective teachers regular students. See if they enjoy their lessons and what the overall comments are about the quality and attitude of the teacher.

Advice 3 - Teacher Flexibility

Again this covers more than one topic - flexibility as a musician, and as a teacher.

In the long term you will eventually begin expanding your musicality. For example - woodwind players generally begin learning one instrument, maybe the clarinet or saxophone. Eventually, and if they want to pursue music, they will begin learning other woodwind instruments as it is common for, say for instance a saxophone player, to play clarinet, flute and even through to oboe and bassoon.

Because of this you are going to want a teacher that can provide this in the long term. After months and years of lessons with your teacher you won’t want to find that in order to progress further you need to find a new instructor and have to create the bond that you would have developed with your current teacher all over again.

Positive things to look out for are:

If your teacher still has lessons and practices (even the most professional musicians still have lessons - see the beginning of my article - Practicing music - what to do outside of your private music lessons to see how it is impossible to learn and master every aspect of music)

If your teacher teaches more than one instrument (however be wary of teachers that teach, for instance, trumpet and flute. Whilst musicians do end up playing completely irrelevant instruments they generally will stick to teaching their primary instrument.)

If your teacher is still an active musician - this is a gray area because where it is easy to assume that your teacher, not an active musician maybe is not good enough to perform music and therefore teaches music, it is possible that your teacher prefers teaching than performing. The benefit if they are still an active musician is again they will be learning constantly and they will still be an active teacher during this period.

The other flexibility to look out for is their organisation in regards to lessons. It is positively advised that regular lessons - or regular anything - is good for you. Regular exercise keeps you healthy, regular sleep keeps you alert and regular lessons help improve your musical playing.

If your teacher will constantly phone up to re-arrange your lesson, often misses lessons or is often late for your lesson it will have a negative effect on you. Psychologically the fact that you haven’t got into a routine with your lessons and the fact that you keep getting let down will make you less enthusiastic towards your music lessons.

So find a teacher that offers many years of tuition rather than a limited number of months, and someone who will keep regular dates and who holds his promises of this dates and times.

Conclusion

Hopefully this article will give you some food for thought if you decide to find a music teacher and just remember that unless you are enjoying and learning your instrument - maybe you need a new teacher.

This article is free for reproduction providing it is left in its original form and an active link to http://www.realmusicproduction.com is present.

Edward Droscher is the founder of Real Music Production and works to develop music education systems privately and in schools. For more information or details on music instruction please visit http://www.realmusicproduction.com or email info@realmusicproduction.com

Tags: choosing teacher, music lessons, music teacher, teacherschoosing teacher, music lessons, music teacher, teachers

Share This

A couple weeks ago, I asked “How do you sweeten the deal?” to find out what you give your fans to secure extra CD sales. Then I started reading Seth Godin’s new book, “Free Prize Inside!”, and I realized a big mistake I’ve made.

I’m a big fan of freebies. Peruse my many websites, you’ll find freebies of all shapes and sizes from MP3s to stickers, CDs to occasional t-shirts. I love giving things away. It’s sorta my contribution to the ‘free prize inside’ concept.

Except that’s really not what Seth is about. Seems I’ve been giving away a free prize for years without entirely recognizing it. It’s the same thing that made me a wild fan of Black 47. You can even read about Andrew WK has done the same on David Hooper’s Music Business Blog.

What am I talking about? Exactly.

I’m talking about talking with fans. I do my best to respond to every email that our fans send to us. If they take the time to write us, you can bet, I’m gonna take the time to respond. And with the growing swarm of junk mail it’s getting tougher and tougher, but dangit, they deserve it!

I’m sorry to say, there is one area I have neglected until now-CD order forms.

CDBaby, our main online retailer, is kind enough to offer all that great contact information about people who order our CDs. I have done a very poor job contacting those people. But as every marketer mentions, the majority of sales will come from past customers. So those are the people I NEED to be following up with.

Think about it a moment. I’ve built a very strong and loyal fanbase by communicating with fans. I have lots of personal information online and chat with these folks. They’ve consequently gone out of their way to support us, buying many CDs and telling their friends.

Just imagine if I contacted those hundreds of past buyers and said thank you. Not to sell them something more. Just to say “thanks”. That’s powerful stuff. Those who’ve stopped listening will start back up. Those who already tell their friends are gonna be a million times more passionate when they relate how I went out of my way to write them. It gets me excited just thinking about it.

If you really can’t think of a way to “sweeten the deal”. Don’t sweat it. But make sure you get their email address. Drop ‘em a line and say, “thank you”. And you’ll be sure to have a brand new fan for life!

References:

Seth Godin’s “Free Prize Inside” (1st printing) comes in a cereal box
Andrew WK in David Hooper’s Music Business Blog

Bard Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards has helped 1000’s of musicians make money with their musical groups through the Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine and the Texas Musicians’ Texas Music Biz Tips. Now you can get personal advice by visiting http://www.bardscrier.com for FREE “how-to” music marketing assistance.

No time to visit the site? Subscribe to the BardsCrier.com distributed weekly for Free. Just email subscribe@bardscrier.com

Tags: busking, improve, music tips, musicians, tips, tips musiciansbusking, improve, music tips, musicians, tips, tips musicians

Share This

Find a Good Teacher - There is no substitution for a good guitar teacher. You can buy all the books and videos you want, but in order to really become a good guitar player, you need to learn from a pro. A professional guitar teacher has the experience and wisdom necessary to teach you how to become a proper guitar player. Books, videos, and the Internet for that matter, lack in their ability to provide you with feedback and advice. A good guitar teacher will correct you if you are doing something wrong so that you don’t form bad habits or techniques. A good guitar teacher will also encourage you when you are doing something right.

Do Not Get Discouraged - When first learning the guitar, or any instrument for that matter, you may find yourself getting discouraged, or perhaps saying to yourself “this is just too difficult”. You may find yourself practicing the same song or chords over and over again, and never getting any better at it. Do not let this discourage you. Sometimes are brains just need a little rest, or need to be occupied with something else. Take a break and come back to your practice with a fresh mind.

Practice - The more often that you practice your guitar the more familiar you will become with the instrument. Your playing will become easier over time. Try and free up at least 20 minutes of time every day to practice your guitar. Find a time and location where you know you will not be interrupted. Interruption can really kill your concentration and snap you out of a good rhythm. Warm your hands and stretch your fingers before you play. Talk with your guitar teacher to develop the best practice exercises that are right for your style of playing.

Create an effective practice schedule - The length of your practice is not necessarily the most important thing. Usually it is the quality of your practice that is most important. Make sure your guitar teacher is giving you a well-rounded approach to guitar playing and helping you make the most of your practice sessions.

Slow Down - One great bit of advice with your practicing; don’t play too quickly! Many new guitar players will rush through a lick or a song in the beginning, trying to play it exactly as they hear it and only wind up butchering it. Before you can play anything correctly, you must learn to slow down and play it right at a much slower speed. You can then slowly increase your speed as you improve.

Watch your posture - Guitar playing should not be extremely painful and uncomfortable. If you find yourself with various aches and pains in your shoulders, your neck, your back, etc., chances are you are not in a correct playing posture. Ask your guitar teacher to demonstrate a proper playing posture, then do your best to stick to it. Tell your teacher to observe you during practice and correct you whenever you fall out of the correct posture.

Get a metronome - A very important part of guitar playing is the ability to keep good timing. An instrument, which will help you become better at timing, is called a metronome. You can purchase this at any guitar center. When working with a metronome, in the beginning, you should start off at a slow speed. This will help you build your muscles and develop better control and good playing habits.

Change your strings - Your guitar strings are very important to the quality of sound your guitar produces. How often you change your guitar strings really depends on how often you play. Professional guitar players may change their strings before every gig. Others who don’t play as often, may change their strings every 2 months or so. Again it really depends on how often you play, and how well you take care of your guitar strings. Don’t wait until your strings break before you change them and you should change all of your strings at the same time.

Try new things/experiment - If you feel uninspired in your guitar playing why not try something fresh and different? If you have mastered a particular song on your electric guitar, why not try the same song on an acoustic guitar? If you only play your guitar using a pick, put down the pick and just use your fingers. Perhaps you only enjoy playing blues guitar. Why not try some jazz or classical?

I hope these guitar tips were helpful. The most important thing is to never get discouraged and never give up. Persistence is key when it comes to playing the guitar. If you really have a sincere desire to learn, and you continue to practice, you will become a better guitar player.

You can learn how to play guitar free online. Visit http://www.artsymmetry.com/Category/Guitar-Lessons/199 for more great articles on guitar playing.

Tags: articles, guitar lessons, learn to play guitar, tipsarticles, guitar lessons, learn to play guitar, tips

Share This