Intro
May be surprised to hear it, but lessons are not for everyone. The time and monetary commitments involved are for those wanting to invest in learning. Sometimes a trial month just to test the waters may be a good idea, but all-in-all, lessons are for those wanting to dig deep into their instrument.
What Are Lessons Really About
The purpose of lessons is not for me to make you better, in fact, I do not make you anything. My job is to equip you and teach you how to use what you’ve been equipped with to think for yourself and solve the problems ahead of you. My personal goal is to get you to a point that you no longer need me, that all the things I would say, and the tactics I would strategize for you, you create yourself. You learn how to adapt and train yourself to tackle the things that hinder you.
It is the responsibility of the Student to follow the Teacher’s instruction to make the progress on your instrument. Without the action behind it, no amount of teaching or studying will provide the desired change in your musicianship.
It is the responsibility of the Teacher to provide the tools in a manner conducive to the student’s learning capabilities. There is no “one size fits all with learning” and we must be able to adapt what we teach to the student. In addition, prudence is needed to teach the right thing at the right time. What is taught and When it is taught are some of the most crucial factors when teaching.
Benefits Of Private Lessons
Some of the primary benefits of lessons are that you receive one-on-one instruction. This allows the instructor to analyze the student’s needs and learning style, customize a curriculum, and provide tailored instruction as opposed to a generalized teaching session. In addition, and arguably the most important, the teacher may see where their student struggles most and create customized exercises in accordance to tackle specific problems.
One of my personal favorites is that as a teacher, we may use nearly anything for educational purposes. Given the student’s particular taste in music, adaptations may be made so that the student is learning the “proper information” while studying the music they want to grow in. This both feeds their passion for music and strengthens their technical skills.
Youtube (vs) Lessons
Youtube and other apps can be helpful, and in fact, I use them myself on occasion. They are best used when you know exactly what you’re looking for. The primary hindrance is if you don’t know what your next steps are, you can learn the right thing at the wrong time. As we said earlier, one of the primary components to teaching is timing. Everything builds upon the stone before it. One of the lead benefits to in-person lessons is to provide you with the right materials at the right time given your skill level and understanding. This develops cohesion between the different faculties of your learning and a true understanding of music.