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Post subject: First Lesson
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 5:37 am
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So after a year of downloading tabs and learning the intros to a bunch of songs and generally letting my A.D.D. get the better of me, I'm finally taking a lesson this afternoon. Seems like a good guy, old deadhead that can really play - bluesy stuff mostly which is what I'm after. What I'm wondering is what should I be looking for in a teacher? Are there any signs of a "good" or "bad" teacher that I can look for? I don't need to commit to any set number of lessons or anything, but I want to make sure I'm going to the right guy.

Thanks.


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 5:44 am
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Not so much "good" or "bad" teachers.... think of them as "right for you" or "not right for you."

A teacher who is right for you inspires you to learn what you're interested in. A teacher who isn't right for you makes you feel frustrated and takes the joy out of playing.

Because, while there is really only one path to mastery, there are many, many paths to joy. Do you want mastery? Most players don't.


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 5:54 am
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yep

+1

cheers :D


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:41 am
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As long as there's a good balance of what you want to learn with "classic/proper" techniques, it ususally works out well.

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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:00 am
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if he is disorganized it doesn't matter how good he is or if he is a good guy.

remember you are there to learn, not to pay someone to jam with, or to try dazzle you.
i would want to see if he has lesson structure. you might not be looking for a rigid curriculum, but your teacher should be puuting together a roadmap to get you where you want to go.

That is another thing, he should be finding out what you know, and also where you want to go. not all people take lessons for the same reasons.
do you want to focus on theory, or technique, or other stuff?

i didn't take lessons for the first decade i played. but I decided i wanted to learn some theory,so I sought out a teacher. i ran into a few that didn't want to teach what i wanted to learn. I had already spent years playing live, and didn't need to work on basic technique, but a lot of the guys i saw didn't have a lot of theory knowledge, and so i couldn't learn anything from them.not one i saw even had as good of technique as i did, so they didn't fit.

eventually though I found a teacher that suited my needs. we worked on what i needed to learn.

What set him apart was his professionalism. he was extremely organized.
he sat with me, and found out what I expected from the lessons. he also evaluated where i was playing wise, and together we mapped out a lesson plan, to figure out what i needed to do, and to solidify my long and short term goals, as per the tutelage.

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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:26 am
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Good post Twelvebar! I'm going to have my first real lesson on Friday and I'm looking for a teacher just like you described. I already know how to play fairly well but I want to know a little theory . I'm more or less self taught. Learning by myself or picking up things from other players.

To the OP Good luck!! :wink:


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:50 am
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One thing also to watch for.

This applies to everyone, I think, whether taking lessons or not. try your best when practicing/learning to work more on what you identify as weak points in your playing. A lot of times we do what we are best at, and neglect areas we need to improve on.

That is why it is important to have a solid structure to your lesson plan. that way you can actually prioritize the different aspects of playing you will be learning. For instance, if you can change chords seamlessly, but fumble your way through picking across strings, you can allocate a bit of time to exercises that help you build picking accuracy.

Oh yeah, and good luck to the OP. Lessons can open up whole new worlds in your playing!

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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:08 am
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Hey Fender Cats-

Remember to practice with a Metronome. I cant stress that enough- timing is so important. You can play all the right note and chords...but if you cant play to tempo....you are dead in the water.

The Freeze

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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:32 pm
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The Freeze wrote:
Remember to practice with a Metronome. I cant stress that enough- timing is so important. You can play all the right note and chords...but if you cant play to tempo....you are dead in the water.


That's a great tip.... but I wonder how many guitarists have EVER played with a metronome?!

If you haven't got one, try the online one here: http://www.metronomeonline.com/

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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:39 pm
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The Freeze wrote:
Hey Fender Cats-

Remember to practice with a Metronome. I cant stress that enough- timing is so important. You can play all the right note and chords...but if you cant play to tempo....you are dead in the water.

The Freeze
I remember the first time I played with one. it was a real eye opener.

I had played with one as a kid, on another instrument(which I hated,) that I was forced to learn as a little kid, but on guitar I didn't use one at first.

I too recommend people use one. Run scales with it going for sure.

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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 4:28 pm
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Hi guys, about two months ago when I found my guitar teacher, we had to talk together, make some plans, evaluate my playing and I showed him this clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSbZBZjI ... playnext=1
I said to him that I would be very happy if I could play like that and he told me that it was possible with practice. Now the goal is not to learn this or that song but to be able to let the music flow. Now I'm facing the reality, practice, metronome, scales. But I'm happy, at least I know where I'm going. 8)
Claude.


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:55 pm
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The Freeze wrote:
Hey Fender Cats-

Remember to practice with a Metronome. I cant stress that enough- timing is so important. You can play all the right note and chords...but if you cant play to tempo....you are dead in the water.

The Freeze

I hope my brother-in-law does not see this but staying in time is his problem. He is a better lead player so I play rhythm. The problem is when he goes into his lead riffs he gets out of time with the bass and drums and keeps playing expecting everyone else to catch up or slow down to his timing. Frustrating. :?


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:07 pm
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fhopkins wrote:
The Freeze wrote:
Hey Fender Cats-

Remember to practice with a Metronome. I cant stress that enough- timing is so important. You can play all the right note and chords...but if you cant play to tempo....you are dead in the water.

The Freeze

I hope my brother-in-law does not see this but staying in time is his problem. He is a better lead player so I play rhythm. The problem is when he goes into his lead riffs he gets out of time with the bass and drums and keeps playing expecting everyone else to catch up or slow down to his timing. Frustrating. :?
So in other words he isn't a better lead player!

I played with a guy like that, he was really dexterous, play a million notes a minute, but couldn't play in time. he never lasted in any band, he always thought it was everyone else's fault. "they're just jealous"

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:11 pm
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Twelvebar wrote:
fhopkins wrote:
The Freeze wrote:
Hey Fender Cats-

Remember to practice with a Metronome. I cant stress that enough- timing is so important. You can play all the right note and chords...but if you cant play to tempo....you are dead in the water.

The Freeze

I hope my brother-in-law does not see this but staying in time is his problem. He is a better lead player so I play rhythm. The problem is when he goes into his lead riffs he gets out of time with the bass and drums and keeps playing expecting everyone else to catch up or slow down to his timing. Frustrating. :?
So in other words he isn't a better lead player!

I played with a guy like that, he was really dexterous, play a million notes a minute, but couldn't play in time. he never lasted in any band, he always thought it was everyone else's fault. "they're just jealous"


HA! Ha! They sound like clones!


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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:41 am
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someone said to me the other day on an unrelated subject "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect". makes sense when you think about it.

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