What Makes a Music Teacher 'Great'?

Finding a 'great' music teacher may be like finding a needle in a haystack. What makes a music teacher great? In general, they need experience and understanding in the art of teaching as well as enough patience and knowledge to see that you develop a strong foundation in your music. A great Music 'Teacher' should have actual teaching credentials, as well as loads of experience in numerous areas of the music field. They need an understanding of how people learn; and they must be able to see the 'Big Picture'.

At ThreeGuitarz Music, all lessons and strategies are developed and presented by a licensed and experienced teacher. What’s so special about taking lessons from a licensed teacher? I could go on and on explaining what licensed teachers are trained to do, but to cut to the chase I’ll tell you my story:

As a kid, I grew up with many opportunities to take music lessons and learn to play all sorts of musical instruments. I had taken school band lessons from third grade on, only to learn how to play melody notes from sheet music. Not to forget the general music lessons where you just warmed up the vocal chords and sang songs. I had also taken a couple years of piano lessons, only to learn a couple scales, chords, songs, and how to pivot my fingers. Many years of Guitar Store lessons and guitar magazines helped me read tab and play some songs.

Through it all, I never actually learned any music theory or fundamentals, never gained a real understanding of what I was playing... until, that is, I started teaching school kids (actually after teaching for a few years). Through all those years of lessons I took as a kid, no one ever discussed the importance of understanding and mastering the fundamentals of music. For most ‘teachers’ (most school music teachers were not licensed back then), the fundamentals were just a quick step to getting on to the fun stuff :( singing or playing songs from a book. But the key to being a GREAT musician (or great anything for that matter) is to Master the Fundamentals. Write that down! And remember, mastery of the fundamentals will lead to your own virtuosity in its own time. You don’t need to know everything to play in a band or create music; you do, however need to “Shut up and Play”! (previous post)

Finally, after realizing just how important these fundamentals actually were, I was able to focus my learning and in no time at all I was recording my first songs. Playing music has never been easier! As a matter of fact, I apply these lessons to all areas of my life with great success (future blog?). The trick is knowing what to teach and when to teach it, or rather, what to learn and what not to worry about right now.

In conclusion, finding a great teacher is very important unless you just want to fiddle around. What makes a teacher great? Again, they need experience and understanding in the art of teaching as well as the patience and knowledge to see that you develop a strong foundation in your music.

If you want to hear more about learning how to play music or sing, then tune in to my Blog and subscribe to the feed! Or better yet, visit the website @ www.ThreeGuitarz.com

Shut Up and Play

A popular misconception about learning how to play an instrument is that you need to learn how to read music. And there is so much to learn about playing your instrument that it might seem daunting or near impossible. Sure, you’ll need to read music and know all the styles, techniques, chords, and scales if you want to play in the symphony, or if you aspire to be a session musician. Otherwise, you just need to know the basics of music notation and theory. Think about how all the great Blues players of yesteryear got their start. They learned the main CHORDS and main NOTES of a particular KEY (scale) and played the song. They didn't worry about the hundred technical skills they could learn, they just played. They didn't read music - they played music.

Sure technical virtuosity is nice, but not necessary. Mastery of the FUNDAMENTALS will lead to your own virtuosity in its own time. In my next posts I will discuss these fundamentals in further detail and you will soon be on your way to playing in a band, or better yet, starting your own band. So while you're waiting for my next post, take a look at any beginner’s music book to learn about your instruments basic techniques, correct posture, basic music notation, etc. I will then assume that you know how to strum the strings or find middle C, and other basics found in all the beginner books. For future posts, I will use the Guitar and Piano for most examples. However, these techniques will apply to all instruments and as a matter of fact, life in general!

If you want to hear more about learning how to play music or sing, then tune in to my Blog and subscribe to the feed! Or better yet, visit the website @ www.ThreeGuitarz.com