Merits of teachers

[Whistling Willie]

Who on here uses a teacher,has used one,or indeed even is one.
If you are using one or have done in the past,has it been of real benefit to you,or could you have learnt most of the stuff through various web sites.
I ask because I have been thinking about for a few weeks and I've just heard about a class near me.It's ran by the McPeake family and it seems pretty good value,I think it's £45 for 8 or 10 weeks which seems reasonable.
So let me know what you all think about teachers before I take the plunge

[Crevan]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and to whistles. I have come quite a way teaching myself how to play the whistle but I think I would take some lessons if they were available to me. Especially if they were inexpensive. We can't get any worse by taking lessons or can we?

[FJohnSharp]

I toodled around for a several months and gained little ground. Then I got a teacher and progressed faster in three months than I had in all the time before. Why? Because we were right there in a room together and he could make corrections and then play for me to let me hear what it was supposed to sound like and I could try again. Plus he could tailor the lesson to my strengths and weaknesses and if I dind't understand something he'd find other ways to explain it. Plus, we sat and listened to music together and discussed it.

Maybe some people could get that over the internet, but not me. I like the one on one.

[Maeloc]

I have mixed feelings about this
My teacher focused on ornaments instead of teaching me how to play a song properly, how to breath and find breathing spots.
So I'm good at playing ornaments but my playing of songs leaves a lot to desire, because I learnt the songs with all ornaments included instead of learning how to introduce them gradually.
I also find hard to keep a steady rhythm because he didn't encourage me to work with the songs slowlier and find good places to breath;
So right now I face the problem of having to start everything from scratch again ; I learnt a lot from him and we got on very well, but he wasn't a good teacher, so just be careful. Good luck

[burnsbyrne]

I took lessons for two years from the same teacher as John Sharp and I'll go back to take more in the near future if all goes well. I think there's no substitute for a one-on-one teacher if he's a good teacher and can personalize the lessons to the student. For example, I was new to the whistle but not to music making so he took that into account and went on from there.

I think you should "audition" a teacher and not worry about dumping him after a few lessons if you don't click together. The teacher-student chemistry is important to the learning environment.
Mike

[chas]

I took a couple of whistle lessons and benefitted greatly. I had regular lessons on the flute until my teacher went and got himself a fellowship to study in Vienna. In each case I made more progress in the first few weeks of lessons than I had in the previous year. There are so many ways in which lessons have benefitted me. And I'm saying this from the point of view of someone who prides himself on self-motivation and believes strongly in individuality and breaking rules, especially in folk music. Thing is, you have to know and understand the rules before you can break them in a constructive way.

It's as John and Mike said, being in the room with someone who really understands the music and gives instant feedback is invaluable. The other real benefit is accountability. You can always put things off for an infinite amount of time if you don't have to present them to anyone, but if you know you have to have a piece ready by next week, it will motivate you to work on it. It also provides focus. My flute teacher once said that it's not enough just to practice, you must also practice well. Having a teacher not only motivates you to practice, it shows you how to practice well.

It's not for everybody. After a couple of whistle lessons, I decided that regular lessons on the whistle was a bit overkill for me. I had intended to go back several months later, but had been bitten by the flute bug by then.

[moxy]

I've had two whistle teachers (officially) in the last year. I started out with a whistle teacher, actually, although I've been playing music for a long time already. But for ITM, I chose to go with a teacher, and I started out on whistle (so far, still the only ITM instrument I play!).

It was definitely good for me to go that route. Like others have expressed, I needed to have a goal set for me and someone monitoring that goal. I needed to have someone to prepare tunes for, and someone pushing me to get better and to learn new stuff, new ornaments, new variations (still working on the variations part, please be patient with me!).

Having two teachers (and being influenced by several others at the same time) has been great as well since I'm being exposed to a variety of styles, and I can pick the stuff I like and incorporate it into my own developing style.

I'd definitely recommend getting a teacher, if you need that motivation. Like someone said though, it's OK to interview them too and drop them if it's not working out for you. Find one that you like and go with it

[dubhlinn]

The McPeake family have a long standing reputation in the ITM community so Iwould recommend that you grab this opportunity now before the classes fill up.
Slan,
D.

[Flyingcursor]

Nope. Just get tips and trick where I can find them. I would probably be a better player had I taken lessons.
I think one of the elements of having a teacher is that you are accountable to someone for your progress.

[carrie]

I have taken both whistle and flute lessons and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. In addition to the wonderful musical tutelage, I had the great pleasure of the student-teacher relationship, which--with these teachers anyway--produced growth in often unexpected ways. I'd be hard pressed to think of a lovelier thing than a mutually respectful and joyful student-teacher relationship, one in which the teacher sees a whole person behind the instrument, and the student offers the best of him- or herself in the exchange.

But it does have to be the right teacher. Well, I suppose, the right student too.

Carol

[moxy]

Carol's right. I ended up becoming very good friends with my two teachers, and as a result of our friendship, I've met tonnes of great musicians in my area, and am definitely a better person for that.

[Whistling Willie]

The McPeake family have a long standing reputation in the ITM community so Iwould recommend that you grab this opportunity now before the classes fill up.
Slan,
D.

I think I will,They now have a school of music open in Belfast city center,which should hopefuly make ITM a bit more accessible to both traditions over here,which in my opinion can only be a good thing!

[dubhlinn]

Willie,
Grab the chance.I am wondering if you are a native of Belfast or somebody who just recently moved there.
You are either very diplomatic or very innocent.

Mmmmm.. the mind boggles.....

Slan,
D.

[PhilO]

I have found instruction from a GOOD teacher invaluable. By good I mean someone who concentrates on the music - the phrasing, breathing, lilt; i.e., the basic timing and feel of the music. Someone who let's speed come naturally and at the appropriate time in the student's development introduces aids to work on speed whilst keeping proper phrasing and works on the spice of ornamentation when the basics are down.

A good teacher helps to undo and avoid all the bad habits and phrasing inappropriate to the music that one can easily develop on one's own. After years of playing alone, although I had an innate sense of rhythm and timing and played with feeling, I was just not playing some of the music properly - wrong feel and wrong time values for some notes; almost an operatic feel to some parts of pieces instead of the particular rhythmic lilt that we strive for in this music.

There are things I'd thought burdensome and not enjoyable, like a metronome, that I now find helps rather than distracts, so that I can work to elevate my speed to the more usually accepted speeds of various types of tunes (jigs, reels, etc.) and still have the tunes hold together rhythmically. I've also been gently but unendingly prodded and given tools to work on ear training (which I hope to find the time for shortly because it is something I think will after the inital work really free me up to learn the music).

I don't think everyone needs this; I certainly do because I come to the music relatively late and from the outside. For me a good teacher is required to keep me tied into the heart of the music in a way that enables me to consistently improve my playing.

A live teacher is great, but not everyone has that access; a combination of recorded and live music, books and internet programs may approximate that, but one would have to be really self-motivated without someone in your face guiding you.

Bottom line: I seem to thrive and make the best progress with the guidance of my teacher. It's also fun to have someone to play tunes with.

Best,

Philo

[Whistling Willie]

Willie,
Grab the chance.I am wondering if you are a native of Belfast or somebody who just recently moved there.
You are either very diplomatic or very innocent.

Mmmmm.. the mind boggles.....

Slan,
D.

Dubhlinn,
I have lived in East Belfast all my life,and I guess I am somewhat diplomatic.Though most of the people that I know from "my side of the bridge" think that I'm crazy for embracing ITM.The way I see it is that no one should have a monopoly on any kind of culture....it's there for everyone