When learning how to play an instrument it is true that you can go pretty far teaching yourself alone. But having a teacher who you can get along with who is qualified and able to distinguish your needs as a student
Let’s say that you want to learn how to play the guitar. With the aid of instructional videos and articles online you can find useful information that develop your skills as a guitar player. Yet with or without a strong intuition an inexperienced student will reach a limit at some point. You might find yourself having learned all the changes you needed for a set of songs, found guitar chord charts, notes and maybe even some recorded tutorials from one of your favorite artists. However you might still feel stuck with what to do as your next step and not encouraged enough to create your own sound.
Overcoming such limits is frustrating and requires patience and will. This is what a teacher can help you with. With enough experience in teaching and sometimes just by being a musician that is ahead in this career a teacher can provide you the tricks that help you become the musician you imagine yourself as faster.
However not every music teacher is perfect for every student. For a successful environment of music lessons the student has to find a teacher who he can trust and accept as a model for the period of studying. Here are a few conditions important for finding a good teacher:
– You like the teacher’s playing
Piano, guitar, drums, voice, saxophone… Doesn’t matter which instrument you chose. Look for qualities in the playing of your teacher that you’d like to bring to your own. Find specific things about technique, vocabulary and sound and ask questions about them. Sometimes you can work with a teacher that doesn’t play the same instrument as you do but still can learn a lot from them musically. For example, if you are a saxophone player some insight from a teacher that plays the bass as his/her main instrument can give you a lot of insight that you didn’t consider before.
– You are interested in the music they know a lot about
Make sure that they know some points about the music you are interested in. Some teachers contribute with their experience, some with their extensive research on a certain area and some with their inspirational power and good analytical skills. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, be prepared to study the repertoire that they like to teach you. This way you will end up enriching your musical world with surprising additions you didn’t imagine before.
– The teacher has an interesting personality
This one is not only about getting along but more about finding a teacher inspirational enough to stay interested in the music lessons. Since the teacher will apply his/her own familiar methods to you it will make you play and think a little like him or her. If there’s no agreement on this level the teaching might be less effective. The manner of teaching, the quality of the conversations you have and the overall energy of the lessons are really effective factors that make you learn better.
Finding a good teacher that will guide your motivation and help you achieve goals is important for your growth. All the teachers at MyMusicSchool.com are active artists with their own projects. To have a lesson with one of them you need go to the website, choose a teacher and book a suitable time and see if you think that is a perfect teacher/student relationship for you!