Written on
Wednesday, August 20. 2008
in
General Advice by Dan Christopher
It is incredibly important for any serious musician to be taking music lessons from an experienced teacher. I am taking lessons from a fantastic musician now, and I plan to continue lessons as long as I can find someone who knows more than I do.... which will be for many years to come. I personally wish we could even go one step beyond this, that artists and musicians could enter into a sort of master/apprentice relationship with their teachers. Unfortunately, that style of focused learning just doesn’t seem available in today's culture.
I don’t know why some people are so hesitant about taking lessons. I know there is some sense of accomplishment to be able to say that you were self taught. Everyone wants to look like they are just naturally good what they do it and it all comes easy to them. And I’m sure there are some virtuosos out there that figured everything out on their own, but that is such a rarity, and who knows how much better they would be or how much faster they would have progressed if they did have someone guiding them from the beginning. Anyways, my feelings aside, there are numerous benefits of taking lessons from an experienced teacher:
- Technique. There are lots of things to learn that really has to be shown in person. You can't get a good mastery of your picking, conservation of motion, and many other techniques just from playing tabs or playing along with your cds
- Their skills will rub off on you. Having regular time to just sit and play with someone who is much more experienced than you is the fastest way to grow as a musician. We learned to speak as a child by spending time with adults, and it should be the same with learning to play. Unfortunately, not many beginners have any opportunities spend time with great musicians, unless your parents or siblings can play. Other musicians aren’t going to want you to join their band unless you are already at their level. Even if you did get to play with big-shot musicians before your time, you probably wont get the same focused feedback unless you pay for it.
- You are held accountable. This is a big thing for many people. It provides you with a regular progress check and forces you to buckle down and learn something you might put off until later.
- You cover material you would never think of otherwise. You will probably learn a lot of things in your lessons that don’t seem too relevant or interesting at the moment, but they will pay of immensely down the road. Also, how can you know what will just be “good for you” to know until you have mastered it? A teacher can direct you to the most useful thing for you to learn at your skill level.
- Music connections. The fact is, your teacher hangs out with a lot of other musicians, and has probably been in the local scene for a long time. Whether it is just other students of theirs trying to set up a band, or a referral to a session gig when you are ready, there can be a lot of real world/tangible benefits to being someone’s most dedicated student. One well known example: Stephan Lessard was recommended for his spot in the Dave Matthews Band at the age of 16 by his bass instructor.
If you are serious about your instrument, find someone in your area who can guide you in your education and growth. I know you will enjoy fruits of that relationship for many years to come.
What are your thoughts? Any other benefits you have enjoyed from your lessons?
And conversely, is there any one out there that regrets their time with formal training? Is there anyone who feels they are actually worse off or creatively limited by their time spent studying with a teacher?
