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It begins by finding the right teacher for you. Americans are not inclined to just listen and absorb. We question or even rebel against teachers/authority because our society allows it. That Hollywood bad boy/girl image. Anyway, there is no substitute for the fundamentals. If you don't have a grasp of your scales and chords, you won't be able to move your fingers to the proper place. There is certainly a philosophy to teaching, and good teachers are able to keep a student interested. The student must also be committed, as it is a partnership. Wax on, wax off, works, but here in America, the teacher must explain why. Attention to detail is lacking in many of people today. It is certainly a skill that has to be learned, and continued practice of that attention to detail (along with practice of your instrument) is a must. I'm sure this may be easier for some, due to the parents influence on so many aspects of our maturation process. Lucky for me my father was insistent on performing tasks properly the first time. He correctly pointed out that it ultimately saves time! Alas, I don't have all the answers. I've had many poor music instructors over the years. I've had a few that helped me over the next peak. Was it the instructors fault or mine? I would say both. If the student doesn't ask the teacher the question, how can the teacher assist the student? As with our healthcare system, we must take control over what we have/do/say. I can't expect the doctor to tell me what is wrong if I don't communicate with him/her. This group operates in much the same way. If we don't know, we ask. Someone answers and we gain knowledge. Often the answers lead to other questions. Respect Will Brake Soul Fruit Electronics -----Original Message----- From: Greg House [mailto:ghunicycle@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 11:02 AM To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com Subject: developing musicians and a musical culture --- Mark Sottilaro <sine@zerocrossing.net> wrote: > I'm not sure I agree about the whole instant gratification thing. I > think that our culture has too deep of a division between musician and > everyone else. Too many teachers begin giving students dry drills. > Turns them off to music forever... or at least to the idea of being a > musician. A box that's got some instant fun involved can spark a fun > aspect and get a student to move forward. Many, of course, will > realize it's not for them and drop it, but I think it's not necessarily > a bad thing all the time. I think you're absolutely right. There's been a very rigid view of music instruction over the years and it's crippled a lot of people creatively. I had a piano teacher when I was a little kid who definitely discouraged me with her perfectionism and emphasis on music I didn't connect with. Between her and my parents refusal to continue paying for guitar lessons when I didn't practice regularly, I put the playing of music aside for many years. It was only toward the end of my time in college that I picked it back up. Such a shame to have lost some of the best years for learning that sort of thing. I remember the first time I played an electric guitar through an amp with distortion. Talk about instant gratification! AND instant inspiration! That one experience changed my perspective on what I was capable of (and my friend never found out that I'd been messing with his stuff while he was gone...) Here's a question for all of you. Given that there ARE hundreds (thousands?) of years of musical experience which can be learned from, how do we learn (and teach) in such a way that creativity is encouraged, enthusiasm is maintained, and we still encourage the discipline and knowledge accumulated over the years? How do we encourage our culture to -create-? How do we knock people out of a "spectator mentality"? Greg __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com