No, not Skaggs again!!!!!! (g) A few observations, if I may be so bold, from someone who has both attended workshops and taught them (writing, not music):
1. Workshops and lessons are useful to a certain (smaller rather than greater) extent, but ultimately the thing that counts is hard work by individuals, toiling long hours alone, to improve their craft. Lessons or a workshop can't make you a good player. Only you can make you a good player. 2. It can be frustrating for teachers (henceforth assume I'm also talking about workshop leaders as well as teachers involved in one-on- one lessons) when students think it is the teacher's job to "make" them a better player. A good teacher can provide encouragement and advice, but the improvement is up to the student. Thirty minutes in a lesson, or even a week at a workshop, can't make you more than a little bit better, if that. It's a starting point, not the destination. 3. Students often harbor the mystical belief the teacher (especially if they're accomplished or "famous" for what they do) possesses the magical power to lay hands on them and anoint them with ability. Of course, they don't think of it in these terms, but that is nevertheless their hidden belief. It is 100 percent superstition. I took a class once, with about 80 other people, from Chris Thile. Down deep in my bones, I thought: "This is so cool; now I'm going to 'get' how Chris plays. I'm in a room with him, we're both holding mandolins, and some of his mojo is going to rub off." Alas, it didn't. The master can't let the acolyte in on the secret. There isn't any secret. 4. We have a strange affinity for people who are well-known for mastering a skill we wish to know. Face it: one of the reasons we go to workshops is because they want to hang around with David Grisman, ol' Tater, Don and whomever else is on staff. Duh. We're pickers, but we're also fans. Some teachers like the attention, some don't. Some students understand they're paying for direction and access and that when the class is over, it's over, but some don't. It can be hard to respect boundaries with people we admire, and some of the beloved are touchier about it than others. 5. Teaching isn't for everybody, and neither is being a student. It behooves both sides of the equation to think a little bit about the other guy and make sure to treat them right. The Golden Rule, you know. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
