View Full Version : A few lessons
We live in a motorhome and travel full time. Consequently I am never in one place long enough to work with a teacher. I am self-taught and have reached the point where I am running in place with little advancement. (Other than a recent switch from tab to notation) Is there anything to be gained by taking just one or two lessons when I cannot stick with the instructor. We are currently in Mt. Home Arkansas. I do not believe there is anyone here that teaches but there is sure to be someone in Mt. View which is about an hour from here.
I am also thinking of getting the Murphy Method and trying to learn to play by ear.
Pat
Depends upon the instructor of course, but I say go for it! My instructor gave me a couple of exercises and some tips in my first lesson that helped enormously. If the instructor does nothing more than point out a bad habit or poor technique, it's probably well worth the time and money.
Rod Freeland
Jul-27-2004, 11:35am
I highly recommend Chris Thile's DVD (from Homespun Tapes). #I found it on a Bluegrass website for only $19.95 (http://www.BluegrassDVD.com) and bought two copies, one to have for myself and one as a loaner. #He made it about 5-6 years ago but it's still really good in my opinion. #(I have no financial interest in either BluegrassDVD or Homespun Tapes.)
SteveW
Jul-27-2004, 11:42am
I agree with Hondo. When I started on the mandolin, I tried to teach myself for about six months. Then I found a teacher locally. In our first lesson, he corrected how I was positioning my right hand and my picking technique, and it was a real breakthrough. The next week he fixed some left hand problems. I've been continuing lessons for nearly two years now, but even if I had stopped after lesson two, I would have learned some invaluable things.
Steve
Tom C
Jul-27-2004, 11:46am
A teacher can teach you mechanics and theory that you can build on over a life time.
I agree with the other posters that even a lesson or two can help you deal with problems that might have developed as you learned on your own. But don't hook up with the first picker you run into with hopes of getting help; there are a lot of great pickers out there who don't have a clue about helping someone else learn. Some of them have very poor technique, and "do as I do" is not necessarily the best way to go. (The phrase "he sure plays awfully good for as bad as he plays" would apply here.) Inquire of other players when you are going to be in an area for a while, and try to find someone to meet with a time or two. Workshops can be a real help, but primarily if you can get feedback on what you are doing. Too many of them have enough people involved that there isn't any individual feedback, and it sounds like that's what you should have at this point in your playing development.