Hello :)

  1. joey6592
    joey6592
    Hey everybody. I'm not a mandolin teacher but in the future I plan on becoming a mandolin, bass, and guitar teacher. (I play drums to, but not rlly interested in teaching about them.)

    Any pointers? And is it neccessary or did any of you all have college education to become a music teacher?
  2. Jon Hall
    Jon Hall
    You would need a degree to teach in public school or a college but usually not if you are teaching elsewhere.

    If you aren't teaching from a "method" book I would have a lesson plan with handouts. Students need to be confident that you have it together and that you aren't winging it.

    Try to teach the student a song(s) asap, even if it is a simple rhythm using two finger chords.
  3. joey6592
    joey6592
    let's say I were to become an in home mandolin teacher. Would I have to teach them how to read sheet music? or just chords and songs? I'll be honest, on mandolin, guitar, and bass, I'm rlly good, but I have like barely any theory at all. I have more on guitar than anything else but that's about it.
  4. Joe Nobiling
    Joe Nobiling
    The answer to your question requires that you ask other questions or you take a stance as a teacher and teach in one way only.

    What is it a student wants to learn? Some may only be interested in playing backup, some only interested in melody or lead playing, some improvising.

    The best thing to do is to make a student aware of the capability of the instrument and need for well roundedness in one's understanding, knowledge, and musical/instrumental abilities.

    Being able to read sheet music is a good skill to have but not absolutely necessary as having a good ear and being able to play by ear is much more gratifying in the long run. However, some folks really feel the need to be able to read and learn from the page or are more comfortable learning that way.

    I try to ascertain what it is the student wants to learn and take them down that path to begin with. Sometimes students discover they want another direction or you as a teacher discover the need to take them along the reading sheet music route because that gives them the best foundation.

    I try to please the customer. If I can't, I send them towards other teachers I think can help them achieve their goals.

    When you say you "have more (theory?) on guitar than anything else..." I'm thinking you're saying guitar is your primary instrument and you have a better understanding of how chords and scales lay out on the guitar neck better than you do the bass and mandolin. Is this what you mean?

    To me music theory is a universal understanding that applies to all music and not to how to play an instrument.

    If you're really good at playing but not theory, and a student wants to understand theory, send them in the direction where they can get the theory. To me that would be a college level music theory course or recommend theory books for them to check out.

    Hopefully, this helps.
  5. joey6592
    joey6592
    thank you very much, and yes it does help. Yes that is what I meant on guitar. Chords, scales, notes to a degree. I'd like to say mandolin is my min instrument cause I play it non-stop but it's between that and guitar. Yeah I'd say I'm rlly good at improvising I do it all the time when I play in front of my god-fathers shop for random ppl who stop in. (he thinks it'll atract business :]).
    And I'm rlly good with chordsbut note reading is my trouble. I plan on going to college and majoring in music so I'm not too woried about it. Thank you fro all of the help though.
  6. Joe Nobiling
    Joe Nobiling
    One thing I forgot to encourage you about, joey6592. That is not to shy away from a beginning student that wants to learn to read notes as you will learn in the process and that's a good thing. Joe
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