MonstersOfTheMidway
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- May 1, 2008
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If "the best teachers" are doing as you say, then perhaps you and others haven't really found the best teachers.the best teachers ive seen wont teach you anything of what you want to play. nothing.
I'm not trying to discredit your point of view (quite honestly, I've, too, have seen the exact thing you're talking about). I only ever found one teacher who asked me the one question which guided my instruction: what do you want to play? Very few teachers/instructors ask such questions, but also very few students know what to ask their teachers/instructors. Any hesitation/indecision by the student is almost always an invitation by the teacher to take over and start making decisions for the student on what he/she should be learning.
It's not easy finding the right teacher for private instruction, and not every person needs a teacher/instructor. But if the student has a very specific goal in mind, finding the right teacher may pay off.
If, as you say, the point of certain kinds of instruction is to learn songs, then I agree that it's better to stay home & learn on your own. A variety of books, magazines, and online videos will probably be fast, cheaper, and perhaps more effective learning than spending time, money, and effort of going to a teacher (e.g. you can learn at your own pace; review material when, where, & how often you want, etc.however, they will teach you the skills to figure the songs out that you want to learn.
if your going to a teacher to learn songs one might as well stay home. your going for all the wrong reasons.
For any instruction to have tangible, lasting, and valuable benefits, the student needs to clearly communicate a specific goal to the instructor so that instructor can effectively guide the student.