Tim MackeyOffering guitar lessons, violin lessons, and banjo lessons in Tigard, Oregon | | | I think it would add a lot to allow us to upload examples of our playing for prospective students to HEAR who they might want to take lessons from, to see IF they can actually Play! | | | 
Michael ConnollyOffering fiddle lessons, mandolin lessons, and guitar lessons in Seattle, Washington | | Tim,
That's a great idea - I've added it to our list of features to implement on the site. I'd also like to give teachers the ability to upload videos of themselves, which could add a lot as well.
Thanks for the feedback!
Michael
------------------
On August 25, 2007 - 10:37 AM, Tim Mackey wrote :
> I think it would add a lot to allow us to upload examples of our playing for prospective students to HEAR who they might want to take lessons from, to see IF they can actually Play! | | | 
Don Libes
| | I'm not sure it's all that valuable to hear teachers play. As a student, I don't care if a teacher can play, only if they can teach! I've had teachers that never touched the instrument during my lessons. Yes, playing can be important but it can be very deceptive to hear someone who plays wonderfully but is a lousy teacher. I'd rather watch a video of the teacher with a student - like masterclass videos that often appear on PBS. Now *that* would be useful.
Would also be helpful if *students* could post audios or videos of themselves playing so that teachers could better understand the student skill level before finding out that the student is totally above (or beneath) their level of teaching expertise. | | | 
| |
------------------
On January 16, 2008 - 2:21 PM, Don Libes wrote :
> I'm not sure it's all that valuable to hear teachers play. As a student, I don't care if a teacher can play, only if they can teach!
I hear what you're saying, but I think that the ability to play well tends to be seen as one indicator of the teacher's overall competency.
There are a lot of people in my field (piano) who went into school to study something else -- voice, for example -- and they picked up enough piano along the way that they can offer piano lessons, too. Some do this well, but some are not really skilled enough to teach piano beyond the first year basics.
A parent has no real way of knowing that until they reach the point where the instructor doesn't know enough material to keep teaching. Those are the people who usually come to me saying, "It started out good with our old teacher, but it feels like he/she doesn't really have anything more to offer my son/daughter."
If they hear the teacher play to start with, it might give them a small indication, at least, as to how far the teacher will be able to progress with their student.
There's definitely the possibility that the teacher will be a great musician and an awful teacher, but it will only take two or three lessons to figure this out and move on.
My website includes audio because it might matter to some people, and if it's a determining factor for someone, I don't want to be the teacher with no audio. | | | | LearningMusician Chat >> Site Questions, Comments, and Complaints >> Allow upload of mp3 files | | Viewing 1-4 of 4 total messages |
|
Privacy Policy - About Us
Site design,framework, and original content copyright 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 by LearningMusician.com
a division of Empty Sea Productions, LLC
