Dear Herbert:
I have heard that too, but all experience points in the exact opposite
direction. Ronn McFarlane, for example, is an exceptional teacher for
beginners; he was my first teacher and still regularly teaches classes on
fundamentals at LSA seminars. Paul O'Dette, Bob Barto, Paul Beier, Stephen
Stubbs and the late Charlie Schroeder all are outstanding, insightful
instructors. So I see no merit whatever in this line of thinking.
The converse may not be true, though. I believe it is possible for a
teacher to bring many insights to instruction without being an extremely
skilled player. That being said, the best teachers I know of are
outstanding players as well.
There may be some lute virtuosi who play with bad technique, but I have
yet to encounter them.
Cheers,
Jim
Herbert Ward
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [email protected]
exas.edu> cc:
Subject: Virtuosi as teachers.
06/28/2005 11:41
AM
I have heard that many elite virtuosi are not good
teachers for beginners, because manual dexterity comes
so effortlessly to them that they never analyze it
sufficiently to teach it.
And further, that some virtuosi play with bad technique,
and overcome it with the brute force of their raw
talent, thus having a second reason for not teaching
beginners.
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