Romkey, you said it well...especially about the magical powers...<G>
On Oct 7, 3:05 am, Romkey <[email protected]> wrote: > No, not Skaggs again!!!!!! (g) > > A few observations, if I may be so bold, from someone who has both > attended workshops and taught them (writing, not music): > > 1. Workshops and lessons are useful to a certain (smaller rather than > greater) extent, but ultimately the thing that counts is hard work by > individuals, toiling long hours alone, to improve their craft. Lessons > or a workshop can't make you a good player. Only you can make you a > good player. > > 2. It can be frustrating for teachers (henceforth assume I'm also > talking about workshop leaders as well as teachers involved in one-on- > one lessons) when students think it is the teacher's job to "make" > them a better player. A good teacher can provide encouragement and > advice, but the improvement is up to the student. Thirty minutes in a > lesson, or even a week at a workshop, can't make you more than a > little bit better, if that. It's a starting point, not the > destination. > > 3. Students often harbor the mystical belief the teacher (especially > if they're accomplished or "famous" for what they do) possesses the > magical power to lay hands on them and anoint them with ability. Of > course, they don't think of it in these terms, but that is > nevertheless their hidden belief. It is 100 percent superstition. I > took a class once, with about 80 other people, from Chris Thile. Down > deep in my bones, I thought: "This is so cool; now I'm going to 'get' > how Chris plays. I'm in a room with him, we're both holding mandolins, > and some of his mojo is going to rub off." Alas, it didn't. The master > can't let the acolyte in on the secret. There isn't any secret. > > 4. We have a strange affinity for people who are well-known for > mastering a skill we wish to know. Face it: one of the reasons we go > to workshops is because they want to hang around with David Grisman, > ol' Tater, Don and whomever else is on staff. Duh. We're pickers, but > we're also fans. Some teachers like the attention, some don't. Some > students understand they're paying for direction and access and that > when the class is over, it's over, but some don't. It can be hard to > respect boundaries with people we admire, and some of the beloved are > touchier about it than others. > > 5. Teaching isn't for everybody, and neither is being a student. It > behooves both sides of the equation to think a little bit about the > other guy and make sure to treat them right. The Golden Rule, you > know. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
