Re: Lessons

["MaryLarryCarleighReilly Pratt" <mlpratt@xxxxxxx>]

This is a great thread.   I do "teach".  I also start out with the upfront
assessment session at no charge.  This is where I can learn about the
student and decide if I can help them.  The student can also learn about me
and decide if I can help them.  I'm very clear on what I have to offer.  I
teach harmonica technique, not music theory.  I know I'd be a better and
more complete instructor if I did teach music theory, but I don't have that
skill/knowledge. This seems to work for the students I have.   I have two
students at the moment.  One a true beginner, the other with some history.
The beginner is focusing on single note play.  The other student asks about
specific songs.  I listen to them before our lesson and I try to figure out
what's going on and show him how to do it.

I'm fairly new to "teaching".  I actually think of it more as "coaching"
than teaching.  Learning to be a teacher is analogous to learning to play,
except there are lots of videos and books on how to play.  Not much there on
how to teach.  I could use a teaching resource to develop my teaching
techniques.

Vern, Iceman and Doug Puls all made significant contributions to this
thread.  Go back and read them again.  BTW, Doug Puls was my first and only
harmonica teacher.  It was a group lesson for beginners.  After the first
lesson he said "What are you doing here?  You are no beginner."  What he
taught me was understanding my level of play and self confidence.  I
considered myself a woeful novice.  I knew I could do a few things, but
compared to others, I pretty much sucked.  I would never expose myself to
the humiliation of an open mic.  Doug gave me confidence in my abilities,
which were far more developed than I knew.  He also taught me to respect the
playing of others, whether they were any good at all or god's gift to the
harp.

Best Regards to All

Larry Boy Pratt
www.parkhousejam.com