Re: [Harp-L] advanced?

[joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Jan 17, 2010, at 6:39 PM, icemanle@xxxxxxx wrote:

(snip-a-dee-doo-dah)
> What slows down the class is the one or two students, over their  
> heads, needing assistance where the rest of the class twiddles  
> thumbs while waiting to get on with it..

This is true. As a field instructor for nearly 30 years, I constantly  
had to deal with a class (maybe 38 people) where there would be 1 or  
maybe 2 people who would ask questions. Certainly questions were  
encouraged, but these people would ask a question..and after it was  
answered, they would ask another, and another, and another. People  
should FIRST try and ascertain where THEY are in a particular field  
and THEN apply for a class. In my line, applications were not an  
issue as the classes were mandatory. So I dealt with it.

Another thing to consider when reaching certain levels is: Some  
people may be very very good at one facet of a subject while others  
are not, and in the very next breath the ones who weren't too good at  
the first facet are now very very good themselves while the superior  
people on the first facet are now having comprehension problems  
themselves. It turns out that people learn different things in  
different sequences and at different times and different progressions  
and different INTENSITIES.

It would be incumbent on the INSTRUCTOR to make sure that the lesson  
plan was structured in a logical format in the first place. And while  
there isn't a large amount of harmonica instruction out there to  
begin with, a look at ANY instrument plan should do the job. For  
harmonica, I would suggest horn formats. As they all follow a 'lesson  
#1, lesson #2, etc. progression, it would be hard to go wrong. People  
shouldn't get in over their head. They should appraise THEMSELVES  
honestly.

For example, some might consider me to be an expert, whereas 'I'  
would apply for lessons as an intermediate. (Which is 2 steps BELOW  
expert). And if the applicant can't assess themselves, the instructor  
should (have the guts to) do it for them.

smo-joe
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