dbacon

should first lead by example, giving inspiration to the student. Great teachers today are fine players, doing both of these things through their performance.

Trumpet playing is best learned from a fine trumpet player that cares about teaching.

camelbrass

Hi Dave,

I must admit that I don't agree with that. To get the best out of a student a teacher has to be a good player but not necessarily a fine one (..semantics I guess).

On the rare occassions I've been in the presence of a fine player his skill as a teacher depended on his communication skills. Some have this but others have just wanted to show you how much 'cleverer' they are than you. I'm not saying that a fine player cannot make a fine teacher what I am saying is that I don't think they're directly related.

I guess the distinction is like golf or tennis coaches. Some great coaches have been great players but more often they have not been but are great coaches.


Regards


Trevor

robertwhite

I'll put my 2cents in on this one:

For performative skills - language, singing, playing an instrument, dancing, etc. - the most effective learning procedure is to imitate an example. This is more crudely called "learning by rote". This is not the only way to learn something, obviously, but it is certainly the most direct.

Unless a student already has his/her sh.. really together, they better have a teacher who can SHOW them what to do - otherwise a lot of time will be spent chasing abstract concepts and misunderstood directions.

That being said, for people that DO indeed have their sh.. together, it's a good idea to expand your horizons with those aforementioned abstract concepts, etc. This is where the "coaching" aspect comes in to play.

Also, for musicians, there does have to be some "book-learnin'" in terms of knowing your scales, music theory, etc.

But, in terms of getting the right sound and figuring out how to approach the instrument, a good example to follow is better than anything else.

Just some thoughts. Interesting thread!

Bob

bigaggietrumpet

Oh boy, ya'll are gonna go ape over this one.

Actually, I believe all that you need to be a good teacher is a strong understanding of how the music is supposed to be played, the desire to teach, and a personality. For example, I am a freshman in college with around 4 years of private lessons under my belt. Not one of those lessons came from a trumpet teacher, they all came from trombonists.

And really, is that a big deal? No. The basic concepts are the same, just pitch manipulation is different. If I had the chance to go back and do it all over again, I would go back to the same guy and do it all over again. He was the only person on the face of the planet who could get me up 30 minutes earlier than normal just so I could practice my trumpet.

Mr. Cooper, if you're out there, thanks.
Michael Smith

dbacon

Fine brass playing/teaching comes from any great artist that will share with you and inspire you. Arnold Jacobs was a great brass teacher, Buddy Baker at Northern Colorado (trombone) helped me learn to play Lead as a freshman. I still copy good trombone players on rapid slurs, especially descending. Good trombone players can really give us a model for fast and accurate lips slurs.

Anyone that inspired you to become a fine musician deserves much recognition!