The Internet.

[MonkeyZero]

I personally find that the accountability of a teacher keeps me focused in practice and pushes me forward faster than watching videos to learn "cool licks".
Without a teacher, I'm really good at collecting lessons. Not so much in the doing part.

Sent from The Nether

 

[Mark Wein]

Yep, I can see where that would be frustrating as a teacher.

FWIW, I am a teacher (not music) and this isn't an uncommon phenomena regardless of subject.

It's the teachers that figure out how leverage their students natural curiosity and access to information that will come out ahead (as will their students). The good news is the student is compelled to learn and seeking more information, the bad news is they don't necessarily have the background to be able to discern what's good information from bad - and that may well be something YOU have to teach!

I guess my point is, to be blunt, get used to it, embrace it and work with it. Fighting it won't work. Get used to being questioned and challenged by students. I'd rather be challenged by a student then have then not have them care one way or the other. It gives you the opportunity to open up a dialogue about why something is the way it is.

I've been dealing with it for over a decade at this point. Some folks aren't open to "discussion" though. Makes you wonder why they pay for lessons in the first place when they know everything.

 

[Tyler Walton]

I agree with having to get used to the phenomenon of curious or driven students turning to the internet for perspective on concepts that are being taught to them. I just wish they wouldn't hold these things in the same regard that they hold their actual instructor or assigned lesson materials.

 

[wagdog]

I fully understand what you're saying Tyler; teachers across the board wrestle with that everyday.

 

[mosiddiqi]

I really respect you guys that teach. I'd be killing people.

 

[fused]

Story checks out.

"Dad said I should play it like this instead." Well, if dad knew WTF he was talking about, he wouldn't send you to me, right?

Well I'm on the other side of this fence, being the dad that did teach the kid and then sent him to someone else who was at least my ability to give the kid another perspective. Even if DAD did teach, DAD doesn't know it all and DAD should let the teach, the one that DADS sent the kid to, even if DAD did teach. LET the TEACh teach! And tell the kid to pay attention .... TO THE TEACH!

And this worked out, the kid is now at the end of his third year at Berklee in Boston for music with main instrument being...GUITAR!
Imagine that LOL...

AND he has had many other instructors at Berklee that I'd bet teach many things way different than Dad. In fact, I was in a band back in 84 with a lady who is a berklee guitar prof....

Yeah, DAD teaching is a good thing. BUT when the kid goes to an instructor other than dad, the kid needs to pay attention. Even if taught differently by Said DAD... Another perspective is NEVER a bad thing.

I could not do your jobs... Seems more like babysitting snot nosed punks than teaching interested sencere musician wanna be...s

I will say that as a DAD who was teaching 24/7 when the kid had questions at dinner time etc.... I give you guys a LOT of respect....

Oh and just as a side bar. I heavily did my homework before sending kid to intructor... So much so that DAD even took some lessons from the SAME teacher... Yeah, 52+ years old and DAD can still learn more too

 

[Modern Saint]

This has been a really interesting read because it tells me how much the dicotomy of guitar instruction has changed since my day. As I get closer towards retirement, I was considering getting back into teaching again. I can see the challenges presented as well as the advantages to the internet. Either the student still needs to practice and yes in order to move forward formal instruction.

When I first learned I struggled. I had lessons but it had nothing to do with playing any type of rock. In fact my lessons were in Hawaiian Slack Key and Classical Guitar. The nice part was that it gave me structure and helped me to move on post lessons. When I entered college, the world really opened up but I had to do the work by taking classical theory and applying it to the guitar. We had no such thing as internet but tons of books which many of them took me nowhere. Of the few that I did work on, I enjoyed and learned alot.

The only difference between then and now is the internet is very visual where a book was alot of self-study. Either way it depends on how much the student wants to learn rather than say, check out what I found on the internet.

Kudos to you that still teach. I will have that chance again when that time comes.