Posted by Ari Eisinger Perhaps the most important of these is that teachers can provide feedback. Most people who learn a tune by themselves end up doing some of it right and some of it wrong and will practice both the right and the wrong parts until they are both thoroughly ingrained. With no one to point out where they've gone wrong, they tend not to correct themselves. This is particularly true for things like hand position, but applies to notes and rhythm as well. Another thing a good teacher can provide that a DVD can't is a curriculum. It's easy to get a DVD of your favorite stuff, but not so easy to know what will be the most beneficial music to work on next for your musical development. I would tend to recommend getting at least a few lessons for a solid grounding before jumping into DVDs. However, in both lessons and DVDs it's all too easy to neglect one of the most important things: the development of your musical ear. It's all too easy, whether you're using DVDs or actually taking lessons, to end up able to play lots of songs but unable to figure anything out for yourself. I've found that this comes from excessive reliance on tablature for learning rather than on listening. To develop your ear, you have to be willing to play things that are alot simpler than what you could do if you used tablature. I think this is one of the reasons people use tablature excessively (sometimes even to the extent of not listening to the recordings). Anyway, I hope this answers your question. Thanks. -- Ari --Previous Message-- Link: Ari Eisinger's Home Page
on September 18, 2007, 9:22 pm, in reply to "question for Ari"
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I think what's best depends on how experienced a player you are. However, in general, I think that DVDs, although cheaper, lack a few important benefits compared to a good teachers.
: I have recently been learning from your DVDs
: and find them very helpful. I have taken
: lessons for years and have learned alot of
: the basics, but have a hrd time affording
: regular lessons at this point. I Can however
: afford DVDs and learning CDs etc. I am
: wondering if I am selling myself short by
: not seeking a teacher or if these materials
: can be just as beneficial?
:
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