Why Do People Take Flamenco Guitar Lessons?
Much of the theory and know-how I put into my Total Training course and youtube tutorials grew out of the experiences I have collected from the one-on-one lessons I teach over Skype (link Skype lessons).
I have recently noticed that some of you folks are shy about asking me detailed questions regarding my teaching practice. A few emails I received also made me suspect that there is a group of aficionados that believe they are not "good enough" to commit themselves to regular lessons with a teacher.
Either way, I wish to clarify a few things about this issue so you don't feel the burden of having to ask me directly.
Why do my students take one-on-one lessons with me?
Becoming the next great is not the only motivation :-). Sure, to put bluntly, they wish to learn how to play well. However, each has their own expectations and unique perspective regarding what this technical study means to them.
Below are some of the categories I have formed over the years. The boundaries between these are rather blurry and many students may start in one group and in time switch to another.
Future Pro
These learners treat the lessons as seriously as university education. The future pro is extremely serious about developing a solid foundation and sees guitar as something that will take up a big part of their future. Some of these also consider guitar as a possible future source of income. The learner of this type pledges their allegiance to the teachings and goes through every single drill diligently and with fierce dedication. They basically want to learn everything I know about guitar playing. I learn much from these students.
Aficionado
This is the student that loves flamenco music, is quite knowledgeable in the area, and wishes flamenco guitar to be a permanent part of their life if not a professional occupation. For the aficionado, flamenco guitar is more than a hobby. It is a passion. Many of these students even wish they had chosen guitar as their profession but, alas, life got in the way and they ended up doing something else for a living. Aficionados plan to devote most of their time to guitar practice once they retire from their day jobs.
Flamencologist
These guys know flamenco music inside out, follow new trends, collect LPs, know the release dates of albums, etc. Their main reason for taking lessons is to get closer to the music they study. They request to learn specific falsetas from specific pieces, practise remates from each palo, and wish to see how, say, Paco de Lucia bends the compas to make solea serve his compositional aspirations. The flamencologist approaches the repertoire much like and archaeologist approaches ancient relics. They look at each falseta carefully and try to see the traces of the various musical components. These guys motivate me to dig deeper into the history of flamenco.
Professional Musician
Some of my students make a living playing gigs. I have a few guitar teachers as well. As the title suggests, these are already in the music profession and they sign up for Skype lessons to either upgrade their skills or acquire new ones. Some of these students have got nothing to do with flamenco music. I have one jazz musician, for instance, who wishes to improve his "fingerpicking" technique. Again, these students teach me lots of new stuff.
Mature Student
These are older people who wish to enrich their lives and stay young by taking music lessons. These guys are either retired or in the process of scaling down the amount of work they do for a living. Most of these students fall in love with flamenco music and convert to the aficionado category.
Sniper
Every now and then I'll get an email from a player who wants to learn a specific piece or a specific falseta. Their wellbeing depends on playing that piece and they lock onto that target until they get their wish fulfilled. This kind of obsession is a good sign, though :-) It drives the student to learn all the necessary techniques to achieve their goal.
I do shape and reshape my curriculum for every type of student for sure. However, my goal is to transfer enough know-how to each one so that in time they develop enough independence to learn new stuff by themselves.
Learning Over Skype (or Face Time)
I did teach one-on-one physical lessons for many years. I was adamantly against the idea that anything can be taught over the internet. I remember rejecting Skype lesson requests when I first started my main youtube channel. I didn't think it would be possible to really teach through a screen.
Now I actually believe Skype is a better medium to teach in this day and age.
Why?
So many people complain that there isn't a flamenco guitar teacher where they live. Remember I asked you a question some time ago "What is your biggest frustration in learning flamenco guitar?" People still say things like "there isn't a flamenco teacher in my area."
I taught that way for many years. My students would come to my studio for lessons.
For a one-hour physical lesson you need a good 2 hours. You have to drive or commute to the instructor's studio. Then you need to find parking and maybe pay for that too. I remember students rushing out to put more change in the machine so they don't get a parking ticket.
With Skype, you can literally get out of bed and start your lesson in your pyjamas while sipping your coffee. It is way more efficient. You spend only one hour for the whole lesson.
Also, guitar is an excellent instrument to learn through a video image as it is perfectly pictorial. Meaning, you can observe a player frontally and see everything they are doing. Imagine teaching piano over Skype (which btw is perfectly possible and viable), you would need a special camera set up.
As a basic set up my students have me on one side of the screen and the tabs on the other throughout the lesson. Some use two screens for the same purpose. I use an ipad pro for the lesson and a 27" screen for the lesson material.
It's quite convenient. Besides is there any other way to teach flamenco guitar lesson in 23 different countries?
happy practising
I have recently noticed that some of you folks are shy about asking me detailed questions regarding my teaching practice. A few emails I received also made me suspect that there is a group of aficionados that believe they are not "good enough" to commit themselves to regular lessons with a teacher.
Either way, I wish to clarify a few things about this issue so you don't feel the burden of having to ask me directly.
Why do my students take one-on-one lessons with me?
Becoming the next great is not the only motivation :-). Sure, to put bluntly, they wish to learn how to play well. However, each has their own expectations and unique perspective regarding what this technical study means to them.
Below are some of the categories I have formed over the years. The boundaries between these are rather blurry and many students may start in one group and in time switch to another.
Future Pro
These learners treat the lessons as seriously as university education. The future pro is extremely serious about developing a solid foundation and sees guitar as something that will take up a big part of their future. Some of these also consider guitar as a possible future source of income. The learner of this type pledges their allegiance to the teachings and goes through every single drill diligently and with fierce dedication. They basically want to learn everything I know about guitar playing. I learn much from these students.
Aficionado
This is the student that loves flamenco music, is quite knowledgeable in the area, and wishes flamenco guitar to be a permanent part of their life if not a professional occupation. For the aficionado, flamenco guitar is more than a hobby. It is a passion. Many of these students even wish they had chosen guitar as their profession but, alas, life got in the way and they ended up doing something else for a living. Aficionados plan to devote most of their time to guitar practice once they retire from their day jobs.
Flamencologist
These guys know flamenco music inside out, follow new trends, collect LPs, know the release dates of albums, etc. Their main reason for taking lessons is to get closer to the music they study. They request to learn specific falsetas from specific pieces, practise remates from each palo, and wish to see how, say, Paco de Lucia bends the compas to make solea serve his compositional aspirations. The flamencologist approaches the repertoire much like and archaeologist approaches ancient relics. They look at each falseta carefully and try to see the traces of the various musical components. These guys motivate me to dig deeper into the history of flamenco.
Professional Musician
Some of my students make a living playing gigs. I have a few guitar teachers as well. As the title suggests, these are already in the music profession and they sign up for Skype lessons to either upgrade their skills or acquire new ones. Some of these students have got nothing to do with flamenco music. I have one jazz musician, for instance, who wishes to improve his "fingerpicking" technique. Again, these students teach me lots of new stuff.
Mature Student
These are older people who wish to enrich their lives and stay young by taking music lessons. These guys are either retired or in the process of scaling down the amount of work they do for a living. Most of these students fall in love with flamenco music and convert to the aficionado category.
Sniper
Every now and then I'll get an email from a player who wants to learn a specific piece or a specific falseta. Their wellbeing depends on playing that piece and they lock onto that target until they get their wish fulfilled. This kind of obsession is a good sign, though :-) It drives the student to learn all the necessary techniques to achieve their goal.
I do shape and reshape my curriculum for every type of student for sure. However, my goal is to transfer enough know-how to each one so that in time they develop enough independence to learn new stuff by themselves.
Learning Over Skype (or Face Time)
I did teach one-on-one physical lessons for many years. I was adamantly against the idea that anything can be taught over the internet. I remember rejecting Skype lesson requests when I first started my main youtube channel. I didn't think it would be possible to really teach through a screen.
Now I actually believe Skype is a better medium to teach in this day and age.
Why?
So many people complain that there isn't a flamenco guitar teacher where they live. Remember I asked you a question some time ago "What is your biggest frustration in learning flamenco guitar?" People still say things like "there isn't a flamenco teacher in my area."
I taught that way for many years. My students would come to my studio for lessons.
For a one-hour physical lesson you need a good 2 hours. You have to drive or commute to the instructor's studio. Then you need to find parking and maybe pay for that too. I remember students rushing out to put more change in the machine so they don't get a parking ticket.
With Skype, you can literally get out of bed and start your lesson in your pyjamas while sipping your coffee. It is way more efficient. You spend only one hour for the whole lesson.
Also, guitar is an excellent instrument to learn through a video image as it is perfectly pictorial. Meaning, you can observe a player frontally and see everything they are doing. Imagine teaching piano over Skype (which btw is perfectly possible and viable), you would need a special camera set up.
As a basic set up my students have me on one side of the screen and the tabs on the other throughout the lesson. Some use two screens for the same purpose. I use an ipad pro for the lesson and a 27" screen for the lesson material.
It's quite convenient. Besides is there any other way to teach flamenco guitar lesson in 23 different countries?
happy practising
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