I took 3 lessons so far and my teacher had to skip last week. but in that 2 week time that i didnt go I learned so much more on the internet and from you guys here that it seems silly to fork out $20 bucks a week for lessons. Or is it worth it and i should stay? I love the fact that i can look at a you tube video and keep going back to it and learning what i missed.

I make videos of myself playing my students' songs at full speed and at half speed, and your teacher may do that if you asked.  Otherwise, you sound like you've already made your decision.  Not every teacher is good for every student.  You might want to try another teacher.

My teacher is Great!! In fact we get along so well. But I Think i learn better on my own.

Record your lessons. Get your teachers permission, of course, but then you get to go back and view the lesson like the online video.

The value of a teacher is to listen to you play and say, That sounds good. Or That's nice but try this.

I subscribe to Darol Anger's School of Fiddle and the ability to submit videos and receive feedback is the chief benefit, IMO. If I could afford it I'd pay for personal lessons because of the more immediate feedback and the impending "performance" at the lesson giving me a little additional motivation to work on specifics. ( I don't need motivation to play )

this is my teacher he plays anything form Jazz to classical and a mean fiddle. He Fills in with alot of country stars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJCHmzm43X8&feature=relmfu

Even if you get along well with your teacher, he or she may not be the most appropriate person to teach you.  You did say that you learn more on your own.  If you have the right teacher for you, you will learn more with the teacher than you do on your own.  The value of a good teacher is that he or she will watch you playing and give you feedback.  You can not get this interactive learning from watching videos.

Would you consider lessons alternate weeks? Someone who keeps on an eye on your basic technique is very helpful. Weekly lessons might be too much teacher-directing/control for you at the moment. But you really don't want to "invent" something that eventually has to be undone because it prevents progress, or causes an injury in the longer term. At the bottom line, everyone learns on his/her own. We go to lessons, classes and now online, look and listen, and then try to put into action and sound what we understand from what we've heard and seen. Sue

I shouldn't say there's "a" value for a teacher, there are many. Another is to direct you to the technique you need to learn next and guide you down the path.

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Originally posted by Sue B.

Would you consider lessons alternate weeks? Someone who keeps on an eye on your basic technique is very helpful. Weekly lessons might be too much teacher-directing/control for you at the moment. But you really don't want to "invent" something that eventually has to be undone because it prevents progress, or causes an injury in the longer term. At the bottom line, everyone learns on his/her own. We go to lessons, classes and now online, look and listen, and then try to put into action and sound what we understand from what we've heard and seen. Sue

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 This is what I do.

I take cello lessons every other week. For me it is a time restraint issue, but it works out. At my advanced age (lol) I learn better by taking two weeks to absorb what anyone else can do in one. Also, since I've been playing the violin for years, I think it has helped my progress. Everyone else is different. I think a person needs to examine his or her musical goals with regard to the instrument. I want to back up, on cello, my partner while she plays the fiddle. But I also happen to love Bach, a left-over from my violin days. So now I want to extend my music to include this, and even join a community orchestra when the time comes. So for me, I want to study and learn the cello, and get as possibly good as I can, as opposed to just being able to play the thing.

I think the correct student/teacher relationship is crucial. My very first violin teacher was a lot of fun, but I did not learn as much as I could have. My subsequent violin teachers, and now cello teacher, really study while I play and stop me when need be, telling me to fix intonation or tempo, accents, etc.

I agree with listmember "paulinefiddle". Good instructors are hard to find. When you don't get constructive feedback on your playing, you can develop playing problems. And, the longer your practice/play with these problems, the longer it will take to correct them. The instructor and students have to identify goals, problems, etc., and prioritize the goals. Then you have to start trying to correct your most troublesome problems, one problem at a time.

For me, the most important thing is correcting problems and improving playing ability. Good instructors can sometime seem to be to intense and want you to work too hard. If you are taking lessons to get better, that is the instructor you need.
A good instructor should keep you focused on what you are trying to accomplish.

Teaching and playing are different skills. Great players are not always great instructors.

you may have learned a lot off fiddle hang out your only starting keep that in mind your starting. as you go on a teacher will be come more needed as you learn if you don,t know your bowing patterns get them (red desert violin) lora has been giveing away free bowing patterns ask for this in TAB with notes you have to print them out there is so much for you to learn it is over willming that is why you need a teacher. to help you through it.. there are self help books that are very good you may try one of them i,ll get back to you on the name of the book i use i still need a teacher

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Originally posted by Sue B.

Would you consider lessons alternate weeks? Someone who keeps on an eye on your basic technique is very helpful. Weekly lessons might be too much teacher-directing/control for you at the moment. But you really don't want to "invent" something that eventually has to be undone because it prevents progress, or causes an injury in the longer term. At the bottom line, everyone learns on his/her own. We go to lessons, classes and now online, look and listen, and then try to put into action and sound what we understand from what we've heard and seen. Sue

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This is a good point.  It IS possible to develop unsafe fiddling habits that could give you carpal tunnel or some other repetitive strain injury.  I'm not saying the risk is huge if you watch the positions carefully in videos and listen to twinges and other signs that your body is telling you that you're trying to make it work in an unhealthy way.  But it is there.

I agree with Dick Hauser, who agreed with me.  BTW, I'm a violin / fiddle teacher for beginners.

You can't correct yourself when you can't see or don't know what you are doing wrong.  Practice, of course, is the most important thing, but you have to practice in a way that will get you where you want.  A teacher is there to guide your practice and to help you make sure that you progress in the direction that you want to go.

When I started playing fiddle, I already played several instruments, so I taught myself for a couple of years.  Finally found a compatible teacher (fiddlerdi) and started taking some lessons. Made more progress in a few months than I had in the previous couple of years. Had to quit because of time constraints, but I'd still be better off if I were getting some coaching.

Being a good fiddle player and being a good teacher are two different things.

Lots of advanced fiddle player are having difficulties teaching beginners.

Also, many beginners are impatient and think they can learn to play the fiddle in no time, ignoring the fact what every experienced player keeps preaching: it'll take years.

One of the reason I am hesitant taking on beginners is that they often don't have the patience and endurance to make it through the first 2 years.

May be you pick up more through youtube and other sources. But this means you know already what you want to learn and what's important to you.

Many fiddlers don't want to be bothered with building up a clean technique which would open doors to all kind of music styles.

In my opinion dumping a teacher after 2 or 3 weeks is like dumping a house builder after he just did starting with the layout.

I wood give him at least 6 to 12 month and discuss what you are up to and what's important to you to learn.

I feel that I learn so quick that its hard for a teacher to keep up. and iam not sure what direction to go in. or what I should work on first. I love playing and I know Being a fast learner could hinder me but I want to get the best out of my Violin and myself that i can.

I get the impression that you've already made up your mind but you want some reinforcement.  That's fine.  If I could afford a teacher's time, I'd be all over it, even if for only a few lessons, and for the reasons already given elsewhere.    Who's to say what whacky stuff I've gotten up to in my fiddling?  Fortunately, I'm not worried about being the best ever, just about being able to play well enough to enjoy music-making with friends.  So far, so good, and nobody's throwing me out of the jam circles, although it is very tough to learn how to make music on a fiddle from guitar players.  FHO and 1 week of fiddle camp last summer have made all the difference.  Interaction with other, better fiddlers is vital to me, however I can get it.  As it is, my next big leap forward will be a long time comin'.

mmmmm the teacher appears when the student is ready!! maybe it is just not the 'win'win' match,,,,,, what ever you do,,, do it with passion,,,,,

Boxbow... you hit it on the head!!! I dont want to be the best but I want to be doing it right and have fun doing it.

If you really enjoy quilting, then lessons will probably help you do better work and expand your creativity. Oh wait.......maybe time for new glasses.

When I first started taking lessons, I discovered early on that I was learning songs very quickly on my own. But I still needed a good teacher to keep me focused on form. When I learned on my own, I developed bad habits and used poor form. My teacher could watch me play and correct my form. She also made a huge difference (and still does) when it comes to identifying things I need to work on. After I started my second year of lessons, I moved from weekly to twice a month, and that works out fine.

I wanted to do more than just learn songs...I also wanted to learn to read music well, understand music theory, and develop strong, focused practice skills. Those are things that I never would have developed very quickly if I was on my own. Sometimes being a great teacher means more than just teaching music...she also sees the big picture and helps me get where I'm going much more quickly and efficiently. I plan to keep taking lessons for several more years, because I like the discipline of lessons, as well as the freedom to explore the music I want to learn. She doesn't have any strict plan that we follow...I pick the music, and she helps me learn it faster.

Edited by - S_Heriger on 07/19/2012 13:19:48

quote "I feel that I learn so quick that its hard for a teacher to keep up....."

Funny ha ha!  I'd love to have more students like you. They are actually fun to teach.

One of the teachers task is to guide the students energy and talent in the best possible direction. The teaching material should always be a little step ahead of what the student can do.

A mistake that some teacher make is holding on to their teaching methods and don't customize the next steps to the students talent.

It sounds to me that you did not find the right teacher yet.

I had good instructors and some that were very poor. If you are not making progress and you know you are not making progress...get another one. BUT there is no substitue for practice. Ever had one take a marker to your new books and tell you that was the Devils song??? and then have to play it on a backwards violin to stop the spell?? She was whacked!

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Originally posted by DougD

If you really enjoy quilting, then lessons will probably help you do better work and expand your creativity. Oh wait.......maybe time for new glasses.

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Yeah... I just did the same thing- LOL!!!!

And quilts have.... PATTERNS!!!!

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 07/19/2012 15:53:10

i took lessons for 4 yrs but looking back, some books and dvd, cd's can get the job done. You must play along with them for timing and intonation and as long as your posture is ok, you're set to go. The biggest setback i see is the materials available are poor at progression. You are left to decide what to study next. Fiddle books 1 and 2 are great, but afterwards, you're on your own.

Now I'm speaking as a teacher of beginning fiddle students.  Most of my students are adult beginners.  I have had some of the same experiences as hardykefes, but my perspective is different.  (We are all individuals.)  Hardykefes said "many beginners are impatient and think they can learn to play the fiddle in no time....Many fiddlers don't want to be bothered with building up a clean technique which would open doors to all kind of music styles."  I've found that a lot of adult beginners are like this.  A big part of my job is convincing beginning students to go slowly, work on technique, and be patient.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I enjoy this.  This week I taught a woman who has taught herself for a long time and a woman who has never played the violin.  What a contrast!  The woman who is self taught has to go back to the beginning and learn how to use the bow correctly.  Fortunately, she can hear a big improvement in her tone when she does this, but she still has to unlearn bad habits.  The newbie learned how to hold the bow, move it across the strings, and make a pretty sound at her first lesson.  These anecdotes may explain why I love teaching beginners.  I hope these stories will also convince beginners that they really should take some lessons from a teacher.