| Author |
Subject |
Ellen
G 
Registered User
(1/30/01 10:12:25 am)
Reply |
Q on
teacher's role
I became aware of a YO cellist who
had been playing a number of years, working on some advanced
repertoire, who had not changed her strings in years, didn't know
she should, didn't know how to do it, and didn't know anything about
types of strings. Again, this seems to me like driving the car and
just putting gas in it. Which I dare say a lot of us probably do....
Are we supposed to all know how to change a tire and oil but leave
the engine rebuilds to a pro?
I also realize the term
"teacher" can fit anyone certified by the State to legally stand in
a classroom as well as a conservatory trained professional cellist
who teaches, so this alone seems problematic. Also a "student" can
be a 3rd grader, or someone with years of dedicated study. So given
the impossible parameters I just put on this
question...
Does, or should, a teacher instruct on things
like changing strings, checking your bridge -- general instrument
maintenance -- or do they feel their job is strictly to teach
technique and move you through the repertoire? I can see a public
school little kid being handed a cello and not knowing how to change
a string, but a privately-taught student on her own instrument who's
auditioning on Haydn, well.....
|
ruthann
Registered User
(1/30/01 1:18:39 pm)
Reply |
Re: Q
on teacher's role
Certainly care and feeding should be
part of the instruction. I encourage my students to really look at
their instruments, so that they know when something looks wrong. But
some students and some teachers seem to treat the instrument as if
it were just a box.
We have a weekly suzuki violin group -
string-along - at which I always help with the tuning of those 60
little violins. I'm amazed at some of the things I've seen. When
something looks really funky, I'll had it off to the violin teacher,
figuring that she is much better at putting all the parts in playing
position than I am. Last week I had two come through my hands that
were so poorly set up as to be nearly incapable of producing any
sound. The violin teacher told me they both came from the same
teacher - a teenager who is a pretty decent violinist. But obviously
this teenager doesn't know much about setup. How can she possibly be
an effective teacher? Can you tell that this is one of my pet
peeves? The partially sighted leading the blind, for a price!
cello_suttonr@hotmail.com
|
Len
Thompson
Registered User
(1/30/01 4:02:47 pm)
Reply |
Helpless!
Most driving schools don't teach you
how to change a flat. And some people never learn, ever! Some people
don't want to learn eather, ever! Obviously, people on these boards
are interested in the how and why of cello maintenence and set-up. I
think a teacher should know the basics and attempt to pass them
along as long as the student is receptive to them. Personally, I
would rather learn to change a flat myself, rather than be stuck on
some dark and lonely road, in the middle of nowhere, and
helpless!
Len
|
Bobbie
Registered
User
(1/30/01 4:39:45 pm)
Reply |
Re: Q
on teacher's role
I learned to change a string the
first time I started cello, in the fifth grade. I learned to change
a flat when I started driving. (My daughter's friends are all
impressed that she knows how to change a flat and change her own
oil.) However, I know advanced cello students who never have changed
a string because their mother does it for them, and I admit I've
been guilty of doing it for a student instead of teaching her how,
mainly to save time ( I do explain the process as I do it.)
|
Corrina
Connor
Moderator
(1/30/01 10:43:28 pm)
Reply |
Re: Q
on teacher's role
None of my teachers have ever taught
me anything about string changing/when to change strings etc
etc.....we worked it out by trial and error  with most
assistance coming from music-shop staff.
My mum changed all
our strings until a little while ago - mainly because strings are so
expensive, and she didn't want me to bust 'em 
I
certainly instruct my little 'un, or rather, their parents, in these
arts. The amount of poor little kids who can't produce a good sound
because their bow has 3 hairs on it, or no rosin, or rusty
strings/back-to-front bridge! Mein Gott!
I am suprised
that this person has been playing so long and still is so naive!
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