The answer will probably surprise you. It is (in general)
harder to teach a beginner than it is to guide an advanced
student! Why is that? Because a beginner will ask (in his
or her naiveté) BIG QUESTIONS, questions that defy
those who do not understand the basics well. You have to
know MORE to teach a beginner, because you can always hide
behind complexity, but there is no pat answer to such a
question as "Why does the Treble Clef look the way it does?
Why is it on that particular line?" Badly taught teachers
often disguise their ignorance behind a cloak of pretended
knowledge or altitude or tell you "Just do it."
The answer will probably surprise you. It is (in general)
harder to teach a beginner than it is to guide an advanced
student! Why is that? Because a beginner will ask (in his
or her naiveté) BIG QUESTIONS, questions that defy
those who do not understand the basics well. You have to
know MORE to teach a beginner, because you can always hide
behind complexity, but there is no pat answer to such a
question as "Why does the Treble Clef look the way it does?
Why is it on that particular line?" Badly taught teachers
often disguise their ignorance behind a cloak of pretended
knowledge or altitude or tell you "Just do it."
Perhaps there is one exception to the rule that beginners
are harder to teach and demand more knowledge than teaching
advanced students--and that is the "advanced" student who
has learned all the wrong technique or who is missing whole
sections of basic understanding. When a student seems to
dazzle at the keyboard, but holds arms and wrists in such an
uncomfortable manner that he or she could develop searing
pains and even need operations later on, well THAT is the
most difficult student of ALL to teach. Unlearning bad
habits can be an ordeal, but it is an ordeal well worth it
in the long run.
Perhaps there is one exception to the rule that beginners
are harder to teach and demand more knowledge than teaching
advanced students--and that is the "advanced" student who
has learned all the wrong technique or who is missing whole
sections of basic understanding. When a student seems to
dazzle at the keyboard, but holds arms and wrists in such an
uncomfortable manner that he or she could develop searing
pains and even need operations later on, well THAT is the
most difficult student of ALL to teach. Unlearning bad
habits can be an ordeal, but it is an ordeal well worth it
in the long run.
The answer will probably surprise you. It is (in general)
harder to teach a beginner than it is to guide an advanced
student! Why is that? Because a beginner will ask (in his
or her naiveté) BIG QUESTIONS, questions that defy
those who do not understand the basics well. You have to
know MORE to teach a beginner, because you can always hide
behind complexity, but there is no pat answer to such a
question as "Why does the Treble Clef look the way it does?
Why is it on that particular line?" Badly taught teachers
often disguise their ignorance behind a cloak of pretended
knowledge or altitude or tell you "Just do it."
The answer will probably surprise you. It is (in general)
harder to teach a beginner than it is to guide an advanced
student! Why is that? Because a beginner will ask (in his
or her naiveté) BIG QUESTIONS, questions that defy
those who do not understand the basics well. You have to
know MORE to teach a beginner, because you can always hide
behind complexity, but there is no pat answer to such a
question as "Why does the Treble Clef look the way it does?
Why is it on that particular line?" Badly taught teachers
often disguise their ignorance behind a cloak of pretended
knowledge or altitude or tell you "Just do it."
Perhaps there is one exception to the rule that beginners
are harder to teach and demand more knowledge than teaching
advanced students--and that is the "advanced" student who
has learned all the wrong technique or who is missing whole
sections of basic understanding. When a student seems to
dazzle at the keyboard, but holds arms and wrists in such an
uncomfortable manner that he or she could develop searing
pains and even need operations later on, well THAT is the
most difficult student of ALL to teach. Unlearning bad
habits can be an ordeal, but it is an ordeal well worth it
in the long run.
Perhaps there is one exception to the rule that beginners
are harder to teach and demand more knowledge than teaching
advanced students--and that is the "advanced" student who
has learned all the wrong technique or who is missing whole
sections of basic understanding. When a student seems to
dazzle at the keyboard, but holds arms and wrists in such an
uncomfortable manner that he or she could develop searing
pains and even need operations later on, well THAT is the
most difficult student of ALL to teach. Unlearning bad
habits can be an ordeal, but it is an ordeal well worth it
in the long run.
