Early Music Training

[Keymn]

Thanks to all our teachers. Anything you would like to share?
“I will never forget our strict public school music classes in the 60s. Would play classical and Harry Belafonte albums to listen to. Sometimes while we were singing, she would play another song on the piano trying to confuse us. Early ear training in music!<EMOJI seq="1f3b6">?</EMOJI>”

 

[jozz]

The only thing I got from early music teachers was a distinct dislike of the clarinet and other woodwinds.

 

[maugein96]

My school trumpet teacher was a jazz player trying to teach us classical so we could play in the school orchestra. I ended up aping his playing style and got booted out of the class.

To this day I cannot sight read the timing on scores, and just end up playing my own version of whatever is written down. I never play the same tune the same way twice, and that is a very big issue for the guy who is currently trying to get me to play "properly". I told him Jimi Hendrix was the same as me, but he said to be like him I'd need to be able to play the accordion with my teeth.

I'm working on it, and so is my dentist!

 

[Corsaire]

I remember being rapped on the fingers with a conducting baton (known as a "dut) at primary school when I played a wrong note on the piano. Later on, music lessons were oriented around taking exam grades every year - I got to Grade VI and couldn't stand it any more.

Learning to play the accordion was pure joy by comparison - my teachers both in the UK and in France (one folk and the other musette) were far more interested in encouraging feeling and expression than worrying about a wrong note or two.

 

[Anyanka]

Sounds like a lot of us had bad early experiences with music teachers! Me too - at school, music was mainly taught top-down, i.e. the teacher would play something on the piano for our edification and talk at us about music theory.

My private music teacher (recorder lessons from age 7 onwards) went one step further, and put me off learning to play the piano: she told me that I was insufficiently talented. I was twelve at the time, and crumbled under the judgment! I eventually started having classical piano lessons with a lovely, kind, positive teacher thirty years later, and only stopped going to her when the accordion - and folk music - took over. I still play my piano almost every day: if that stupid recorder teacher hadn't stopped me, I probably would be really good at it by now!

 

[Corsaire]

Teaching is a skill that not all teachers have and I'm sure many a budding musician has been put off by a bad teacher ! Communication, enthusiasm and encouragement are tops over qualifications. Of course there needs to be a rapport between teacher and pupil : A teacher who shouts when you make a mistake is as bad as one who corrects you every time without giving you time to correct yourself. Yes, I've been there and whilst I need to be pushed every so often, I wouldn't put up with a bad teacher today (one of the joys about getting older is you don't have to put up with being shouted at !)

 

[dunlustin]

Years ago, as my son was interested, I enquired about the youth section of the village band.
Asking about the choice of instrument I was told:
Dont worry about that, hell do at least a years sight reading before choosing an instrument.

There are also interesting moments for older learners:

 

[JeffJetton]

I dont have much training in early music.

Most of my training was in classical and jazz. But I do appreciate a good Gregorian chant or lute tune now and then.

 

[StargazerTony]

Sometimes when I can't fall asleep by 12 or 1 am, I get up and play a bit. Is that early enough?

 

[debra]

I started out on the recorder but that was in primary school and not in a dedicated music school. We learned to play songs but no attention was paid to breathing technique. That was a great shame.
I also started early on with piano lessons (in music school) and initially there was no problem but when I later also started on the accordion I had to consciously keep my left wrist down on the piano (because on the accordion the left wrist is always at more or less a 90 degree angle).
On the accordion the best thing I learned right from the start is to never ever look (down) at the keyboard while playing. A piece of cardboard was used to make it impossible to look. Over the next decades I kept trying to never look but very rarely it was useful to look for a large jump. But since switching from PA to CBA I have again learned to really never ever look at the keyboard.

 

[Glenn]

I start piano lessons at 10 with Miss Mills. A lovely lady. Long gone now I guess but was only always encouraging. Maybe she saw my amazing but unfortunately latent talent [emoji4]

 

[andrewjohnsson40]

I started piano but never succeded. Nor did I learn the pump organ even though that was one of the first instrument I really touched. But one day I hope to play the organ in the church.
And don't bring up music at school. We had to sing Diana. We should have sung classical hymns and not Paul Anka.
We always thought Anka was an interesting name. In Swedish it means Duck. So now we have Anna anka (Anna Duck). Sounds like a cartoon character.