Following last months lesson on “finding the right music teacher”, I thought it would only be fitting to follow with that series on how we can be better students. Upon starting this lesson, I found this to be quite challenging for myself! So, I imagine this will be of benefit to you.
But you teach music! How can you be a student?
This is the first mistake that a lot of musicians make thinking that there will be a point where you “know everything” about music and will no longer be a student. Every musician will ALWAYS be a student of music. There is always something to learn and if you are open to this, you will continue to grow as musician. Closing yourself off and having an attitude that you “know everything” will not help you to be a better student. I may be a teacher but I still get lessons with my teacher of now 15 years, I still source out online lessons to help me improve my playing. There is an endless horizon of knowledge in the musical world!
Listen to your teacher
You have half an hour, maybe an hour a week with your teacher. When you look at it closely, its not really a great deal of time so its important that what little time you have is spent effectively. It’s less effective to play while your teacher is trying to talk to you or you are distracted looking at the clock or an interesting tree outside the window. An awesome student, however, will pay attention to their teacher and do what is asked of them. 
It’s also important to trust them. They know what level your playing is, what your strenghts and weaknesses are and your goals you are working towards. Which leads to the next point,
Ask questions!
Feel free to draw information from your teacher about guitar, music etc. But make sure there’s a balance- make sure the whole lesson is not spent just answering your questions about your favourite album. Let your teacher teach you! In any event, it’s the teachers responsibility for moving the lesson forward. If your questions relate to the lesson on the day, then all the better!
Relax and try again
Guitar lessons can be an “awkward” experience at first and it usually will take a few lessons before it becomes more natural as you build up a connection with your teacher. If you find yourself still getting nervous, try and take a deep breath before you begin playing and remember that your teacher is not going to make fun of you or attack you! They are there to help you. As you are in the lesson, when covering new material some players get frustrated when they can’t get it straight away. Remember that it takes time, remember the 4P’s. Patience, Practice, Persistence and Pace yourself.
Oh, its too hard! I’m just not getting it.
You will. Your teacher wouldn’t have given you the material if they didn’t know you would be able to do it.
Well, I didn’t practice this week because……my hands are too cold? I didn’t practice because……I couldn’t find my playing shoes…….
While you might think its much easier to think of creative and elaborate excuses to not pick up your instrument and dedicate quality practice time, its not neccessarily helping you that much in the long run. You might buy some time with your guitar teacher, but they will eventually see that you are not spending time on your instrument and this will slow your progress as a student.
PRACTICE IS ESSENTIAL TO BEING AN AWESOME STUDENT
Refer to the lesson “Get Practicing” to find ways you can make practice more effective and fun.
But I still don’t really feel like practicing…..
Have you thought that maybe your teacher probably doesn’t feel like teaching you? If you don’t want to practice, you are wasting theirs and your time. There are many people out there who would like to have your lesson spot and would be interested in putting in an effort towards their playing.
When’s my lesson time again?
Try and aim for showing up to your lesson 10 mins earlier than your alloted time. This will allow you to overcome any traffic problems and will also allow you to prepare for your lesson. e.g. Relaxing, taking a deep breath. It also allows you to make sure you get your full lesson time that you are spending hard earned money on.
Be courteous…..yes really.
It’s a shame that this point needs to be discussed as for many, this will be quite obvious. Extend the same manners that your teacher will give you. Don’t interrupt your teacher while he/she is talking, listen, be friendly, if you are a parent of a student and are sitting in on the lesson, don’t make noise while your child is trying to learn etc. These can be summed up in one sentence.
It’s important to be respectful of your teacher and his/her wealth of knowledge. They have gone to great effort to provide you with a great lesson, not only that, it’s just morally right to treat others as you would want to be treated.
Have fun being an awesome student and keep learning heaps!
Happy playing!
Chris