Teacher-Guru-Master

Last week I spoke to Mike about the study of music.

Now that after a few years I have submitted to taking lessons again regularly, I feel so different about having a master. Mike's idea was that studying on his own can be as useful and even more productive than taking lessons.

There one danger in submition to a teacher: it will make me practice of course, but it's possible I practice for the wrong reasons, especially if the teacher guilts you into the work, then you are practicing to avoid shame, to make the teacher happy, not for the great aims that I started my work.

Working on your own, if done well, gives you a good sense of your strengths, but leaves you blank on your weaknesses, of course the experience of performance, of learning from coleagues, etc. is there, but in my experience, I avoided what I knew I lacked... But on the other hand, it gives you autonomy; "I'm doing this not for anyone else, not for the course, not for the teacher, not for my parents ..."

In my last lesson, I saw things that I was completely oblivious to. Having worked on my own, helps me take the cues, then we're both teaching me, and an experiecned outside eye is surely an advantage. [There were some much easier ways to getting to the notes up on the fingerboard, less force, straight and clean ways. This is a lot of fun in fact. The engenreering part of violin playing.]