How do I know if my son's trombone teacher is any good?

[cfarley]

I don't play, my son does. He's played in a school jazz band for the past four years. Last year, when he moved up to high school from middle school, he got pretty glamored by the older student's quality of play, and he decided that he wanted to "get good".

I found a jazz trombone instructor at a local music school. He's a younger guy, just out of college, and he's clearly passionate about the trombone and other brass instruments based on his gigging. I've seen some of his YouTube videos and he's a quality player. He's really friendly and my son likes him. He's introduced my son to a lot of music that he should listen to, and I know sometimes they have listened to music together during the lessons.

But I'm just now realizing that there can be a difference between a good player and a good teacher. When my son practices, he just kind of paces around the room trying to improvise. I never hear him doing the kind of tedious, boring stuff I would expect, like drills and scales. He's never working on a piece of music to learn, and I don't think there is any expectation that he should have anything in particular prepared for an upcoming lesson.

I'm just wondering if anybody has any tips on what good, quality, jazz trombone instruction should look like, particularly to a parent who is sitting out in the hallway during the lessons.

[Doug Elliott]

Ask him what he's working on. He might be improvising aimlessly, but he might be working on specific concepts.
Have him take some jazz lessons with a sax player and a piano player. They tend to have different ways of teaching and learning things. Transcribing great players' solos is extremely important.

"tedious, boring stuff, like drills and scales" is not necessarily a big part of good instruction.

[tbdana]

Hm. Well, I'd venture to say that any high school aged player should be working on some sort of exercises that improve his technique, as well as the jazz he obviously likes playing. It's a "two-fer" IMHO, where you get the "tedious" and the "fun." Both have a place. But even really learning jazz is "tedious," in that it involves repetition of exercises in every key and every range. So if he's not doing something that sounds repetitious, my guess is he's not getting the guidance he really needs in order to get better.

One thing I knew at his age is that I enjoyed practicing more when I played stuff that was fun and that I was good at. I loved playing things I was already good at. But what I learned at that age is that what I really needed to do if I wanted to get better was to practice things I was bad at. All the worst things, the hardest things, the things that sounded and felt like crap. It was a moment of maturing and growing up when I was told by my teacher and I realized in my soul that I had to work on the things I was bad at, rather than the things I was good at and already enjoyed.

I agree with Doug that you should have him show you what he's working on. Maybe there is structure in there and he just sounds like he's noodling, or maybe he's not quite organized about it yet. But if he wants to get good, he has to work on things he will perform at his next lesson, with objective goals that he has to meet. It's just like anything else. You have to work on the fundamentals if you want to be good.

From what you say and without knowing more, I'm not confident he's with the right teacher.

[2bobone]

"One thing I knew at his age is that I enjoyed practicing more when I played stuff that was fun and that I was good at. I loved playing things I was already good at. But what I learned at that age is that what I really needed to do if I wanted to get better was to practice things I was bad at. All the worst things, the hardest things, the things that sounded and felt like crap. It was a moment of maturing and growing up when I was told by my teacher and I realized in my soul that I had to work on the things I was bad at, rather than the things I was good at and already enjoyed."

tbdana ! You "nailed" it ! When I was a student at The Eastman School of Music I had a classmate who managed to attain a "Performer's Certificate" on both the flute AND on piano ! It was ---- and still is ---- a marvelous accomplishment. To attain just one degree on your chosen instrument is quite the accomplishment ! Something that set apart Walifred [ we called him "Wally"] was that he always seemed to be "goofing off" in the Main Hall at ESM, the social center of the school. Wally was from Hawaii, an unusual place to be from, yet attending a school in New York state. One day I asked him how he managed to achieve two Performer's Certificates and yet every time I walked through the Main Hall he was sitting there "holding court". He replied with the same answer that you gave. "I only practice what I CAN'T do !! Words of wisdom from "Wally" !! I wish I'd followed his advice ------------

[Trombonjon]

Ok. You obviously have an opinion/impression of what your son is doing. Have you asked the teacher what he thinks? Also, at some point, he'll have to work on fundamentals, regardless of what kind of music he winds up choosing. Skip the fundamentals and he might end up wasting his time, and your money. Noodling around with the instrument can be done for free. In addition, this seems like a great opportunity to stress how important is hard work, discipline, being focused, etc. in order to be really successful in music, or anything else in life. But going back to your initial question, talk to the teacher, talk to the band teacher.

[Molefsky]

Couple of thoughts as someone who teaches lessons for a living. In my experience personable/likeable/high social retention teachers are not necessarily the best. I have no opinion on your child's teacher as I don't know them and haven't observed them. I do know that this is why I send parents an image of their child's assignments each week at the conclusion of their lesson. This undermines the "I lost my assignment sheet" excuse while also giving me a progress record and communicating expectations to parents whether they review them or not. Talk to the teacher and ask what your child should be working on. Just stay in the loop and you'll be in a better position to decide whether or not to continue with this particular teacher.

You might also inquire as to who the other trombonists are studying with and compare notes etc.