I wish very much that I had had lessons like the recorder lessons I now
take (from John Tyson) when I was younger. I don't think that more
lessons like the ones I took on flute and piano when I was in school
would have been any better than spending the equivalent time working on
my own.
I would definitely encourage anyone to take lessons if:
* You are practicing every day. (This seems to be one of the benefits
of lessons for some people -- that it makes them more likely to practice
every day. For me, I find that if I'm not motivated enough to practice
without a teacher, I probably won't work hard enough with one to justify
the time and expense.)
* You can find a teacher who is able to make your practicing more
effective.
When I started trying to play the harp, I felt that there were probably
things that someone could tell me that would make my harp practice more
effective in the same way that my recorder lessons made my recorder
practice more effective. I took one lesson from Nancy Thym-Hochrein at
the Amherst Early Music Festival, and I think I am progressing better
than I was for the couple of months before the lesson.
If you're not using the lessons for motivation, you probably don't need
them every week, so I would recommend finding someone you really work
with well, and taking the lessons less often if the distance or the
expense makes them inconvenient. If you have learned other instruments,
you do know essentially what lessons on a new instrument will tell you
to do, (relax your hands, practice basic patterns so that your fingers
as well as your brain can recognize them, etc.) so you can tell whether
you are practicing effectively or not.
Laura Conrad (lconrad@world.std.com)
Phone: (617) 661-8097 Work phone: (617) 224-8285
Fax: (617) 245-6516
Snail mail: 233 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139