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Posts: 503
Joined: Jun. 14 2014
From: Encinitas, CA USA
Supplemental online lessons
I have been taking lessons for about a year and like my teacher very much. Mostly he teaches me from Juan Martin books. While the material is plenty challenging and includes all flamenco techniques it gets boring at times. I think he supports the idea of supplemental material. I consider myself intermediate, I can play all the techniques to some degree but have trouble playing a piece all the way through without stopping which is one of my current goals and area of focus. I am looking for material at my level that is interesting to play and also addresses improving technique although my teacher does a lot of that. It seems the going rate for these online lesson sites is about $30 per month. Here are ones I know about:
Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to Cervantes)
I offer live SKYPE lessons, although more expensive than subscription deals, you get to focus on specifics and keep the recorded video lesson to review at your own pace. If interested, I offer a 15 minute free lesson just to try out and see if it could work for you. Sign up via my website.
Posts: 503
Joined: Jun. 14 2014
From: Encinitas, CA USA
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to Cervantes)
Well Ricardo I appreciate the offer and don't doubt your ability to play and teach. But I already have a local teacher who I like and works closely with me on my technique which needs a lot of work but is improving. I think that kind of detail is hard to do over Skype but I could be wrong. Maybe I will try the free lesson and I might be surprised. Really I was looking for something to diversify my practice that I could do on my own. This last week I found Jose Luis Rodriguez's free lesson Alegrias No. 1 and have been having fun with it, its refreshing and fun to play.
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Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
Posts: 79
Joined: Mar. 19 2015
From: Panama (living in South Florida)
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to Cervantes)
If you have good local teacher that's great. Maybe you can supplement your learning with YouTube. There are a lot of people, including Ricardo, that have great tutorials on YouTube.
But I have to say that you'll be surprised with the nuances and details that Ricardo can pick up and correct over Skype. I still don't know how he does it. Things like articulation, fingering, hand position, tone, dynamics, every little detail, he notices. He is very patient and tries many ways to explain something until you get it. After watching the videos sometimes I feel a little embarrassed when I see him explaining something patiently many times in many different ways while I'm getting it wrong until it finally it clicks.
Having the recordings of the lessons is a great thing, and could be better that one on one in person (unless you video record your lessons).
You can try the 15 min free lesson with no obligation just to get an idea. I've been taking lessons with him for over 6 months and I highly recommend him!
Posts: 503
Joined: Jun. 14 2014
From: Encinitas, CA USA
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to MikeC)
quote:
ORIGINAL: MikeC
If you have good local teacher that's great. Maybe you can supplement your learning with YouTube. There are a lot of people, including Ricardo, that have great tutorials on YouTube.
But I have to say that you'll be surprised with the nuances and details that Ricardo can pick up and correct over Skype. I still don't know how he does it. Things like articulation, fingering, hand position, tone, dynamics, every little detail, he notices. He is very patient and tries many ways to explain something until you get it. After watching the videos sometimes I feel a little embarrassed when I see him explaining something patiently many times in many different ways while I'm getting it wrong until it finally it clicks.
Having the recordings of the lessons is a great thing, and could be better that one on one in person (unless you video record your lessons).
You can try the 15 min free lesson with no obligation just to get an idea. I've been taking lessons with him for over 6 months and I highly recommend him!
Mike,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I also have the same problem, every time I go for a lesson which is bi-weekly my teacher points outs I am making the same mistakes with hand position, fingering, etc. It is slowly sinking in and I am trying to pay more attention while practicing. I can think of one advantage of the Skype lessons, I won't have to drive an extra hour to the other end of town and back after work.
_____________________________
Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
Posts: 503
Joined: Jun. 14 2014
From: Encinitas, CA USA
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to Cervantes)
Well I have to say I am really baffled by Jose Tanaka's online lessons. I have been told by several people that the material is good and worthwhile. On the web site its says I will be charged $14.95 per month until I cancel. The problem is there is no way to contact anybody as the contact form does not work nor do the sample lessons, so I am not sure how I could cancel other than through Paypal directly. I did get to the point where I could make a Paypal payment but I am hesitant do so as nothing on the web site seems to be functional so I am not sure I would even get access. It bothers me that somebody who obviously is very good at playing Flamenco guitar would put his name on a web site and not care at all about it. I tried to find if he is performing anywhere as I would like to see him play and live in the area, but couldn't find anything.
_____________________________
Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to Cervantes)
Cervantes,
Ricardo is a real person!!! And several of us have met & even had the privilege of playing guitar with. He is the real deal
His Skype lessons are recorded in very high quality. So you can go over them again & again & he will stand behind his website & any lessons. You can hardly go wrong!!!
Just remember everyone on the foro is trying to help direct to one of the best teachers you could ever have.
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to Cervantes)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Cervantes Well I have to say I am really baffled by Jose Tanaka's online lessons. I have been told by several people that the material is good and worthwhile. On the web site its says I will be charged $14.95 per month until I cancel. The problem is there is no way to contact anybody as the contact form does not work nor do the sample lessons, so I am not sure how I could cancel other than through Paypal directly.
Hopefully I can unbaffle you - I subscribed for several months, and only stopped a couple of weeks ago. There are some really excellent lessons in there, really, and probably a few year's worth of material to get through.
Clearly he has abandoned the whole interactive tuition/feedback approach and there are unanswered question from users on the blog pages, so just see it as a library of online lessons you are paying for access to (much like Adam Del Monte's except with his you pay per lesson) and choose the cheapest option when you subscribe.
1-1 lessons are by far best option for progress (in person best of all, via Skype is second best) as you get feedback, direct answers to your questions etc and won't waste lots of time. +1 for the Ricardo recommendation.
Posts: 503
Joined: Jun. 14 2014
From: Encinitas, CA USA
RE: Supplemental online lessons (in reply to Blondie#2)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Blondie#2
Hopefully I can unbaffle you - I subscribed for several months, and only stopped a couple of weeks ago. There are some really excellent lessons in there, really, and probably a few year's worth of material to get through.
Clearly he has abandoned the whole interactive tuition/feedback approach and there are unanswered question from users on the blog pages, so just see it as a library of online lessons you are paying for access to (much like Adam Del Monte's except with his you pay per lesson) and choose the cheapest option when you subscribe.
1-1 lessons are by far best option for progress (in person best of all, via Skype is second best) as you get feedback, direct answers to your questions etc and won't waste lots of time. +1 for the Ricardo recommendation.
Blondie,
Thanks for the info, it gives me confidence to try it out. I like Jose's compositions so mostly I am interested in the material, the Juan Martin books I have been playing mostly is good for learning and technique but seriously boring. It is hard to tell if there is much in the lessons for improving technique, but that would be just a bonus.
_____________________________
Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
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