Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Full Version)

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Arash -> Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 23 2007 11:07:18)

I have a question to all those who are teaching Flamenco Guitar to students:

When can you say that you are ready to teach Flamenco Guitar to a beginner in a responsible-minded way?

The reason why i ask is following:

Few days ago i played a little bit for some friends and there was a boy who asked me if i also teach?
i said: no!
And also i had requests for teaching few times some time ago.

Well, i have the feeling that i am not good enough to teach anything and that it would be irresponsible to do that just to get some money.
On the other hand, i was thinking that for a absolute beginner maybe i have enough knowledge to teach them at least the basics , compas, the techniques, and for playing some easy pieces from different palos, etc.


Would you please tell me about your experiences? About your first student, etc.?
And when you felt that you are ready to teach ?
And any other info and opinion about this subject?

Also i would like to know which Method do you use to teach the Flamenco Guitar to a beginner ? Where do you start and how do you proceed ?

Thanks



guitarbuddha -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 23 2007 21:33:36)

We all make mistakes but it looks like you've noticed that. So you'll probably do less harm than most. Amazon have a great price on the combined Book/DVD package of the Gerhard Graf Martinez method book1, that will save you a lot of work if your pupil can see this,and the pieces are easy.
You'll only get confident about teaching through practice, then you'll find you'r own way. Maybe get some lessons to see what you think of how other's teach and to steal ideas too.

Good luck.

David.



RK II -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 2:04:43)

You can do it !!!!!!!!



Florian -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 2:27:44)

If the guy came to you, he obviously likes what YOU do.

I used to say no all the time because after hearing and seeing what i have seen how in the world could i teach, untill i needed the money.. but if you think like that and are too respectfull youl never do anything.

the very foundation of flamenco outside Spain was based on most of the time underqulified teachers but the standard slowly raises but consider the alternative if everyone was so respectfull.

there would be no flamenco or interest.

teaching to the best of your abilities is all one can ask for.

u could wait a lifetime if you are waiting for that " I am ready" feeling.

so do what you can and do it to the best of your abilities if the student is not happy then its up to him to find someone else.

Imo



XXX -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 7:59:49)

Is it right to teach, if you cannot play a piece by PdL, VA, Tomatito, or any other "big"? That is always my concern.
But it also depends on what your student wants to learn. To many people here in Germany and elsewhere, flamenco for them is = rumba.



Florian -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 8:11:56)

quote:

Is it right to teach, if you cannot play a piece by PdL, VA, Tomatito, or any other "big"? That is always my concern


there would be no flamenco outside Spain if everyone felled that way, therefore you wouldnt even now have to concern yourself with this question [:D]

you are able to do what you do now, and look deeper into flamenco because at some point in time some underqulified guitarist in your country tought, yeah mibe i shouldnt but il teach anyway.

that cant be all that bad

as long as the technique and compas is correct , the rest is after the individual



duende -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 8:17:44)

flamenco is not "pieces", you can teach technique and falsetas and the basic style of
playing a palo. no nead to play a ton of tunes by pdl,vicente,gerardo etc.

I dont teach flamenco beacuse it seems so difficult for everybody.
I´ve had advanced music students playing classical very well that couldnt even pull off a trad solea with intro and 1 falseta.

Rock players seem to adapt easyer.

I would realy like to teach one "hardcore" flamenco player. i think it would be realy fun.



Jim Opfer -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 11:42:50)

It's more important that the young guy gets a chance to learn rather than no chance. Even if it's just to get him started and feeling a bit more enthused so that he can decide to take things further.
I wasted a lot of my time with no teacher trying to get along by myself.



Ricardo -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 15:00:55)

Teaching is a great way to LEARN yourself. After you start, you will discover why, and notice your own playing improve. I remember when I first started learning, and all I could play was power chords for Iron man and Crazy train, but it did not stop me from "teaching" that to my friends that had guitars.

Remember though, if a student seems to be already BETTER than you in certain ways, encourage him to try out other teachers too, if any are available.

Ricardo



Arash -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 24 2007 21:14:42)

Thanks all for your posts!

Maybe i will start to teach for free or let say for a bottle of wine and then see what happens.
[;)]



Wannabee -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 25 2007 3:04:36)

Hmm. If the kid is a total beginner, what harm can a few basic lessons do?

Which is worse, a teacher who admits that he is only learning himself, or a teacher who pretends to know it all?

I started out with the latter, and eventhough I didn't get the best advice from my teacher, I did learn a few things.

He taught me using the old Juan Grecos book and when I asked him how things should sound, he told me to figure it out on my own. Some of the stuff he did show me was wrong both rythmically and and technically speaking. But he did get me started, that was over 20 years ago....and I am still just learning.

I think you have a huge advantage over the guy I just described in that you have this forum to help you when questions arise. I wish I had someone even interested in learning a rumba or two.

Best of luck.



duende -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 25 2007 7:20:59)

you can learn very well for a teacher that is a student himself.
I can show a student Alzapua and how to do it even though i cant play it as fast as Gerardo.

Im sure most serious guitarists/musicians can tell any student what to practice to becom a virtuoso,(technicaly) but most of us never put in that much time. or didnt have that much time or didnt understand just how MUCH time.



Georg -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 25 2007 9:56:41)

It's perhaps like an excellent tennis coach who has never won wimbledon himself.



XXX -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 25 2007 10:09:13)

quote:

ORIGINAL: GuxDiBux

It's perhaps like an excellent tennis coach who has never won wimbledon himself.


Interesting comparison. Or like presidents counselor, who never were presidents?

Maybe it would be good to say/write "only beginners". On the other hand, if you write that, people think, because they usually know nothing about flamenco, that you cant play. So i would mention things like "teaching in basic techniques and palos", then they start thinking: what is a palo?

And i would charge the hell out of them, coz when i started flamenco nobody showed me LOL. Joke. But it IS a bit depressing. As a student its hard to find a flamenco teacher. As a teacher its also not easy to find many students, compared to Rock, Classical. Either way, flamenco is an outsider music [X(]



Pais -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 25 2007 16:27:05)

Myself I was very frustrated when I couldn't find a teacher. If I've had met someone like you, who can teach me the basics, I would have been very happy.

Rightnow I've found a good teacher. One disadventage is that I have to travel 3 ours for one lesson [:D] But I don't care - it's worth it.



Adam -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 26 2007 6:21:28)

Indeed, as so many have said, they seem to like what you do so you can teach them that much - and besides, you as a teacher has to be better than no teacher! :) Finding a good teacher outside of Spain (and a few major cities like NYC, Boston, etc.) is difficult enough as it is - I was lucky to find just one in the entire state of Connecticut - so consider your potential students lucky :)

EDIT: Also, many might not agree but I really think JM's Solos Flamencos are very good for a beginner who's got a basic grasp on the essential technique (pulgar picking, rasgueado, picado, are useful to start). After a year of classical lessons that gave me the basic technique (thank God my teacher acquiesced to my flamenco demands and taught me basic rasgueado!) and then a year or so without playing, I started playing with the Solos Flamencos book and really improved my playing before finding my current teacher a few months later. Definitely recommended, especially with a teacher to help out, because the beginning pieces are both fun and fairly easy, and will help keep a student's interest and passion going--the level system really makes you set goals you want to strive for, critical to inspiring discipline in practice IMO.



XXX -> RE: Teaching Flamenco Guitar (Mar. 26 2007 9:04:16)

For methods i would recommend to check out MANUEL GRANADOS. This is the best method regarding the selection of falsetas imo, because there are things from every skill in there, plus the falsetas are really nice. Also lots of exercises, BUT for someone who hasnt all the techniques down, i would say a DVD is better, like Gerardo Nunez Encuentro, or if it should be easier, Moraito Encuentro. If you can play all from Nunez DVD, you can almost play like Nunez [8D]
There is so much good material to learn, i cant imagine how bad the circumstances were in the 80s or later before.



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