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What it Takes to be a Great Trumpet Teacher

What to Look for When Choosing a Trumpet Teacher

The other day I was thinking about what it takes to be a great teacher. You see, I was lucky enough to have a father who was a great teacher, and I've also had experiences with some dreadful teachers. To be fair, I will not say that all of these dreadful teachers were great players, because that's simply not true, infact a couple of them were dreadful players and teachers. It is my opinion; from participating in various internet trumpet forums; that there appears to be friction between many well known established players, and many well known established teachers. This creates an unhealthy atmosphere for those students that want to excel at their craft. It seems that there are primarily two schools of thought when it comes to finding a teacher whom can help you reach your goals, or at least "shine a light" at the end of the tunnel. I hope to pave a middle ground with this article, and express what I feel are important traits to look for in a good and competent teacher. What spurred me to write this article were two statements that I have heard bandied about quite frequently.

The first one: "Those who can't play; TEACH."

The second one: "Great players make lousy teachers."

I began to reflect on all that I do as a private brass instructor. Well, I am a voracious reader, and I read any brass pedagogical article that comes my way. I have quite a collection of method books, and articles that I have read, and have re-read many times. I "set up shop" in my basement with all the essentials needed for every conceivable situation. There is a full size mirror, stereo system complete with many compact discs, cassette tapes, and records. There are five tall file cabinets loaded with books, three industrial shelving units filled with books, and several bookcases loaded to capacity with magazines. There are several sizes of mouthpiece visualizers, lucite mouthpieces, several facial mirrors, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, trombone, french horn and tuba mouthpieces. I have hundreds of resources that I have inherited from my father, fellow colleagues, and my own travels. In other words, I have all the resources and wares that anyone would ever need. Does all this make me a good teacher? I think not.

Teaching is more than materials, resources, and office space, it's an attitude. A teacher does what a teacher has to do to get the job done. Let me explain. Last week I had a new student come for a trumpet lesson. He is a sophmore in high school and has been studying trumpet for six years. I asked him many initial questions, and then asked him to warm up and play some exercises for me. I noticed that he was spreading his lips, and pulling his jaw inward before playing his first note. I invariably asked him if he wore braces at one time. he looked rather surprised and said, "Yes, how did you know that?" My reply was simply, "Experience I guess, I've seen this before." I started to draw pictures, and talk about mechanics, and began to demonstrate the difference between how I play, and how he plays. That's right, I demonstrated the way he played. A teacher will use any tool that he/she has at their disposal. One of my tools is the art of imitation. Call me a trumpet impersonator if you will, but that's a technique that I use quite often. I've screwed up my chops many times in the past doing this, (what can I tell you, I'm a martyr), but I've had great success with this tool. Yes, I said tool! Tools of a teacher are not just limited to the materialistic. I have many other tools that I also use quite often. I learned many years ago that the best way to learn a concept is to be able to teach it. There are times during the lesson that I will explain a concept, and then ask my students to teach it back to me. This seems to work everytime. Here's another tool. I will practice a technique for the sole purpose of playing it for my students, i.e. - three octave jumps from low G below the staff to G above high C played six times in a row, or valve-less scales, or a series of lip slurs in thirds climbing up to the double C. Why do I do this? Simple: 1- It motivates the student. 2- They realize that nothing is impossible. 3- They learn about the ability and flexibility of the lips and embouchure. 4- They also appreciate the fact that their teacher practices these tecniques solely for their edification. Did you notice how I stressed the word practices?

One of my most important tools is the art of observation. A decent teacher will listen with their ears and their eyes. I will always move about during a lesson so that I can see the student from varying angles. I can listen to a student and immediately know by the sound if the student is playing correctly. I can hear "spread lips", I can hear improper air support, but I can see these things too. Playing should feel "easy". You shouldn't feel like you are climbing Mt. Everest when playing a two octave Eb scale.

I didn't wake up one day and proclaim myself a "trumpet teacher". I've been teaching brass for over twenty five years, and I hope that you weren't one of my students twenty five years ago. The point is that teaching is a full time job. I consume myself in it. Teaching is learning, and the more you teach , the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you teach!

Let's list some attributes!

Experienced
Caring/Kind
Attentive/Good Listener
Observant/Focused
Determined
Energetic/Upbeat
Gentle Manner
Organized
Clear/Precise
Can validate suggestions made/Knowledgeable

1- Experienced - Don't look for a so-called a person that is an awesome player with little if any teaching experiences, or somebody who has continually criticized teachers and now wants to supplement their income by privately teaching. The biggest mistake students make is a "go for the player" attitude. I should know, I made that mistake several times. I think everyone makes that mistake at least once when trying to find a good teacher.

The following is a response I made to a poster on TPIN:

"He gets all the high notes . So he probably
knows what he is talking about . ______ rocks ."
Nobody in this forum ever denied the fact that _____ is an awesome player. I'm sure _____ knows what he has to do to get all the high notes , BUT that's just the point. Every trumpet player feels things differently, and has specific perceptions of what they are doing while playing the trumpet. Very often it is very difficult if not impossible to write down these feelings and perceptions, and if you could, there's still the fact that we are all different. We all have different physical features and attributes. The only possible way for certain techniques to be learned is to see them carefully explained and demonstrated up close. In this way, the person demonstrating the technique can watch you while you attempt the same technique, and see if you're understanding the concept. It may take the demonstrator(teacher) many attempts in explaining and re - explaining the technique many different ways until the person wanting to learn this technique (the student) understands it.

This doesn't mean that players and teachers shouldn't write books, it means that certain tecniques that could be misconstrued, or misunderstood should be left out. In other words, responsiblity should be used when writing books, posting websites, or replying to threads in newsgroups. I've been teaching trumpet privately for 25 years, and believe me, I feel genuinely sorry for those students whom took lessons from me 25 years ago. It takes a lot of "everything" to be a good teacher, and not everyone is "cut out" for the "gig". I hate when I hear that "Players that can't play - Teach". That's so far from the truth. In my particular case it was overcoming all my problems playing that made me a better teacher. One quick note: I went to College with an awesome lead player. He and I became very good friends, BUT he always "knocked" my playing. Through the years I worked through my problems as a player, and he played all over the country with some of the outstanding "Big Bands" at the time. He never took lessons, never had any problems, until one day when he played a "circus gig". He ruptured a nerve in his face, and stopped playing for 6 years. Two years ago he called me up and asked for my help. Today he's making progress, and will probably re-enter the playing scene in the near future. He said to me, " I never had a problem playing, and you had many problems. I asked for your help because I figured very few people had as many problems learning how to play the trumpet as you did, and you might have some of the answers that I've been looking for. I was right, Thank-you."

This forum consists of great players, teachers, and those that can do both equally as well. Let's keep that in mind before we rally up the troops and start to pour out the gasoline.

Sincerely,

Wayne Trager

I left out the subject's name for obvious reasons, but let's take one more look at what the "poster" of this particular thread said that "stirred" me to reply.

"He gets all the high notes . So he probably
knows what he is talking about . ______ rocks ."

Translation: He can really hit those high notes, he must be a great teacher. _____ you're my hero.

As idiotic as that translation sounds, that's exactly what the "poster" of this forum thread" believes.

Just remember - Experience as a teacher is different than experience as a player. Experience makes a difference!

2- Caring/Kind - If you asked any of my students if they thought I was a caring teacher, I would guess that the answer would be "yes". I make it a point to treat every one of my students as if they are "family". I will start out each lesson by asking my students how are things going. Trumpet teachers need to be psychologists too. When you're teaching the most physically demanding instrument you need to make sure that the attitude isn't in need of adjustment as well.

3- Attentive/Good listener - I listen to all of my student's goals and concerns, and give them immediate feedback. If I don't feel I can give my students 100% of myself because of illness or fatigue, I cancel the lesson.

4- Observant/focused - We touched on the importance of being an observant teacher in the initial paragraphs of this artice. Being focused is a little different. If I were taking a lesson; and the teacher asked me what today's date was directly following the completion of an etude; I would pack up my trumpet, pay the teacher, and head right for the door. That teacher lacks focus, and probably a few "brain cells".

5 - Determined: A good teacher can sense that you don't understand the concept. He/she will immediately try to explain the concept differently, or might even demonstrate it. Look for a teacher that makes the effort to evaluate your understanding of each concept being taught.

6 - Energetic/Upbeat - You want a teacher that is energized for teaching. A teacher that lets you know that you're important, and that he/she can't wait to teach you. A teacher that makes it known that he/she loves to teach.

7- Gentle manner - I had a teacher who was a really "nice" person, and a phenominal player, but out of personal frustration would walk behind his students while they were playing and begin shouting and screaming at them. Needless to say, I was one of his victims, and I would walk out of his office a nervous wreck. This experience had a tremendous affect on my self confidence and despite all of his great teaching, set me back further than ever.

8- Organized - Maybe this attribute isn't the most important, but a teacher should at least know the name of the student scheduled for the lesson. I have seen this many times in music stores that offer instrumental lessons. The teacher is at a loss for the student's name during the entire lesson. Usually this teacher has no clue of what material he/she assigned at the last lesson, and has no idea what to do at that specified lesson. The end result is that the lesson was nothing more than the lesson the week prior. I take brief notes at each lesson, so that I have a specific plan and goals for each student I teach.

9- Clear and precise- A teacher should know each student well enough by the third lesson, and communicate with that student in a manner that is clear and precise. Each student is different. Just remember, one size doesn't fit all when it comes to teachers, and the same is true for students.

10- Ability to validate suggestions made-knowledgeable -I will never suggest a student make a change, or accept an idea if I can not validate it. I will have articles, books, and journals available to validate any suggestion made to the student.

REMEMBER: You can assess a teacher after just a few lessons. If you're not happy after the first three to four lessons; start looking for another teacher. By the way, it works the other way as well. If the teacher advises you to try something new, then listen! If the teacher is an experienced teacher than he/she just might know something that you don't know. Maybe that teacher sees something that you never noticed. Maybe that teacher hears something in your sound or attacks that you never heard. A decent teacher is giving of their time, and the student should be willing to accept that premise and listen.

One final note: A good teacher isn't expensive; a good teacher is priceless.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me.

Sincerely,

Wayne

wtrager@msn.com