Those who can't play... teach?

[TexTuba]

Bad player don't necessarily translate to bad teachers and vice-versa.

Would you want a math teacher who wasn't so good at math? Or an englsih teecher not to good with the languig.

[Rick Denney]

Bad player don't necessarily translate to bad teachers and vice-versa.

Would you want a math teacher who wasn't so good at math? Or an englsih teecher not to good with the languig.

That's a false choice. I would not take a Ph.D. mathematician--which is probably the minimum level to actually be an expert in mathematics as its own subject--to be an acceptable teacher of middle-school algebra. Nor would it require a published author or professional journalist to provide reasonable instruction in how to read for beginners.

The mistake this person made, as has been said, is that he did not craft his teaching based on a good understanding of teaching. Rather than providing examples and saying "Do this", he should have focused on fundamentals of tone production. I'm not a very good player by any professional measure, but I bet I could teach reasonable tone production to a beginner. (I bet I could do better than the video star in question, for that matter.) I've certainly described it often enough here.

I don't think I recall all that much demonstration in the teaching I received, most of it from high-end professionals. But they all taught me things that I was able to incorporate into the actions I took.

There is an aspect to learning, though, that depends on the student building a mental model of the sound they want to make. Frankly, that could be done with good recordings, for those who must study with whomever is available. The mistake this guy made was not evaluating whether his own sounds were adequate to create that mental model, without supplementation by recorded excellence. That is a correctable mistake--in the context of his life, however, becoming a pro-level tuba performer might not be. That doesn't mean he doesn't know how correct playing sounds, or even how to lead a student to develop good fundamentals.

Obviously, the further a student progresses, the greater the need for expertise from the teacher. But it's a lot to expect many students of modest means and in out-of-the-way places to have access to a high-end teacher.

Now, why he would put a video of his teaching prowess on Youtube--that is a whole 'nother question. I don't think people realize how little control they have over who sees a posted video or what they might say about it. That's probably why it's gone now.

Rick "who could not afford and therefore received no private instruction at all until his mid-20's" Denney

[tubaforce]

A Calculus Teacher should be able to teach Trigonometry!
I studied with a fine French Horn Professor at a small college in the 80's. He taught me a lot about tone, visualising, articulation, and phrasing...If I ever go back to school, I will study with a "real" Tuba player. I hope I learn as much from him/her as I did from the horn guy!
Al