[SmoothSaxPlayer]

So I ate my pride of not wanting to get a private teacher. It's against my principle. I've always been self learning everything that I wanted to know. Anyway, I've done it today and went to Fred Rast at Music Village in San Jose, CA. Yes, it's the same Rastmusic guy that produces his own mouthpiece.

I've been practicing soprano for about two weeks now and trying to get the right embouchure and tone. I wasn't doing it too wrong but Fred showed me the proper way. I guess, that alone is worth paying for. He showed it to me once and got it right away. At least we didn't have to eat too much time of the half hour lesson that we had. He also gave me a #3 Vandoren reed and recommended me to use that instead of the softer ones.

I'm also the type of guy who learn music by ear and always get intimidated when I encounter notes. Well, Fred made it easy for me and I was able to follow along. I can say that I learned a lot during our first session. The question now is how far should I go before I quit lessons.

Anyway, when I went home and practiced some more, my wife told me that my saxophone now sounded much different. It's more pleasing to the ear, hehehe. So I guess paying $40 today is not bad at all... lol.

 

[daigle65]

$40 for a half hour lesson:?

 

[whaler]

$40 for a half hour lesson:?

Our private teachers have to pay for health care.

 

[littlemanbighorn]

$40 for a half-hour lesson with a good teacher isn't so bad.

 

[Kritavi]

That is a very fair price, in fact a bargain. This man can certainly teach you all kinds of things you could never teach yourself. He can guide you towards having a great sound. It is a real opportunity. Good luck.

 

[daigle65]

That is a very fair price, in fact a bargain.

For an advanced student maybe, but just to teach basic embouchure and reading ?

 

[FrankB]

For an advanced student maybe, but just to teach basic embouchure and reading ?

daigle65- Half an hour is half an hour is half an hour.

Smoothplayer - First off, congrats on getting yourself a teacher. I realise it went against the grain but I really do believe you're doing the right thing. Some instruments are fairly straightforward; this isn't one of them!

I really wouldn't go in with the mind-set of stopping the lessons as soon as you can, though. This is a marathon not a sprint. My advice (free and worth every penny ) would be to relax, accept that this is going to take a while and enjoy learning the instrument with the assistance of your teacher.

All the best,

Frank

 

[Swampcabbage]

He went to and advanced teacher. It's not the curriculum you pay for but the expertise behind it. If I went to school and did only half the homework do you think they'd let me just pay half the tuition?

 

[heath]

Actually guys $40 is high for basic info. The teacher should have referred him to a cheaper teacher. If he lived near me I would have shown him all this stuff for free.

Now for pro level advice it can run big bucks. The more famous the more expensive. And I expect these teachers to put me through the paces. Going rate can be as much as $100 for 1 hour. My best teacher however was $10 for half an hour, that was 12 years ago though, I think he charges twice that now.

 

[Swampcabbage]

So, a guy books a spot with a teacher not knowing that you are there for basics and not advanced techniques and because of this the teacher should cut his rate on his time because the student is ill prepared for the advanced lesson?

Wow, wish I could've gotten that deal through college.

For me, it's a cheap lesson for the student to think realistically as to what he needs and to seek appropriate tutelege. It's a waste of the teachers time and the students money.

Also, rates depend on MANY mitigating factors. Area, demand, experience, education. Charge cannot be determined by the amount of information absorbed by the student.

 

[Dr G]

Let's see... He could have gone through life with crappy tone and worse intonation, struggling until he finally achieved perfect pitch (the one where the horn lands in a dumpster without hitting the edge) OR he gets started on a path that leads to a successful outcome.

Money well spent, I'd say.

 

[littlemanbighorn]

For an advanced student maybe, but just to teach basic embouchure and reading ?

Someone who can actually teach embouchure properly is worth every penny. After college I went to a different teacher to work up my Jazz skills, and the first the we worked on was embouchure. He charged $80 an hour, and MOST teachers charge a slightly higher rate for shorter lessons. I don't regret it one bit.
You're way better off spending the money and heading down the right path than having to break and fix bad habits later.

 

[SmoothSaxPlayer]

I also believe that the rate is just fair. It's true that anyone who knows how to play can teach embouchure and notes but how would I know if they're teaching me the correct way. That's the same as reading up articles online on how to do all these things. I was once a computer consultant and sure many people can fix computer stuff but they pay because they wanted to hire someone they can trust. Besides, Fred has been teaching for 30 years and when I went to the store to ask for a lesson, they recommend him because they said he's the best that they got. Like I said, at first I wanted to learn everything on my own so if I'm gonna get a teacher, I wanted to get the best that my money can afford.

 

[SmoothSaxPlayer]

Oh, btw, before I went to Fred, I first asked around my area and some teachers want to charge $50 per 1/2 hour and there's one that charges $75 and another one $90.

 

[daigle65]

Someone who can actually teach embouchure properly is worth every penny.

I'll start charging more then.....

 

[saxjuss]

congratz for a teacher,its nice to learn basic stuffs from good teacher,almost always they will teach you right things.I suggest you to practice little bit by your own now and then later after a month or something when your technic is better to go back and learn alot new things what you are able to do thengood luck