Use Music Books as Supplements, Not as Primary Learning Tools
Music books are great to use as supplements, but they can't replace the student-teacher relationship.
Music instruction books are most effective as supplements. Private music study is more effective in helping to organize and develop your talent.
The most obvious problem with a book is that it cannot be adapted to the individual. There is no way to get answers to questions that come up as you go through a book. That being said, however, if a book is targeted at a specific topic of interest, it can be a very effective tool.
An example from my own collection is Mastering the Modes - a very specific study of the musical system called the modes. For those interested in contemporary improvisation, it is extremely useful for its information, organization, reference material, and explanation of the modes.
Still, if you’re at a beginning or advanced-beginning level, it is very important for you to have a teacher. No book, no matter how good, can replace a student-teacher relationship.
2 comments
Posted 10/02/09 at 4:52 pm
I never had a teacher, does this mean that I’ll never make it in the industry?
Posted 10/02/09 at 9:13 pm
Studying and developing one’s potential has nothing to do with success, especially in this industry. It is also fails to consider that everyone learns differently, and not everyone can or wants to take the Clapton path.
Regardless of how much he influenced Rock and Blues, he did not influence Jazz or Classical, which tend to require additional study. Despite Clapton’s world fame and wealth, I feel confident that he would be the first to admit how much he does and doesn’t know.
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