There’s an effing manual or How to Play Wind Instruments

[FMiguelez]

Or at least the COMMANDS window. So much great stuff there.

Where is that window and how do I get it?

[stubbsonic]

Not everyone is wired the same. It's easy to lose patience with people who are wired differently.

[cuttime]

Or at least the COMMANDS window. So much great stuff there.

Where is that window and how do I get it?

There's an hour and 45 minute video on YouTube about this.

[HCMarkus]

These are the same folks who would come up to me after a meeting of a non-profit songwriters' group in which I was active for years... they'd say, "You should do this." I'd say, "Great idea; why don't you chair the committee and make it happen?" and watch them slink silently away, never to be heard from again.

I like to be helpful, but empathize completely with MLC's take here, having, on more than a few occasions, had to simply throw up (my hands) and (cue bullhorn effect) "STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD..."

[stubbsonic]

I am a person who is wired differently and also has worked with MANY students who are wired differently. It is very easy to judge for afar-- especially in the world of internet communications-- and assume we understand the motivations (or lack thereof) of people who ask questions we wouldn't ask.

I'm always more than willing to help, and more than willing to assume the risk that my help may or may not be received as intended.

If a person asks a question that does not align with my priorities or value system, I can choose to ignore that question.

I don't think the person in question has done something worthy of being blocked. But I ain't in charge of what questions of block-worthy.

[mikehalloran]

On another board, I had to say as tactfully as I could to ‘stop asking questions and follow the directions — they will make sense.’

Had another question followed, I would have been far more blunt. At some point, one has to dig in and try.

More than a few get annoyed at the way I don’t always answer the exact question asked. I feel that I’m answering for anyone who stumbles across the thread, not just the OP.

What really gets me are the ones who know the answer they want to hear and get mad at us who answer correctly instead of reinforcing the idiocy they come up with themselves or by some armchair idiot they read on the internet.

[Phil O]

If a person asks a question that does not align with my priorities or value system, I can choose to ignore that question.

I don't think the person in question has done something worthy of being blocked. But I ain't in charge of what questions of block-worthy.

Keep in mind that blocking someone is not some form of punishment. It is simply a tool to ignore that persons posts. At least that's my understanding of it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but MLC's action is simply his choice to ignore that persons questions. Yes?

Phil

[Phil O]

What really gets me are the ones who know the answer they want to hear and get mad at us who answer correctly...

I won't mention any names, but that just happened to me on this board. It kind of ticked me off. I thought I clearly understood the question and gave an accurate (and polite) answer, but my advice was rudely dismissed by the OP. Jeesh!

Phil

[HCMarkus]

What really gets me are the ones who know the answer they want to hear and get mad at us who answer correctly...

I won't mention any names, but that just happened to me on this board. It kind of ticked me off. I thought I clearly understood the question and gave an accurate (and polite) answer, but my advice was rudely dismissed by the OP. Jeesh!

Phil

Perhaps unfortunately, one need not demonstrate reading comprehension when purchasing a computer.

[stubbsonic]

I blocked a user today after following his posts for a few weeks.

I was assuming that MLC was blocking the user in his capacity as administrator. If I am wrong about that, I apologize for my posts reflecting that misunderstanding.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I only administer the composing area. It’s not a paid position and doesn’t provide any special powers except to edit posts in that area. Blocking by any admin (except js) has virtually no effect on the ability of a member to participate with others.

[Shooshie]

In 1981 I was getting big-league symphony gigs, and I was being asked to play at festivals and symposiums. Meanwhile, I was still teaching high school and junior high kids how to play the saxophone. There was something very frustrating about my playing at the time. I knew I was "good enough," but I wasn't great. There were some technical issues that were high-level, but I wasn't getting there. I finally realized that as long as I was going back and starting at basics every day, working up to scales and arpeggios with each students, I was never going to break free of those basics and move on to unrestricted performance. I sadly dropped all my private teaching and devoted myself full-time to practice and performance. Soon I forgot all about teaching and rode the wave of unlimited technique that came to me from such intensive practice. It was the best decision I ever made in regard to being a musician.

Sometimes you just have to realize that those who are going to get there will get there. Those who can't assemble the horn without extensive discussion are probably not suited for the gig, ever.

Incidentally, during the period after I dropped those students, I developed a teachable technique that 15 years later I would post on the internet which would get translated into several languages, including Chinese, and would get thousands of saxophonists beyond a hurdle that had baffled players and teachers as well, since the horn was invented. I received thousands of emails over the next 20 years, telling me how that technique had been the missing link, and had opened the way for so many players. I later learned that it had been almost exactly the same technique taught exclusively by Joe Allard of Boston, whose students would not share it with anyone, having been instilled with the idea that it was only meant for those who managed to make it to Allard's studio and pay the price. One friend who studied with Allard told me I had ruined it for them and that I had no right to tell everyone their proprietary information. Of course, it was just as much my proprietary info as theirs, because I had actually developed it on my own, and I had added some important details that made it easy for everyone to teach themselves, and which Allard had overlooked.

Anyway, the point is that I probably would not have been able to do that if I had continued to teach low-level students all day, every day. Helping others is a noble goal, I think, but you do have to draw a line somewhere between being a teacher who doesn't have the time or opportunity to innovate, and a pro who shares as he/she explores and finds new paths. How do you change the paradigm when you are repeating the old limited one a dozen times a day?

Shooshie

[MIDI Life Crisis]

As a teacher, I think one should one should be able to assume a base level of competency and understanding from a student, at least when working with rank beginners. DP is clearly not intended for those just starting out in production. GarageBand would be a better chocolate fest. I have no problem with someone taking the plunge into such a deep app as DP but at the same time, I don’t feel a great need to hold their hand in learning how to stop a sequence at a set point, or other really basic stuff. When I see one person ask the most simple questions ad nasueum, I’ll ignore it for a while. It when a pattern exists where that person is clearly not bothering to make an effort to do a little homework, I lose patience. Ultimately we teach ourselves. If one doesn’t want to take that first step, the next one will be off the proverbial cliff. IMO.

[Phil O]

Well, since we're talking teaching, I'll add a story.

I had a young drum student once. I don't remember when he started with me but he was quite young. I'll call him Rocco, 'cause that's his name. Rocco was not the best of students. In fact he was probably the slowest student I've ever had, but he was a good kid - respectful, eager to learn. His progress was at a snail's pace to say the least, but he was determined. We would go over the same lesson week after week and finally see some progress months after other students his age had moved on...but Rocco persisted.

Fast forward - Rocco in high school. About a year earlier I had shown him a video of Steve Gadd at a workshop demonstrating a figure he had developed from some simple rudiments. The rudiments were simple but the figure was a bitch. Rocco comes in one day and says, "Hey, Phil. Remember that Steve Gadd video you showed me? I think I worked it out (this is about a year later). He proceeds to lay it down perfectly! But that's not the best part. He then shows me that, just for fun, he worked it out left-handed, again perfectly.

To make a (too) long story short. Rocco became a very competent drummer (in retrospect probably my best student). His slow progress and repeated questions never irritated or frustrated me because his attitude and work ethic made up for his lack of learning skills. In fact his lessons were a lot of fun.

So...I just want to make sure that people reading this thread understand that it's not the level of understanding or how basic a poster's questions are that cause such irritation. It's the oftentimes concurrent bad attitude. Nuf said.

Phil

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Dude, I get that. I am THE WORST student which is why I’m mostly self taught. The have infinite patience for slower learners since I are one.