Black Mountain Side Music School

Being polite i like to make sure we are all comfortable and ready to learn. I typically will ask if we're both aware why we are there. Start with lesson and determine if level is obviously inappropriate. Before lesson's end i would point out the things the student learned that day. Establish an understanding of expected homework from the student at next leason, and that i look forward to seeing them again. 

I could easily exceed the 'maximum allowable characters' answering this question, and experience isn't even part of the question! I will answer in two parts- brief response, followed by elaboration (hopefully not excessive).

Brief response: my education and training gave me the tools needed to teach music. Experience (actually teaching) showed me that everyone is different and beause of that, my teaching techniques must be as varied as people are.

Teaching music, I experienced what makes people interesting. They are all different. As such, I would continue the learning process of teaching,

realizing that teaching, in and of itself is a learning process.

As different as people are, the teaching processes must be equally suitable and different.

figuring techniques effective for one person  Experience taught me that everyone is different, and necessarily, I would learning how to teach.

I received my Bachelor's degree in Music Education from UNLV in 2003 and taught lessons in business, Black Mountain Side Music School for more than 10 years.

My mother started me in piano lessons when I was 5. I continued them through high school. In college I changed my major from electrical engineering to music education (didn't like the math!) Of course, my buddies and I did the obligatory garage band thing during this time, playing guitar and writing most of our songs- gigiging almost every weekend in neighborhood bars and places like the Glass Pool and Mad Dog's and Englishmen on the strip, as well as Club Rock and the Shark Club. After college, I played the bass in a disco band for a few years, and taught classroom guitar at Becker Middle School where I learned that one-on-one lessons were my 'forte'.

In my music school I taught everything except voice lessons and drum set. I do not claim to be an expert at every instrument, but my degree program enabled me to teach woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion at various levels. 

For instruments like harmonica, bagpipes, banjo, ukelele, mandolin (none of which were covered at UNLV, and all of which I taught at my shop) I let my students know that I could get them started, but they might need a more experienced teacher at some point in the future. In some instances, I continued learning right along with the students.

This brings up an important point:

REALIZING EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!!!

My education and training, relative to my work, taught me how to learn, and how to teach others to learn. Learning should take place frequently, and by both student and teacher. 

I believe the most important training and education I have received is that learning is a process. Sometimes painfully, sometimes surprisingly or contrary to my opinion, I learned that I do not know everything- my education is not something that ends with a piece of paper stating that i know 'it'.

Although I never received training about how different people are, I learned that teaching is also a process, and that neither learning nor teaching should ever end.

Music and people, as well as learning and teaching styles and abilities, are widely varied. 

Acknowledging and embracing these differences may not be necessary. A teacher could exclude any student who was different. However, that teacher would never thrive. 

I learned that I must continue to learn how to teach, keep an open mind, and focus my attention on abilities and strengths of each student.

Obviously, race, gender, orientation... all the current buzz terms in the news lately require an open mind. Thespe are the 'differences' I referred to earlier, and even though the question referred to 'training and education that I have', I feel that it is important to mention experience. 

Again, I never received education or training to deal with differences in students. Experience taught me how to tailor my teaching style to fit an individual student's needs.

Concluding training, education, and experience with a brief, but perhaps unusual example, I remember a student who was different. In almost every way, this student was normal. This student's challenge was finger size. 

Instead of suggesting a different instrument, or song, we worked together to learn the song in a different manner. A capo was used on the guitar. Different fingerings were identified. Much trial and error ensued. In the end, the student accelled and learned the song that was seemingly impossible using regular 'normal' methods.

And sometimes I believe I learned as much as the student in those lessons, if not more.