1. Question: Do I need a teacher and how should I go about choosing a 
teacher?
Answer: If you find yourself losing heart GET A GOOD TEACHER! A teacher can and should boost your morale through the learning process. A good teacher will cheer with you when you make major break throughs and lend you support and
encouragement when you hit one of those plateaus where you maintain your
current level of skill but just can't seem to advance to the next level.This often
happens while the physical part of your body is acquainting itself with the task
you have assigned it to master. It can also happen when you are attempting a
technique for which you have adequately prepared yourself by first learning the
less complicated skills required for the harder technique you are attempting.

If a teacher does not do the above for you then find one that does. No
matter how how accomplished your teacher is as a musician, if he or she
does not fulfill the above requirements for you, then you are probably wasting
your time and money. Without the proper support an encouragement from a 
teacher who cares it is difficult for most students to achieve.
2.Question:  I am having problems learning certain techniques. Some
things seem really hard to learn and I just keep practicing and getting
nowhere. How do I learn some of these harder techniques?
Answer: As mentioned above there are "building blocks" in anything you learn.
If you try to skip over any of those building blocks it will weaken your
ability to perform the task you are attempting.

A good teaching method will allow the learning process to flow easily from
one technique to the next...each one building on the other. If something in
a tune seems way too difficult for you to accomplish you are probably
missing one of those building blocks. If this is the case try to find a tune
that will bridge the gap and then return to the tune you set out to learn
when you are prepared for it. 

3. Question: I have been looking at some of the tunes that are written
in the books I have. Some are really long and just seem overwheming.
When I try to play them I get so lost in learning the notes that I don't
hear the tune. How can I learn these long complicated contest tunes
without wanting to quit before I get started?
Answer: When learning a musical piece work on small phrases practicing each part until you feel comfortable with it before moving to the next. In other words, don't bite off more than you can chew. It's better to learn small sections well and put them together than to get lost in a long string of musical notes. Do try to keep musical phrases in tact when possible so as to retain the flow and feel of the music.

Once you are comfortable with the way you are playing a musical piece you
should work on memorizing it.

4. Question: I enjoy my music lessons and when I look at the music I am able to play the song I was assigned. My problem is that I can't seem 
to memorize the tunes I am learning and you just can't take a sheet
of music with you on to a jam session at night at a bluegrass festival.
Besides feeling out of place with the music it is impossible to see it and
read it in the dark. Any suggestions?
Answer: Memory work and repetition are important in developing speed in both
playing and learning but don't try to memorize too much of a tune. Go
over a tune and discover which parts are alike or repetitive and mark
those parts. Memorize where these parts go in the song rather than
attempting to memorize them as a part of a string of notes or numbers
(depending on how you are being taught.)

If you play by ear memorize phrases and practice putting them together as
you go.

5.Question: Why am I able to play something perfectly one day or
one minute and then the next time I play it I am all thumbs?  
Answer: There is more than one answer to this question. It could be that you
are not logging in enough quality practice time.  It also could be that you are
developing your concentration skills, and yet another is the "fear factor."

The best solution for all of the above is being prepared and knowing you are prepared. This builds confidence which is not false.  This means putting in the practice time.  Practice time builds both consistency and confidence. Organize time to practice and follow through with it no matter what. Just as you must excercise daily to get in shape or stay in shape you MUST practice daily to be a good musician. Daily practice starting with 30-45 minutes a day and working up
to an hour only satisfies minimal requirements. Many good musicians play up to 3 hours or more daily. When you enjoy playing this is not work, but you must budget your time so that the amount of playing time you choose is available to you each day.

I have a sign on my wall for my students that reads, 
"Don't ask God to make you a good musician if you are unwilling to take
the time to practice."
 

6. I am afraid to play in front of others when I never know if I can play what I know without making a mistake.  Sometimes I think I know a piece and then when I play it in front of someone I start making mistakes.
Once I make one mistake I can't stop making them.
Answer:This is a common problem that must be dealt with.  Some people get so nervous that they say they can't even see their strings. It is often said that fear is blinding and this is just one example. Fear of making a mistake when you play can be just as blinding and can actually turn into self fulfilling prophecy. My students will tell you that long before the popular TV show came along I was calling this the "fear factor." Everyone must deal with it in their own way. Some suggestions are to prepare yourself the best you can, work on your concentration skills, and don't take yourself too seriously.  

I have seen some good musicians who seem to roll their eyes back and listen only
to the music. Everything else is blocked out. Others are so absorbed in pleasing
the audience that if they forget about themselves and whether or not they will make a mistake and think only about entertaining. For others it is a little of both.  One answer doesn't fit all and eventually you will find your own solution. 

7.Question: I played for the first time in front of some friends and I don't  understand what happened.  I really wasn't nervous at first, or I didn't think I was.  When I started to play I everything looked different than it did when I practice. I kept missing the strings.
Answer: How you get use to viewing your strings does make a lot of difference.
In our band lessons I more often than not require my students to practice
standing up. Otherwise, the majority of people will go home and practice 
sitting down. Then when they get on stage and they can't find their strings
and become lost "aghhh?"! This is because everything is in a different place
than it was when they were sitting. If fear wasn't the original factor practicing
the way you will be playing in front of an audience may be the solution.

8.Question:I practice and practice but it just doesn't seem to help. Why?
Answer: Don't push yourself past the point that progress is being made. If you play an instrument you know that there is a time to put it down and that is "before" you start practicing your mistakes so well you have them down pat.

When you become too frustrated it is often better set the instrument down
and do something else that is totally unrelated. Your subconscious mind
and body will be working on it all the while as your conscious mind takes a
welcome break necessary to refresh itself for the next session.  Often you
will be surprised to discover that you've made some or even a lot
of progress when you go back to your practicing.

Frustration and Fatigue are not good teachers. However, don't claim them
as an excuse for not putting in your regular practice time.

9. Question: What do I do if I make a mistake playing in front of an audience?
Answer: The solution to overcoming when you make a mistakes is not to dwell on a mistake. Don't give it away by making a face or other body language that lest the audience know you made a mistake. You can't take it back, so forget it and don't look back. Chances are the audience won't notice it if you don't call their attention to it.

As you become a more accomplished musician you can use another solution and you should attempt to use that solution even now. That solution is to ably the "Lemonade" principle. That is to take something bad and make it better. Better musicians have learned to "improvise" by turning mistakes into something better or at least as good as what had been intended. Some of our best discoveries in both music and science come from "mistakes" and how we deal with them.

I have a good friend who is a well known fiddler, who always told me that he made lots of mistakes all the time, but when he did he just covered them up faster than a cat in kitty litter.
 

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