This thread is in no way an intended slight to the folks who teach, nor is it intended to be an opportunity for those with an axe to grind to rip a teacher apart - let's keep it civil, and perhaps maybe help "the fellas" take their product to the next level.

So here is a bit of food for thought; what do YOU as a PAYING student expect from your music teacher? Obviously, there might be some differences from an "in person" experience vs an "internet experience".

I personally have been on both sides of the fence, (teacher and student) and I know what a lot of the challenges are. I still take the odd guitar lesson from time to time, because it's fun to interact, it takes me in a new direction sometimes, and I have no problem paying for information, and new delivery systems for said information. And if someone has a lot of useful information and approaches, or a method of presentation that WORKS for me, then I will throw money at them, 'cause knowledge is valuable to me and I respect that. If it ain't working, Well, you know, I like most people become a lot less interested in paying for it.

Anyways I'm interested to see what you all post, (or if anyone posts) let's try to be cool eh?

Anytime a person gets an individual lesson in anything, the contract is a negotiation between what the student wants to learn and what the teacher wants to teach.

In my case on the Stick, I want to learn:
Compositional Fluency
Music Theory
Stick landmark usage (how to find useful locations quickly)
Stick techniques
Songs that I like
Songs that teach me things

Some of these I have at an acceptable level for me and some I don't. Any improvement is good improvement.

DISCLAIMER:
This list is not directed at anyone nor is it a reflection on what I have or have not learned thus far.

Hey, it's all good. The student is accountable for what they are able, and willing to learn - just the same as the teacher is responsible for the presentation and "packaging" of the information. It's a reciprocal relationship. The student has to be ready and able to receive (and digest) the information in the same way that the instructor needs to understand that in presenting the information, they may need to change gears (a lot) depending on the student.

Would I take online lessons again? Well, I am not completely opposed to it, as the information presented was highly useful. (Still is) However, I know in my heart that I have made a gross amount of progress doing my "own thing". Still, it is worth it in my mind to pay for even just the chance for even a clue to the answers one is looking for.

One of my best lessons, listening to the tracks everyone submitted for the 2017 collab. And then having to produce those... holy f&$%^*# it was the same for the 2016 one... A lot of different approaches, and a lot of different yet cool ways to play this instrument.

Another good one, I ask "the instructor" in Skype Lesson if he ever, ever, ever struggled with the instrument. He finally says "yep, spent a couple of years in survival mode" Somehow, THAT made it okay for me in my own mind to be a beginner and to accept that I was terrible. I needed to hear that, especially when Rodrigo Serrano has a Stick for a month and blows everyone away. Of course, then I cut my finger off (mostly off hehe) in an industrial accident. Gahhh

(P.s. I know I am not "terrible" per se, y'all know what I mean. Work in progress...etc etc..)

Great thread, by the way.... I have been blessed to take lessons from some of the prominent cats out there.... Each one of these guys brings something unique to the table. Each has there own style in teaching and conveying the material. SteveA, DonS & GregH have given me the most.... Steve got me to be unafraid of theory, Don always gives me ideas for chord progressions and fleshing out my own creative ideas w/useful information on progressions and arranging. GregH really understands where I am at on the instrument, and is also able to tailor the lesson and instruction to exactly where and what I want. Each one of these guys has allowed me to really come into my own as a budding player... AND.... I get SO MUCH from ALL of you that participate and show up here. Deepest Gratitude to all

Cheers, Randy, you are a dedicated and inspired learner... always a pleasure...

for me..i would expect a teacher to challenge me according to my level-plus a step or two above my level.

my personal problem is, once the lesson is over i may forget everything in a short while.

so i need the lesson to stay with me in video/audio/pdf/all of the above

A good teacher has a plan for the student.

A good teacher leads by example in a way that does not detract from the joy of music end enriches the experience for the learner.

A good teacher accepts feedback as easily as they offer it.

A good teacher has worked with multiple levels of intelligence and can identify patterns that might inhibit or otherwise demotivate the learner.

All good comments but for the most part, I think you generally just "know it when you see it" and different teachers provide different (and important) aspects of your upbringing along the way.

Greg Knas started me down the reading path and coerced me into trying additional instruments.

Carl Karoub taught me how to work with an ensemble (both large and small).

Nancy Williams taught me that learning to play the notes and having a piece ready to perform are most definitely NOT the same thing and the latter is just as important as the former.

Barton Polot steered me into the world of jazz (although I don't consider myself a jazz musician by any stretch).

My first theory professor (name escapes me ) not only introduced me to the world of music theory (huge) but also introduced me to a lot of 20th century music I hadn't discovered yet.

Greg Howard not only taught me how to play Stick, he taught me how to run a Stick seminar.

In most of those cases, those people taught me things I didn't know I needed but in hindsight were critical (at least to me).

I would also add that during every step of my musical upbringing, I had comrades who taught me almost as much as my teachers. That's still true today.

Ditto...

I need too work on the comrades part.

I had this teacher that sold me some "magic beans". (hahahahaha "food for thought", get it?) Actually, every 3 to 6 mos. he would see HIS teacher in Philly and give me "magic beans" (esoteric/odd scales) that he came back with and make me write songs with them. So I was getting VERY HEADY STUFF all for the "price of admission" (lesson fees). Same with my highschool band director. Got college level (and beyond) knowledge just for the asking. The best teachers LOVE TO SHARE and put it within reach of you.