|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,741
Veteran
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,741 |
Hi.
I ask the question because of something Rick Beato said about learning a large number of songs while teaching. His point was not about knowing a zillion songs but what that experience taught him about songwriting.
Teaching, I think, is one of the better ways for a musician to make money and structure your time to play live. Here in Miami, it is pretty easy to make 60K or more a year teaching...if you are a good teacher and people like you. It is a lot of work, but then again, what isn't...lol
If you teach, how has that affected your songwriting ability and the use of BIAB?
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,531
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,531 |
I teach. I think the best way to learn something thoroughly is to prepare to teach it to others.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
|
eddie1261
Unregistered
|
|
eddie1261
Unregistered
|
I don't dare teach because I am a horrible teacher. I have no patience for teaching and would likely hurt a lot of feelings when I told students "I don't think music is for you." I am that teacher who gets frustrated and says things like "How can you NOT know that" which is ridiculous because if they knew "that" they wouldn't be taking lessons. Plus, I will never teach people songs. I would teach them music. Once they have a grasp on half steps and whole steps, sharps and flats, time signatures, key signatures, circle of 5ths to a level where they can answer "What is the 6 in a Major scale" without thinking, THEN they can move on to somebody else to learn songs. Knowing songs is not knowing music.
I once worked with a singer who was singing a line wrong. The first 2 words of the bridge were supposed to be anticipated, and he did them wrong. (It was a combinations of things, but it DID tell me he didn't listen to the original song enough and just downloaded lyrics.) I told him "Those first 2 small syllables come before the downbeat." He looked at me like I came from Mars. I asked "Don't you know what 'downbeat' means?" And he didn't. It took everything I had to NOT say "How can you not know what a downbeat is and consider yourself to be a musician?"
And that is a great example of why I suck at teaching.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,495
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,495 |
I used to give private lessons on saxophone. But after I started my Band-in-a-Box aftermarket business I stopped taking new students and kept the old ones until they moved on.
Between making backing tracks for my duo, making product for BiaB, being the band salesman for my duo, and gigging, there just was not enough time. I haven't even watched TV any since 1990 - zero - nada - zilch.
One of my former students moved to New Orleans, ended up playing with Rocky Charles, and got to play in the NOLA Jazz Fest (I'm proud of her). When you get a student like her, teaching is easy.
A good teacher always learns from his/her students.
I still suck at songwriting, all the lyrics I write sound terrible to me. Probably because I don't really listen to lyrics when I hear music. Until the rest of the song is fully assimilated, the words are just meaningless articulations.
But writing styles for Band-in-a-Box and making backing tracks for The Sophisticats has taught me a lot about arranging for small to medium-sized groups. All that stuff I learned in school makes more sense after you make a few mistakes and make some things you are proud of.
Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
I have taught 4 students on guitar about 20 years ago. They all still play for pleasure and one became a professional touring guitarist. I did not teach them much technique but I did teach mostly ear training on identifying chord types by ear and picking out key of the songs they brought to me to learn.
The fact that they all still play makes me very happy. I did not charge any of them because the guys that took time to teach me never charged me.
I’ve taught home recording to a few including my own son. Those few still do it as well.
I learned a lot of my home recording stuff from rharv and Mac here in the late 90’s and I will forever be thankful to this forum and particularly those two and their willingness to guide and teach.
I’ve re-taught Pat Pattison’s boxes method for lyricists in a couple of song circles I have hosted at my house. Some total noobs came to those who hadn’t even written poetry before and they picked right up on Pat’s method and one of them writes regularly.
Except for the one guitar student who went in to tour for several years, none of these were raging success stories except I know I was part of their journey that continues. That is probably the most satisfying thing about it. I provided a nudge
Last edited by rockstar_not; 12/23/21 05:00 AM.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,596
Veteran
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,596 |
...................................
A good teacher always learns from his/her students.
I still suck at songwriting, all the lyrics I write sound terrible to me. Probably because I don't really listen to lyrics when I hear music. Until the rest of the song is fully assimilated, the words are just meaningless articulations.
.................... I agree about teachers learning from their students and I am also terrible with lyrics. I haven't taught since Covid struck but I hope to get a couple of students in the near future. One of my students ended up playing with Barbara Streisand. Another won a national songwriting contest. When I started teaching at a local music store another guitar teacher had the majority of students. He taught by song while I taught the fundamentals, i.e. reading music. When the store closed I had the majority of students as the owner was also old school. Because each student is different and the lessons were one on one a good teacher has to respond differently to each student. If a student was doing OK I would throw in some fun stuff. Things like taking a song they liked, arranging it to their level, and breaking away from the regular method books to teach them. That would include things that would come later in the method book; things like 1/6th notes and syncopation. I found it was easier to teach the fundamentals when they were playing something that they liked. I always kept on track with the method books: It would be half the lesson from the book and half from the song. This worked the best for me. That also is where BiaB comes into play. I made backing tracks for the songs, both in the method book and the fun stuff. The fun stuff would be at a few tempos so the student could start slow. I also made backing tracks for jams when they were advanced enough to learn some scales.
Back in my day the only time we started panic buying was when the bartender shouted "last call"!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 8,488
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 8,488 |
I have taught some and enjoy it, more as a hobby than a profession. With the guitar students I have had, I have tried to start early and only teach those who want to learn to read music, and do hours of boring exercises at first. As I have explained to them, if you work your butt off, there will come a point in time when you will look at the fret board and see a series of beautiful, glimmering math equations, and say to yourself "I got it!" Then you are not struggling anymore. You are sailing. There is NOTHING in the world to me that beats that moment when a student turn to you and smiles and says "I got it." NOTHING. Well, maybe one thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!
Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
PowerTracks Pro 2026 for Windows is Here!
PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.
Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!
Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.
Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!
Order now!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums57
Topics86,122
Posts800,483
Members40,037
| |
Most Online44,367
Mar 4th, 2026
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean