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GeoffreySweeney
Aloha
11 Posts |
 Posted - 05/13/2011 : 6:59:38 PM
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I was on Keola Beamer's Website and I noticed that he gives Slack Key guitar lessons on skype for $100 an hour. Here is the Link http://www.kbeamer.com/index.php?q=node/69 I'm curious has anyone here ever taken lessons from him? If so what is he like as a teacher? Are there any reviews of him regarding this subject?
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 05/14/2011 : 01:17:33 AM
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Wow. Lots of $$$.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - 05/14/2011 : 12:16:03 PM
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| Noeau had Keola for a personal teaching in Hawai'i a while back. |
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Allen M Cary
Lokahi
USA
158 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2011 : 2:22:37 PM
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I have not tried the Skype lessons, but I can say that one-on-one Keola is fantastic. I have taken several workshops and been to Aloha Music Camp and did the "Big Dogs" class with him. I have had spotty success with Skype for various things. I worked with a group that was creating a system for guiding the blind remotely. We started using Skype, but found that its band-width was frustratingly limited. It would freeze up, which is really bad if you've just led a blind person out into the crosswalk.... I think that the experience with Keola could be similarly problematic over Skype, but I haven't used it in quite a while.
Aloha,
Allen |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1023 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2011 : 3:10:58 PM
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| I'm going to chime in here. $100/hour is pretty steep unless you get some guarantees. I have a suggestion that has worked extremely well for me. Ask Keola, or any instructor for that matter, if he would be willing to send you a video recording of one song for $25, or 4 songs for $100. (I'm guessing he won't). If you've ever seen Ozzie's DVDs or John Keawe's, $30 or $40 gets you 4 or 5 tunes described and (maybe tabbed). It's the only way to learn; watching over and over again. I've done this with a couple of very good players. I've gotten to the point where if a video is decent, I can learn the tune in a couple of passes. This, of course, obviates the $ from getting someone to pony up for continuing lessons at $X/hour. |
Edited by - chunky monkey on 05/16/2011 3:11:50 PM |
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jcfm
Aloha
1 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2011 : 9:13:25 PM
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| I recently started Slack Key lessons with Keola via Skype, and I have nothing but good things to say. If you're committed to practicing, it is well worth the money. The lessons are fun. We work on several pieces each session and add more songs as I progress. As a teacher, Keola is patient, supportive, and has a fun sense of humor. Thank goodness someone with such a wealth of knowledge is so willing to share. As far as Skype goes, it has been working pretty well with only an occasional 2-3 second delay. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2011 : 04:42:50 AM
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I cannot speak to the Skype lessons, but Keola is a great teacher. In workshops, he typically works through a piece supported by tablature. Also, Keola talks story and shares his thoughts and experiences.
Then again, your hānai dad is a wealth of knowledge too.  |
Andy |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 10:09:12 AM
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Not to "dis" Chunky Monkey -- but I have an additional comment to what he said. He and I have learned the same songs the same way.
While learning how to play a song from a video is a good way to learn that song, it is not necesarily a good way to learn how to be a good player and to appreciate the fine points of the Ki Ho'alu music and to point out your flaws and ways to work on them. I once spent an hour with Ozzie Kotani at his home. He asked me to play a slack key song for him. Then, in just two minutes he made a single suggestion that has made a world of difference in MY playing. Not in my ability to learn songs but in my ability to play any song better. I was also lucky to be able to spend time with Professor Peter Medeiros at his home. There I learned not only how to play better but to understand why the slack key songs are crafted in a specific way and why playing a two-fingered chord with different fingerings results in different sounds. Again, not in how to learn how to play a song but in how to play any slack key song better. This is the primary benefit of a one-on-one lesson with a good teacher.
I have taken workshops and group lessons from others but these became a "watch-what-I-do" and "play-like-I-play" session. While these are good they will never take the place of a good teacher working with YOU.
I can only assume Keola is a good teacher on an individual level. |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1023 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 12:28:16 PM
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| I'm not saying having an instructor is not preferred. My only reference was to $100/hour over an internet connection. Particularly, for a beginner learning scales or vamps or how to tune or similar stuff. If I could get Keola to devote an hour to me teaching me his version of Morning Dew or Ku`u Home, it would be worth a face to face. |
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Curtis
Aloha
17 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2011 : 07:31:19 AM
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I am also taking lessons from Keola via skype and I echo what jcfm and Mika ele have said about: 1) Keola's teaching abilities and style; and 2) the value of one-on-one lessons. Some asides - I have been playing off and on for quite a while, but am new to Slack Key [but not alternate tunings.] Keola and I started out with E Ku'u Morning Dew. Even over the internet, with a bit of camera adjustment, he's been able to help me with left hand technique. Over the past few days I've been thinking about our lessons, and it dawned on me: Most of my life I've played guitar with a very inward perspective - for myself, as a way to forget the world and de-stress, to let go. It is clear that Keola plays music for himself, but it is equally clear that he also plays to share and spread Aloha. That outward perspective comes through in his lessons and has been really refreshing for me.
I have also had a few one-on-ones with Jeff Peterson, and he is a great teacher as well.
Curtis |
Edited by - Curtis on 05/19/2011 07:53:55 AM |
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Keola Beamer's Slack Key lessons review
