Q: In-person ukulele lessons…

uke1950 said:

Personally, I don't feel an instructor would be of any use until you know what you want to achieve.

I'd start by learning the basics from a book or the internet, then when you know what you want, maybe, go looking for instruction in that area.

My own personal way of learning, is by teaching myself, from info that is freely available online, though I did start out with books.

We each learn differently.

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Agree with this. As for teachers, I'd say half an hour with a good teacher who is enthused about their subject, be it ukulele or quantum physics, and enthuses you about the subject, is probably worth more than an hour with a rubbish teacher. Joining a Uke group is great for learning too. Enjoy!

I throw out this disclaimer right off, as often times a simple observation is interpreted as a declaration of war on something and I certainly do not have any criticism of people who pay to take ukulele lessons. But most ukulele players who I personally know are self taught. I remember the first ukulele festival that I went to and I attended a workshop where I saw a lot of thumb waving going on. I mentioned that to the instructor after the class and he blew it off, saying that most ukulele players are self taught and that pretty much the natural thing to do is to stick that thumb up in the air instead of placing it precisely on the back of the neck. But to me part of the allure of the ukulele is the fact that you can teach yourself how to play it. That you don't have to go out and find a ukulele instructor and schedule lessons every week. I feel a kindred spirit with the rest of the thumb wavers.

I'm not certain what the factors for the OP really are. Is it cost or time or content or interaction or syllabus, etc. It might be there but I've missed it.

Rather than individual lessons or teach yourself I opted for group lessons and that worked well for me. I think that there were about a dozen in the group and both musical background and natural ability varied quite a bit, but that proved to be helpful in a way. The teacher had a structured course that they were working through and enough ability to teach and play to have a steady stream of students - not all do. Class tuition obviously doesn't centre on an individual's needs but a good teacher does observe individuals in their group and does help when needed, the students help each other too. Lessons are much longer longer so you play more and have more time for an idea to sink in. That same teacher does do individual 30 minute lessons too, both in person and over the web, which follow his course structure but my preference is the group setting. Maybe that's a route to consider or at least pick someone for private lessons who also teaches groups in a structured way - my old teacher's selected syllabus matches his students needs for their later independent playing and that gives him repeat business through referrals and follow-on courses.

Graham Greenbag said:

I'm not certain what the factors for the OP really are. Is it cost or time or content or interaction or syllabus, etc. It might be there but I've missed it.

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The question was, how much time should I devote to figuring out if an instructor is right instructor for me? My choices were 30 minutes (one introductory class) vs 180 minutes (the required monthly commitment after an intro). I opted for the latter since one 30-minute lesson didn't seem adequate to get to know a teacher.

Why not email the teacher in advance and ask any questions that you have about thier style, experience, philosophy etc? You could also ask them directly if they feel that 30min is enough time for them to do a proper assessment of your current level or if 1hr is required.

If they are serious about taking you on as a student, they can invest a few minutes of their time to answer your questions.

I would think that 30 min is a bit too short personally, but I'm not a teacher.

Just my thoughts,

Adam

Alytw said:

Why not email the teacher in advance and ask any questions that you have about thier style, experience, philosophy etc? You could also ask them directly if they feel that 30min is enough time for them to do a proper assessment of your current level or if 1hr is required.

If they are serious about taking you on as a student, they can invest a few minutes of their time to answer your questions.

I would think that 30 min is a bit too short personally, but I'm not a teacher.

Just my thoughts,

Adam

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The admin handles calls, schedules lessons and books rooms, so there isn't a direct path to the teacher (at least in the beginning). But I'm ok with using the half hour to address questions. A teacher's time is valuable (imagine if they had to email every student—minutes add up) and I think I'll learn more from face-to-face interaction than from an email anyway.