RGT Guitar Teacher Colin Black Interview

Guitar Teacher Colin BlackIn this edition of the RGT Guitar Tutor Interview Series, we’re catching up with Scottish Guitar Teacher Colin Black, as we discuss his approach to preparing students for exams, dealing with nervousness in the exam room, and his own experience taking the Jazz Guitar FLCM exam.

Colin is an experienced performer and guitar tutor who is known for his jazz guitar playing around Scotland and beyond.

Though a jazz specialist, Colin is passionate about many types and genres of music, as he performs all over the country in various lineups, and is taking his jazz quartet to France for the Jazz En Tete festival in 2013.

To learn more about guitar teacher Colin Black and his teaching and performing careers, please visit the Colin Black Homepage.

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RGT: How did you become aware of the RGT, and why do you choose to encourage your students to take RGT guitar exams?

Colin Black: I think I saw an RGT advert in a guitar magazine years ago, which is how I first became aware of the syllabi.

When I took the plunge and started teaching guitar full time, I wanted my business to be as “legit” as it could.

Being a registered RGT guitar tutor presents a positive image to pupils and their parents, and my profile on the RGT website is a great way to display my specialities to potential students.

RGT exams themselves present a very structured way to learn that appeals to me and my teaching methods, and so I use this approach in my private teaching.

RGT: What do you find is the biggest challenge when preparing a student for an upcoming RGT exam?

Colin Black: Timescales can be tough, especially when a pupil has unrealistic expectations about how quickly they can prepare to be successful on any given RGT exam.

Occasionally you have to be firm with a student, and persuade a pupil that they might not be ready yet, or that they’re not putting in enough practice time at home.

Balancing that with the fact that it’s essential pupils enjoy their lessons and their playing can be tricky.

After all, at the end of the day they are paying my wages.

RGT: Most students, if not all, deal with nervousness on some level either before or during their exams. How do you address this issue with your students in their lessons?

Colin Black: Holding mock exams in the teaching room in the run up to the actual exam date can be a positive method to address this type of nervousness.

I try to instill within a pupil the idea that the examiner actually wants them to pass, they want to hear an entertaining performance, and will hopefully create a positive environment for the pupil to do just that in the exam room.

I also pass on anecdotal evidence from my own exam experiences, good, bad and sometimes amusing, to help relate these experiences to their own exams.

A constant tip I offer is to always take a few seconds of silent counting in your head before starting to play.

I find that this is a good calming technique for pupils dealing with nervousness in exam situations.

RGT: As someone that holds an FLCM in Jazz Guitar Performance from the RGT/LCM, why did you choose to pursue this route of study, and how has it influenced your teaching?

Colin Black: I held several Diplomas already before I took that exam, but had always wanted to add an FLCM to the list.

Jazz being my biggest passion, I thought I would spend some time concentrating on that exam in my own practice routine.

It’s a relatively new qualification, and there wasn’t much info out there at the time, but I bought the RGT jazz diploma handbook and emailed RGT tutor Paul Hill via his website for advice, as he was the first person in the UK to sit this exam successfully.

It was a great experience for me. I could have used old familiar material for the exam, but in the course of my preparation I added a lot of new material to my repertoire, and encompassed a lot of new and different jazz styles into my performance.

RGT: You are a jazz musician in Scotland, Aberdeen area. What is the scene like up there for a jazz guitarist these days?

Colin Black: It can be tough and the gig diary can be a bit bare at certain times of the year.

I try and play in as many different lineups as I can, a big band, a quintet with vocals, a Hot Club guitar duo, solo gigs etc.

Finding a regular gig can be a godsend, but you’ve got to work hard to keep the audiences coming, and social media is changing how that all works.

I find myself traveling further afield for gigs these days that may be more musically satisfying, but that often pay less.

I’m looking forward to taking my Quartet to the Jazz En Tete festival in France later this year as part of a twin cities venture, so that should generate some positive publicity.

RGT: If you had one piece of advice for other guitar teachers that are preparing students for RGT exams, what would it be?

Colin Black: Use your own experiences, both positive and negative, to inform your pupils about what exams are actually like.

If you’ve never actually sat an exam yourself, put yourself through the process and take a few different exams. It can only enhance your skills and experience as a teacher.

 

Not a Registered RGT Teacher yet? Visit the Join the RGT Page to find out the great benefits that membership has to offer.

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