Study with Mark

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Goethe is purported to have described great architecture as “frozen music”. It is a compelling turn of phrase that has influenced how I look at a written page of music as something similar. It is a moment in time that has been suspended, the intangible idea of sound captured and only released when the performer reads the page, but more importantly, interprets the information given.

Starting the journey of music is relatively easy, and can be done on one's own with the help of a video or a book explaining the rudiments of musical notation or a good ear can guide you. Indeed, these days, one can get quite far with all of the videos available on various websites. The range of information available in video tutorials is quite broad and it is nice to be able to stop and replay the lessons.

We live in a glorious age where we have what seems to be unlimited access to information about anything we desire to know. That said, I have noticed that people often confuse the access to information with an understanding of this information. I believe that learning is not instantaneous but cumulative.

Where does a teacher fit in this new paradigm?

My teaching is not that different from the teachers of the past, in that I have a curriculum that addresses the rudiments of music in terms of reading and writing and composition. In general, my goals are to ask my students what is the simplest thing they can do and then how can they improve that? My goal is to build a firm foundation of understanding the most efficient way to move ones' fingers on the guitar, to navigate a composition so that it doesn't seem to be a Herculean effort to play, and to celebrate the qualities that make the composition or study unique to the period of history it comes from.

I depart from the “sage on the stage” posturing of the pedagogy from the past.

I have spent my life with music and have studied with great musicians and worked to play with great musicians in great places, but none of that means anything unless I can listen carefully and respond accordingly with the best of my knowledge and wisdom.

I want to bring the best music out of my students. I want this because I believe it makes the world a better place, one where music cleanses the detritus of the politics of the day or renews a sense of wonder. We do live in a wonderful world full of astonishing innovations but sometimes the world can be too fast, and too busy. It is in our lessons and music making that we can slow time down, literally, and enter into music and create at our own pace.