June 9, 2008

The Importance Of Mentors

I’m a fingerstyle guitar enthusiast! So much so that I volunteer to write the Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar weekly newsletter. I’ll post my articles here for your musical pleasure. Be sure to check us out online at http://www.fingerstyleguitar.ca

As you read above, the Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar Assoication is hosting a fundraiser in support of the Toronto Chapter of Guitars Not Guns. But our participation does not stop there. Our very own Randy Finney is involved as volunteer teacher and we’d like to encourage our members to consider volunteering (more info at http://www.guitarsnotguns.org/Volunteer.html).

Why? Getting involved as a volunteer teacher or mentor in an organization like Guitars Not Guns is one of the most important things you can do.

All the successful people I have ever known have had a mentor at some point in their life, someone who taught them and encouraged them to take risks with new experiences. I owe a great deal to the mentors in my life , both personal and professional.

I’ve also worked closely with kids as a mentor. Here’s a bit of history: I spent my high school and university years working as a mentor in an Integrated Arts program (music, dance and drama). When I work with kids, I use just one basic principle: I never do anything for them that they could do for themselves. I act as a resource and work to wake kids up to their passions. I cannot give them passion, and I do not give them any answers. They must find passion and answers themselves.

When working with kids, I focus on answering these questions:

What do you want?
What do you have?
What do you need?
Where are you going to get it?
What will you do with it?

What do you want? What someone wants is a good indicator of who they are as an individual. This is where creating passion comes in. It is the passion to get what you want, and to learn and create that motivates people. By finding out what songs kids want to learn to play, and then supporting them in every way possible, you can facilitate their own learning process.

What do you have? Determining strengths, talents and skills, whether you’re working alone or in a group, is the launch pad for all discovery. Knowing what you have is key to knowing what you need.

What do you need? An important step in learning is determining the gap between the resources and information you already have (Can they read music or tab? Do they know basic chords? Have they heard of any of the fingerstyle greats?) and those that you need to complete the task. A good mentor can accommodate different learning styles and abilities. The self-directed learners take off at their own pace, once they’ve been given a start. The ones that need a little or a lot of coaching get what they need because the mentor has time to give it.

Where are you going to get it? Once you know what you have and know what you need, the next task is to figure out how to access the resources that you need. If you’re mentoring a group, often, the information is there in the group. Who knows how to play the chords to the song Jimmy wants to learn? Can you show us? Who can read tab? Great! How did you learn it? By asking and learning from each other, kids develop trust and confidence. With this confidence, they find it easier to admit that they don’t know all the answers, and easier to approach other sources outside the group for help. This gives them great self-assurance and leads them to try an even bigger project next time. Every time they take on a new challenge, they learn something about the world and about themselves.

What will you do with it? Now that you have all the skills and have worked to learn new ones, what will you do with your new found talents? I mentored around the arts, helping kids become passionate about music and performing. Performance changes you. It is one of the milestones of life that I think everyone should experience. Practice is fine, but actually getting up and demonstrating what you have learned, is a life-changing experience.

The more performance opportunities we create for kids, the more we help them find what they want, the more they will change, grow and take responsibility for their own lives.

If you’re interested in becoming involved with Guitars Not Guns as a volunteer teacher, please contact Eric Lea 416-726-0759.