I think one answer is that they, like my friend J. Douglas Dodd, go above and beyond the standard music teacher gig and become a mentor. They encourage. They set up performances in local venues for their students. They seek out opportunities for their students to exploit. They nurture talent.
Doug is very good at this. He loves his students and they love him back.
Here’s one of Doug’s students, Lilu Scott, performing a song I wrote.
You can tell what Doug brings to the party.
This all came to mind for me because I did a Youtube search for spiccato bowing. That confirmed my suspicion that anybody trying to learn to play an instrument can find as good instruction online as they are going to get from most music teachers. The big advantage of an instructional video is that you can repeat sections of it as often as you want without having somebody think you are a dummy.
Here’s an example of a video on spioccato bowing for the violin. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
And this video is only one of several on this subject, and only one of dozens on various other bowing techniques. So, if you are trying to learn to play a violin, great instruction is on line.
Of course, learning from Youtube videos requires that you be interested and self motivate. It won’t give you what Doug Dodd gives his students. But it’s a good start.
The Internet is now the number one source for instructional material. Whether you want to install a new window, build a brick wall, or learn to chunk on the ukulele, the Internet has you covered. Me likey.
I worked on a play back in ’77 with J. Douglas Dodd. (The Collected Works of Billy The Kid). A fine and talented gent. It was a magical time.