Interview with Guitarist and Educator John Stowell - John Stowell Pg 4

MW: Speaking of your performing career. Do you find that you bring concepts from the bandstand into your lessons or clinics and vice versa? Maybe you play a cool sub or pattern one night that you then teach to a group of students the next day. Or you are asked a question in a class that makes you see things differently, and you then apply that new vision on the bandstand.

JS: Not often but it absolutely happens. I've done 2 CD ROM Courses for Truefire, a book/DVD for Mel Bay and some online lessons for Mike Gellar. The Truefire Courses are also available as CD ROM discs that you can play in your computer.

In the first Truefire Course, I took five of my original chord melodies and used them as a way to develop new ideas for inversions and soloing. Both the second course and the Mel Bay book deal with single line playing and substitutions using triads, melodic and harmonic minor sounds and reharmonizations. My lessons for Mike Gellar address variations on all of the above. I've definitely found my playing develop and change as a direct result of documenting and formalizing my teaching. Explaining and demonstrating concepts to students very often yields fresh applications in your own solos.

MW: You’ve been teaching for many years at colleges and universities all over the country, and the world. You’re on the road a lot of the time either performing or teaching. Have you ever thought of settling down and taking a full time college teaching gig, or do you like life on the road too much to commit yourself to one place?

JS: I began adjunct teaching thirty years ago after my first college clinics with bassist David Friesen. I still do some part time adjunct work at several colleges in Oregon.

At one point I was offered what was essentially a full-time teaching gig at Arizona State University, where a friend of mine was the head of the jazz program at the time. I had given several clinics and workshops at the program so when they had an opening they offered it to me. I was really flattered to be considered for the position, but I had to decline because I was just travelling too much to commit to a full-time teaching gig. I might have been able to get the lessons done, but it would have been tough for me to be there every week to teach classes etc.

Right now I’m putting the word out a bit with some friends who teach at colleges, not for a full-time gig, but maybe to come in three to four times a semester. There are actually plenty of guys, who are really famous, guys who’s name can draw students, that teach once or twice a semester at different schools and do quite well. Guys like Joe Lovano at Berklee and Billy Hart at Western Michigan. These guys don’t live in those towns, but they go there maybe once or twice a semester, enough to be listed as adjunct faculty.

MW: Right, I was lucky enough to study with Billy at WMU when I was doing my masters there. He would come in one week per semester to teach privately, give clinics, and usually do a concert or two.

JS: Right. If you’re well known enough, and the students like you, schools are willing to work around your schedule to allow you to go on the road, and still hold a teaching position there. I do kind of put the word out periodically, but it’s getting harder not easier. With the economic situation and budget cutbacks, funding for clinicians and guest teachers is getting smaller, or non-existent.

Holding an adjust position has never been easy, but I do enjoy the work, putting these things together. I usually have friends at the places I’m going, so I can stay with them and it’s a chance to hang out as well as teach. The travel can be a bit arduous, but I like the people that I work with, and the teaching is enjoyable as well.

Though, if these teaching opportunities suddenly dried up, I guess I would have to try and find a way to teach more locally. Whether it just be private students, or try to develop more adjunct positions somewhere.

MW: What advice would you give to younger teachers who are just starting out in a career as a music educator?

JS: I think at first it’s good to observe. Take some guidance from your teachers and mentors, which is what I did, in terms of developing your own methodology. Then look for opportunities where you can teach. Even if it’s teaching for free, or to a friend who just wants to learn. A lot of places won’t be able to hire you at first, but get yourself on as a substitute, or on a list of people that music stores and other institutes use to hire full and part time teachers from. 

Make a list of high schools, grade schools, community college, four-year colleges, anywhere there are opportunities to teach in your area. Then be proactive about it. Talk to people who are teaching, find out where the opportunities are in your area. Start networking, talk to organizations in your city or others, to club owners and agents, festival promoters, anyone involved in booking musicians. Talk to travelling musicians and make note of the places they’re going. Check out trade publications, go online. Always be looking for new opportunities, it’s kind of like being a detective in some ways.

If you’re famous you have an agent to do all of this for you. I don’t think I’ll ever have an agent because unless you’re making a six figure income, most agents aren’t going to be interested. This means I’ll probably be booking myself my whole life, so I’m always talking to people in order to find new opportunities.

The other thing is to be supportive of your peers. If someone is going on the road, or needs a teacher for a clinic, and you can help them out, I think this will come back to help you in the future. Maybe not right away, but if you get a reputation of being professional and helpful, I think it will lead to other opportunities down the road.

People will usually try and return favors. So if someone asks “do you know anyone for this gig” or “can you give me some numbers for bass players in this area”, or whatever, I am always trying to help out and develop my network this way. Things are always changing. Clubs are opening and closing, adjuncts teachers are coming and going. I find that if I help out others when they need it, they are much more likely to help me out down the road.

Acoustic and Electric Guitar