Where can I find a good teacher?

[Eric]

Hi all,

I've been mostly self-taught throughout the years, but have taken lessons from time to time, which in retrospect I have found to be very helpful. I know there are billions of online lessons and video lessons out there, but I think that I need the accountability of a teacher to keep me going.

The problem I've had in the past is that my schedule was too volatile for teacher #1 (I worked 2nd shift at the time), teacher #2 was unreliable and wouldn't always be home, and teacher #3 went out on tour and never called me again.

So, the question: what are good things to look for in a guitar teacher, and where are some good places to look? I could use improvement in just about everything from theory to technique to scales, so it's not any one area I'm really looking for. I wouldn't call myself a beginner, but there's no area in which I could not use improvement.

Thanks!

[aeolian]

So, the question: what are good things to look for in a guitar teacher, and where are some good places to look?

It should be easy to figure out good things to look for in a guitar teacher because you already know some of the things you want to learn. I recommend meeting with a potential teacher and ask them whether they can teach you the things you want to learn, and ask them for a small example of one such thing. I found for myself that there are many "things that I don't know that I don't know," so I would also ask a potential teacher as to what I should learn to progress.

Good places to look for a teacher would be music stores that gives lessons, or Craigslist under musicians. In either case you should interview the teacher first to see whether the person can actually help you before you sign up. If a teacher has at least several students that is likely an indication that he is pretty reliable as a teacher.

One good thing about starting with a new teacher is that you will soon find out if the lessons are really helping, then you can decide whether to keep going or look somewhere else.

[Robert]

As a guitar teacher myself, I find it very important for my students to set goals. Do you want to play campfire songs most of all? Do you want to be a lead player? Want to learn a fair amount of theory? Perhaps you want to learn song writing, or be a studio musician, or play a certain kind of music, etc. Knowing where you want to go will help a teacher, who is trying to give you the best possible instruction he or she can.

You may not know the answers to such questions right away, but they are worth thinking about. Discussing these things with your teacher is a good thing to start with.

[Eric]

I ended up finding a teacher off of Craigslist. I think he's pretty good, but I'm only 3 lessons in right now, so it's hard to tell. He's definitely stressing the idea of focusing on learning how scales and modes sound as opposed to focusing on the guitar itself.

I tried to be up-front with him about what I want to learn, and so far I think that has helped both of us, so thanks for the advice.

[jpfeifer]

Eric, I'm glad that you found a new teacher.

I've studied with several different teachers over the years and I've taught guitar also for the past 5 years or so.

The main thing that sets apart the average teachers from the really good ones (at least for me) have been:
- good teachers will teach you about music, not just guitar playing. If they're teaching you about music then you can apply it to any style.
- good teachers will usually listen to you play first, to figure out where you are and where to take you.
- good teachers will hold you accountable to show that you are making progress.
- good teachers are more like a coach than a teacher. They will help to point you to the things to work on, then guide you through the process.

Bad teachers:
- are often unprepared an inconsistent
- aren't focused on you, just focused on putting in their 30-minutes per week with you so that they can get paid
- spend more time talking or playing than listening to you play (they have no clue if you're progressing or connecting with the material)

--Jim

[Eric]

Thanks -- that helps. I do have a follow-up question though: how long would you wait before you start to analyze the lessons? It seems to me that teachers/coaches probably have a system that you need to get into before you can really judge whether it's doing you any good.

Many of my past 3 teachers did not do some of the good things you mentioned, and they did do some of the bad things. There are some concerns with this latest teacher too, but I feel like right now I'm still learning his philosophy on lessons, so I don't want to be too quick to judge.

He used to be a hard rock/metal guitarist back in the day, but he's very much focused on music and songs instead of the guitar itself, which is encouraging. I've found his name referenced a bit from googling, so it seems like he's somewhat accomplished. I guess I'll stick it out for at least a few months before I take any action, but was wondering how you'd approach a new teacher as far as grace period goes.

[jpfeifer]

Hi Eric,

I should have also mentioned that I've still learned some useful things from some of the teachers who I had who were not so good at teaching.

One of the best things that you can do to get the most out of it is to ask questions, and tell the instructor about specific things you want to learn. Sometimes this can help to nudge them into showing you the things that you really want to learn.

I used to have one teacher who was a monster Jazz player, but had no plan at all for teaching. I would show up to the lessons and he would just sit there and not say a word. I would have to start off each lesson by asking him to cover various things, and then he would jump right in. But I had to be very active in the lesson and tell him exactly what I wanted. (it was a little frustrating, but he did have a lot of good things to show as long as I knew what to ask for)

I would give it a few weeks with this new teacher and see if it develops into some useful material for you. Just don't be afraid to speak up and tell him what you want to learn.

--Jim