PDA

View Full Version : Guitar teachers - are you happy with yours?



Robert
March 16th, 2007, 01:35 PM
Looking for content lesson takers...


If you are content with your teacher, can you describe what you appreciate the most?

What makes him/her a great guitar teacher?

What are some bad experiences you've had, where you didn't learn much from the teacher?

scorona
March 16th, 2007, 02:46 PM
Great topic for discussion Robert.



If you are content with your teacher, can you describe what you appreciate the most?


Having the right balance and focus on music theory, technique, playing and advice on practice regimen.



What makes him/her a great guitar teacher?


Align homework/practice regimen with goals of student. Ensure focus is on goals of the student rather than on what the instructor enjoys teaching.



What are some bad experiences you've had, where you didn't learn much from the teacher?

One of my instructors was focused way too much on theory and reading music, which I think is important, but I was a beginner at the time and suffering from not having the mechanics down, so I needed much more instruction on "how" to play. This led to frustrating practice regimens. I still can't read sheet music (tab only), but I found another instructor that has similar musical tastes that can balance technique and theory instruction. Occasionally, we just have fun and spend the lesson time taking turns playing leads over the others chord progression. I've learned so much that way.

I've recently taken a haitus from lessons because my wife and I are expecting our first child very soon, but hope to get back to it in a couple of months.

warren0728
March 16th, 2007, 02:54 PM
my teacher sucks....he can barely find the pentatonic scale....has no music theory knowledge at all....and he dresses funny!! :eek:

oh yea....my teacher is ME!! I really am interested in this thread though because i have thought about taking lessons from time to time...

ww

Robert
March 16th, 2007, 03:00 PM
Those problems with the dress code are well documented on this forum, Warren... :D but staying well nourished is important, and pancakes are a great choice.

marnold
March 16th, 2007, 09:27 PM
Looking for content lesson takers...


If you are content with your teacher, can you describe what you appreciate the most?

What makes him/her a great guitar teacher?

What are some bad experiences you've had, where you didn't learn much from the teacher?

My "teacher" is Doug Marks of Metal Method fame. I like that besides teaching he also provides little motivational bits to keep you pointed in the right direction. Learning to play well is a long, sometimes frustrating road. From what I've seen of the new revision of the course, he applies the lessons learned in each stage to a solo that you know by the end of the stage. That way, you see practical application of what you learned. He actually managed to teach me music theory, which is no small feat.

My bad experience was in 8th grade with a teacher who insisted on having me learn to read music and jammed the Mel Bay stuff down my throat. I didn't want to be playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (not the SRV version) and crap like that. It turned guitar playing into something that definitely was not cool. To his credit, he did have me choose from a list of songs to learn so we worked on that too.

jasongins
March 16th, 2007, 10:00 PM
After trying online lessons, I was fortunate enough to find a teacher to fit my schedule, and even more fortunate that his home studio is just around the corner from where I work. I go for a one hour bi-weekly lesson before work on Thursday mornings. While I am definitely not a morning person, I was thrilled to get this accommodation. Teaching guitar is his full time occupation, and I am impressed with his dedication, organization, patience, and interest in what I like to listen to and desire to play. His style is to teach a technique and then show how it can be applied, such as by playing along with a backing track. He tries not to overwhelm with theory early on (though I do find it interesting), rather he tries to get people playing a bit so they won't quit. I leave each lesson with a bunch of things to work on. It seems overwhelming at the time, but by the time the next lesson rolls around 2 weeks later, I seem to have a handle on it. While I have very far to go, I am thrilled with how far I've come in just three or four lessons.

tot_Ou_tard
March 17th, 2007, 11:03 AM
I teach myself too, although I usually follow a more ummm hygenic dress code than Warren. I'll always at least have boxers on.

I'm perfectly content teaching myself. I've learnt a lot of theory & I prefer music notation to tab because find stuff like that fun. Yes, I'm a nerd. I taught myself to speak French & get looks of amazement from native speakers about my accent & fluidity, so I'm hoping that I can learn to play the guitar as well.

I'd get lessons for someone to play with & to learn a few inside tricks. That's the main thing. At some point I'll probably just try to scare up some other musicians close to my level and play with them.

warren0728
March 17th, 2007, 11:09 AM
I teach myself too, although I usually follow a more ummm hygenic dress code than Warren. I'll always at least have boxers on.
hey man....i have never played my guitar in the buff....that's all i'm saying.... :D http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/ernaehrung/food-smiley-002.gif

ww

tot_Ou_tard
March 17th, 2007, 06:45 PM
Robert, I think that there would be a difference in what people want in a teacher based on age. Are you asking in general or do you have an age group in mind?

I think that the ideal thing would be to pick some piece of music that the student desperately wants to learn & think about what techniques, theory, and ideas are necessary to play that piece well. Then teach to that. I don't mean only play that song, I mean play bits and pieces of other songs that are similar, but pehaps simpler and which build on each other. You may show something contrasting so that the basic idea stands out. And whenever the student has some mastery of a technique then go back to the part of the song with that in it and play that. Then move away from the song to explore another technique.

I think is the student knows that he/she is building toward being able to play one of their favorite songs, then they'll have a drive to learn the appropriate basics along the way.

Well, that's my 2 cents anyway.

Robert
March 20th, 2007, 07:24 AM
I am asking in general. I find some of my students are not so motivated, and I try different ways of teaching them, but they are teenagers and probably have lots of other things on their mind.

The older students I have are more motivated, but don't necessarily practice that much either.

The thing most of them are missing, even though I tell them over and over, is that practice is what makes you better. Seeing a teacher every week if you don't practice, is in my opinion wasting time and money.

I have been wondering what I can do differently for those "problem students". I lose my motivation when I try different ways of showing them information and they still don't seem interested.

Moshe
March 20th, 2007, 08:11 AM
I am asking in general. I find some of my students are not so motivated, and I try different ways of teaching them, but they are teenagers and probably have lots of other things on their mind.

The older students I have are more motivated, but don't necessarily practice that much either.

The thing most of them are missing, even though I tell them over and over, is that practice is what makes you better. Seeing a teacher every week if you don't practice, is in my opinion wasting time and money.

I have been wondering what I can do differently for those "problem students". I lose my motivation when I try different ways of showing them information and they still don't seem interested.


I would say that it generally takes longer to learn the guitar than most guitar teachers have patience for. I practice quite a bit, I am improving, but very slowly.

Moshe
March 20th, 2007, 08:31 AM
One thing my teacher did that I like is said, "bring in any song from any CD and I will teach you how to play it." So every couple of weeks I would bring in a new song. We would spend half the time on what he wanted to teach me and half the time working out the song I brought in.

tot_Ou_tard
March 20th, 2007, 05:27 PM
That's a tough one Robert! I dunno how you can be expected to provide motivation & the adults will do what they please. If they don't wanna or can't practice, what can you do?

sunvalleylaw
March 20th, 2007, 07:17 PM
One thing my teacher did that I like is said, "bring in any song from any CD and I will teach you how to play it." So every couple of weeks I would bring in a new song. We would spend half the time on what he wanted to teach me and half the time working out the song I brought in.

That is what my instructor is doing with my son. He is taking him through the Hal Leonard book and letting him pick a song he likes too. Right now, he wants to do Weezer's Buddy Holly:R . We just have to find some music for him. I like that particular Weezer album, so it will be fun for us to learn together.

I have been stuck in my progress through my instructor, so I have been thinking about a response to this thread for myself. I need to still think it through, though.

Robert
March 20th, 2007, 07:21 PM
One of my students wants to play punk rock songs - you know, the ones with 3 power chords and you just whack the chords aggressively and move the power chord where it needs to go. After learning a few songs like that, there isn't much need for a teacher, if that's all one wants to do. That is part of my frustration with this one student. I do show how to play certain songs they like, but if they pick the same kind of songs all the time, there's not much learning happening and progress is minimal.

sunvalleylaw
March 20th, 2007, 07:30 PM
Yep, that is why the agreement in my son's situation is that Mike gets to pick the other material other than one song they are working on. My son is ok with that and starting young enough (9) to be open to other types of music. He seems to like the other stuff he is learning too. He also has an interest in surf guitar. But I think letting Mike, the instructor, have most of the control helps. It has not been a problem yet, but I think our agreement is that my son cannot pick a new song until he has mastered the assigned learning as well.

This is not really on point, but I was trying to work on a solo on a piece my instructor, another student, and I are trying to learn to perform. I was playing along to the chord progression I had recorded into my looper, and concentrating on the solo. Lo and behold, there was my son who had taken out his guitar, and was playing the rhytm with me! That was so cool. It was piece assigned by the instructor too. Secret Agent Man. My son knows the intro and can play the chords. Not well yet, but he can play them. :D

EDIT: It is also key letting him work things out with his instructor. It is not productive to inject my goals, other than that he enjoy it, practice a reasonble amount, given age and other activities, and progress at least some. At this age, I think it most important that he enjoy it.

Jimi75
March 21st, 2007, 07:21 AM
Very good topic Robert.

I had an excellent teacher. First of all he has a music / teaching studio in the basement of his house. Very nice atmosphere. My teacher kind of analized me within the first couple of lessons and then presented me a plan on what we can work and which aims we will set on a step by step basis. Realizing what I could already play and how we can sort the things. He called this a "drawer system". Blues to blues, Rock to Rock and then mix it. His approach wasn't very technical, he wanted you to develop a general knowledge like for e.g. building chords, listening to other instruments, transcribe music, recognize chord structure when listening to a song. I always had homework to do with the aim to understand what I play. He said I only believe that you can play something when you can prove that you understand it, everything else is "drilled circus monkey" playing! For example, one day at the beginning of a lesson he said okay let us play Little Wing or Hotel California in a totally different key and please play every chord arpeggiated!!!!! Bang my friend! There you go, how about that? If you did not understand the relation between chords you were lost :-)

We analized Hendrix's and Vaughan's playing style in detail, researching their backgrounds and finally being abel to know why they played the way they played.

Further to that I myself found it very important to be able to spend the lesson talking to him about general musical things or sometimes personal issues without touching the guitar. This changed my general attitude and respect towards muscial companions and it let me grow. He was able to make me a better player and a better person.

I took lessons with him when I was 14-15 years old (Metal) for a year and then when I was 24 years old for another year. We did a year study in blues rock and jazz, sidereading and some other stuff.

What I appreciated most was that he was always prepared. The lessons did not start like "okay we stopped with Pentatonics" let us go on there, no no he was able to foresee where I would be after I had done my homework so every lesson started with a challenge and I was happy to pass it because I needed prove for my improvement.

To me he is still the best German guitar teacher and without him I would not be the musician I am today. I am considering taking lessons again with him to become a better songwriter.

What I want to say is that I do not only claim from a teacher that he shows me all tricks, I want a teacher to be a Sensei, a Master, a person you look up to.

sunvalleylaw
March 21st, 2007, 09:07 AM
Jimi: think that is what I am looking for that I am not getting right now. I need to talk to Mike and see if we can approach things that way. He knows, plays and teaches at least three instruments I can think of and has a music degree, so it seems he could. Right now, my lessons are haphazard, just whatever comes up. Most of his guitar background is folk/rock acoustic oriented. At lessons, I do not feel we use a planned approach developing understanding. We are typically working on a couple songs at any one time. He has as much said he tries to figure out what to teach me that day when I get there.

What I like: He is open to teaching what I want to learn, and is encouraging. He is good with my son and around here, the kids I know tend to like him best as a teacher.

What I don't like: In addition to the absences noted above, a little inconsistent in mood and approach. Not consistent from week to week on what we are learning/working on.

In fairness, part of the inconsistency is my fault. I am interested in many kinds of music, and sometimes come in and show him something I learned here, or ask him about a song I want to learn. Like I said, I need to talk to him about it directly.

Jimi75
March 21st, 2007, 09:28 AM
@Sunvalleylaw:

I know it is difficult but you have to set and define your musical priorities. This gives your teacher the chance to be prepared. If you kind of have a musical melting pot and bring up mixed things with every lesson then the red line is missing.

For me it was difficult, too, but I decided to go Blues first as everything started with the blues and then I went further down the road to Blues Rock, Rock, Jazz.

Make a plan and show him. Built it logically so that the styles grow on each other and you have fluent frontiers.

Very important, give yourself at least a year of time to spend with one or two styles at maximum.

Good luck my friend!

Tim
March 21st, 2007, 11:24 AM
I can not wait to move and settled down in my new location. My main priority will be to find a good guitar instructor. This has been a passion for the past 3 years. There are no instructors to be found in this sleepy little drinking village with very good fishing.

sunvalleylaw
March 22nd, 2007, 03:12 PM
@Sunvalleylaw:

I know it is difficult but you have to set and define your musical priorities. This gives your teacher the chance to be prepared. If you kind of have a musical melting pot and bring up mixed things with every lesson then the red line is missing.

For me it was difficult, too, but I decided to go Blues first as everything started with the blues and then I went further down the road to Blues Rock, Rock, Jazz.

Make a plan and show him. Built it logically so that the styles grow on each other and you have fluent frontiers.

Very important, give yourself at least a year of time to spend with one or two styles at maximum.

Good luck my friend!

I had a talk with my instructor at lunch which will continue and we are going to try to develop something like you have discussed above. Thanks for all the great thoughts! I am thinking of narrowing down to blues leading to blues oriented rock. I need to see if he wants to do that. As I said, he is more folk/folk rock/finger picking oriented. He said, if we can figure it out great, if not, moving on is appropriate too.

sunvalleylaw
February 27th, 2008, 12:46 PM
I just switched. Mike, my former one, is putting more time into performing piano and so does not have time to teach. I was interested in, and Mike suggested a new instructor.

Here he is. http://www.publicradioband.net/bio-chip.htm In the clips, he is most likely the guy playing the mandolin. I have had one lesson and Chip has me working on a little more theory in a practical way, and has more knowledge about electric playing than my former one, who was acoustic and primarily folk based in his playing. Chip is a strat guy and tone chaser in his electric life. I have only had one lesson so far, so we shall see how it goes with Chip as an instructor for me. I am hopeful and am organizing my goals and approach to make the best use of his expertise.

Jimi75, we have decided on a starting point of blues/blues oriented rock and are starting out specifically with Black Magic Woman as a study piece to get into it. Broadening my knowledge of scales and pentatonic modes, figuring out how to get up and down the neck using those modes, and then how I am playing the notes for more expressiveness (sliding to, bending to, applying vibrato, etc.) were the first topics to work on.

Brian Krashpad
February 27th, 2008, 01:10 PM
Looking for content lesson takers...


If you are content with your teacher, can you describe what you appreciate the most?

What makes him/her a great guitar teacher?

What are some bad experiences you've had, where you didn't learn much from the teacher?


Wait... do I understand this correctly?

There are people you can pay that will show you how to play these things?!

Dayum. :thwap:

Well, I guess that explains a lot.

Thanks Robert! :AOK:

Radioboy950
February 27th, 2008, 03:37 PM
In the 35 years or so I’ve been playing, I’ve really had very little formal instruction. Sad, I know.

When I started as a kid, my Grandfather, a professional woodwinds player and music teacher, taught me how to read a little music and find my way around guitar as a beginner.

I have great memories of spending time with my Grandfather, but I was playing a classical guitar and didn’t care for it much.
As a teacher, he was fair and understanding with a beginner. He was “all business” when in teacher mode, but I did learn a lot in a short amount of time.

My other experiences with guitar teachers several years later were positive.
One teacher made sure to discuss with me what my goals were…what I WANTED to learn. I appreciated the discussion. But in the end, my ambition was to be in a band and play Led Zep covers. :whatever: I left as a student because I was more interested in learning songs and playing hot licks. The teacher said he could do that for me, but he really wasn't keen on it. Looking back, I don't blame him

Sorry to blather on...but this post got me thinking about stuff I hadn't thought about in years!!

Robert
February 27th, 2008, 03:48 PM
Nothing sad about it, Radioboy. It's not like you absolutely need an instructor in order to enjoy playing guitar, or even for becoming a good player.

For what it's worth, I never had a guitar instructor either.

just strum
February 27th, 2008, 04:15 PM
Since I only had one lesson so far, I can't really comment on the instructor, although I like him. What I will say is I like the program the store has to offer and the flexibility to work with multiple instructors. Not only does it allow me to do that, if I find one I prefer more than the other, I can switch to that one being my primary instructor (weekly at a designated time).

Lunaray
February 27th, 2008, 04:38 PM
I paid for a few lessons for my grandaughter, but I'm afraid that she lost interest and I blame the teacher. He is a music store owner and it's just him, and he gives lessons right in his store next to the sales counter, so that when a customer walks in, his attention is diverted, he just says keep practicing that and he left her to take care of his customer.

Also, he never sat down with her with a guitar in hand, so that he could demonstrate what he was trying to teach. I kept telling him that beginners need inspiration and that if he would show her what doing a particular excercise could sound like when done properly, that might inpire her to try harder, but I guess that's just not his style and I came away thinking that he's a lousy teacher.

I remember how difficult it was for me to get over that inititial hurdle; between fingers hurting and repititious plunking, the only thing that kept me going, was hearing examples. Learning to play is not easy, especially for a child.

Hopefully I'll find a better teacher. Actually, I think I'm a better teacher than he was, but I don't know anything about music, I just play.

mark wein
February 27th, 2008, 09:10 PM
He is a music store owner and it's just him, and he gives lessons right in his store next to the sales counter, so that when a customer walks in, his attention is diverted, he just says keep practicing that and he left her to take care of his customer.

Also, he never sat down with her with a guitar in hand, so that he could demonstrate what he was trying to teach. I kept telling him that beginners need inspiration and that if he would show her what doing a particular excercise could sound like when done properly, that might inpire her to try harder, but I guess that's just not his style and I came away thinking that he's a lousy teacher.

Wow....:eek:

I own my own studio, and if students take lessons before 4pm during the week (when either our recpetionist or my wife come in) I occasionally have to answer the phone or help a walk in...my students know this and i try to make the time up for them on the back end of the lesson. I don't have any complaints and most of my students are adults during those times so I guess its not a big deal...teaching at the counter is unbelievable, and not having an instrument in hand at least part of the time is rediculous...

Lunaray
February 27th, 2008, 10:11 PM
Wow....:eek:

I own my own studio, and if students take lessons before 4pm during the week (when either our recpetionist or my wife come in) I occasionally have to answer the phone or help a walk in...my students know this and i try to make the time up for them on the back end of the lesson. I don't have any complaints and most of my students are adults during those times so I guess its not a big deal...teaching at the counter is unbelievable, and not having an instrument in hand at least part of the time is rediculous...Personally, I think that if I'm paying someone to teach for a half hour, then that person is on my payroll for that amount of time and it sounds like you agree with me Mark. I understand a brief interruption for a phone call, but I'm an adult and maybe I see things a little differently than a child. I would sit there and watch my grandaughter struggling with something and then to have him get up right when she's trying to ask him about it and say keep going, she would just sit there not knowing what to do, with her eyes wandering around the room for 10 minutes. And to not sit there with her with a guitar to show her, but instead just pointing to the strings, is no way to teach in my opinion!

What's really funny is that when I first signed her up, he said: "you came to the best" and started spewing out his resume' and all of the music experience he's had.

mark wein
February 27th, 2008, 11:19 PM
Personally, I think that if I'm paying someone to teach for a half hour, then that person is on my payroll for that amount of time and it sounds like you agree with me Mark. I understand a brief interruption for a phone call, but I'm an adult and maybe I see things a little differently than a child. I would sit there and watch my grandaughter struggling with something and then to have him get up right when she's trying to ask him about it and say keep going, she would just sit there not knowing what to do, with her eyes wandering around the room for 10 minutes. And to not sit there with her with a guitar to show her, but instead just pointing to the strings, is no way to teach in my opinion!

What's really funny is that when I first signed her up, he said: "you came to the best" and started spewing out his resume' and all of the music experience he's had.

We are on the same page....that really sounds like a horrible experience for your granddaughter...

The problem is that there is no "license" required to teach music. No one would take Piano or voice lessons from a teacher without a proper education, but with guitar for some reason it is acceptable for novices (or people who can "play a little") to claim that they are teachers and they get away with "Showing people songs" or whatnot...

I know several uneducated (meaning no college, but they have studied on their own and have lots of musical experience) teachers who are actually very good instructors, but how do you know who is good and who isn't?

I think something that is important to consider is that you have every right as a student to try several local teachers before you settle on the one who is right for you. I think I am a great teacher, but I know that I am not the right guy for everyone...whether is is teaching methods or just personal chemistry you shouldn't settle for the first instructor you try just because they ARE the first guy....

Many guys will have no problem just doing a trial lesson to see how things go. I actually encourage it if the student is hemming and hawing...it usually ends up working in my favor once they've tried a few of my peers anyway :D

If they want to get you locked into more than a months worth of lessons right off the bat I would be a little leery. The standard should be to pay for a month at a time. I own a studio and it would be nice to get everyone to pay for 3-6 months right up front but that sometimes leads to problems down the road....

Lunaray
February 28th, 2008, 01:23 AM
We are on the same page....that really sounds like a horrible experience for your granddaughter...

The problem is that there is no "license" required to teach music. No one would take Piano or voice lessons from a teacher without a proper education, but with guitar for some reason it is acceptable for novices (or people who can "play a little") to claim that they are teachers and they get away with "Showing people songs" or whatnot...

I know several uneducated (meaning no college, but they have studied on their own and have lots of musical experience) teachers who are actually very good instructors, but how do you know who is good and who isn't?

I think something that is important to consider is that you have every right as a student to try several local teachers before you settle on the one who is right for you. I think I am a great teacher, but I know that I am not the right guy for everyone...whether is is teaching methods or just personal chemistry you shouldn't settle for the first instructor you try just because they ARE the first guy....

Many guys will have no problem just doing a trial lesson to see how things go. I actually encourage it if the student is hemming and hawing...it usually ends up working in my favor once they've tried a few of my peers anyway :D

If they want to get you locked into more than a months worth of lessons right off the bat I would be a little leery. The standard should be to pay for a month at a time. I own a studio and it would be nice to get everyone to pay for 3-6 months right up front but that sometimes leads to problems down the road....So, do you make house calls in Oregon Mark?:)
Unfortunately there isn't a lot available here on the Oregon coast in the way of guitar teachers, though I'm surprised, 'cause there's a lot of local musicians. I think maybe I'll place an ad, I wouldn't mind finding a good teacher for myself, so that I could learn some new tricks too.

mark wein
February 28th, 2008, 09:23 AM
So, do you make house calls in Oregon Mark?:)
Unfortunately there isn't a lot available here on the Oregon coast in the way of guitar teachers, though I'm surprised, 'cause there's a lot of local musicians. I think maybe I'll place an ad, I wouldn't mind finding a good teacher for myself, so that I could learn some new tricks too.

Sorry, no house calls, although I could use a vacation up there...I hear that its very beautiful in Oregon (we live in the concrete and mini-mall jungle of Orange County). I have been doing webcam lessons with students on the east coast but I really don't think that would work in your granddaughters case...younger students need the instructor in the room with them

Have you tried criagslist? I get many of my students through my ads there...you can also look on http://www.privatelessons.com (http://www.privatelessons.com/) both options are free for you and they are two avenues that bring me students...

Cal
February 28th, 2008, 11:47 AM
What's really funny is that when I first signed her up, he said: "you came to the best" ...Sheesh Ray, :poke: I'd have walked at that point.

Lunaray
February 28th, 2008, 11:54 AM
Sheesh Ray, :poke: I'd have walked at that point.Yeah I guess the alarms should've gone off huh? :thwap: