Guitar teachers - are you happy with yours?

[Tim]

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]

@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]

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]

Looking for content lesson takers...

1. If you are content with your teacher, can you describe what you appreciate the most?
   
2. What makes him/her a great guitar teacher?
   
3. 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. :

Well, I guess that explains a lot.

Thanks Robert! :

[Radioboy950]

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. 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****]

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]

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]

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]

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....

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]

Wow....

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]

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

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]

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

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]

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 both options are free for you and they are two avenues that bring me students...

[Cal]

What's really funny is that when I first signed her up, he said: "you came to the best" ...

Sheesh Ray, : I'd have walked at that point.

[Lunaray]

Sheesh Ray, : I'd have walked at that point.

Yeah I guess the alarms should've gone off huh? :