October 31, 2010
3 Questions You Must Ask Any Guitar Instructor
While there are great resources available online for learning guitar, such as online and DVD videos taking private guitar instruction from a local teacher is still the best method for beginners to learn. How ever in saying that finding a great guitar teacher to learn from can be a challenge.
I’m going to give you 3 questions you must ask any potential guitar instructor before you decide to fork over money for private guitar lessons from them. After you get the answers to these three questions and decide if you could get along with this individual as a teacher you’ll be ready to make your decision about them.
How did they Learn to Play?
It’s important to know how they learned to play guitar. Do they have a degree in music? or are they self taught? Some teachers will talk good but when it comes to teaching more advanced concepts or just understanding how to best teach the material in general they come up short wasting your money and your time.
Try and find a guitar teacher who has some formal training from another guitar instructor of secondary education. Finding a teacher with these qualifications will help ensure you get quality instruction right from the start.
Number of Students being Taught
How many guitar students a teacher can handle has a lot to do with how much they’re teaching. Is it a part-time gig for them or is it their full-time job? A part-time teacher who takes on too many students can be a nightmare for you especially if you’re looking for a little extra time on a lesson or some assistance on something you’re having trouble with. Also if there are lessons lined up back-to-back then you’ll be very pressed for time which could cause you to not get your money’s worth.
Don’t get me wrong, taking lessons from someone who teaches part-time isn’t the problem just ensure they’re not taking on more students then they can effectively handle.
Their Teaching Style
There are a few different methods teachers use to instruct beginners. While some will use songs to teach you chords and tab, others will follow a strict lesson plan or book.
Personally I’m a fan of an organized lesson plan. This ensures that you learn important concepts right off the bat before you start learning to play songs.
Depending on the experience of your teacher they may be able to create custom lesson plans for you, but be weary of someone who wants to teach you guitar by starting you off with “smoke on the water” or another popular song.
One thing to note is while price shouldn’t be the only guiding factor expect to see prices range from $25-$75 for an hour lesson. This is the average cost of a 1 hour lessons and by using the answers to the above three questions, the cost and whether you feel you could learn from the individual as well the their answers to the questions will help you find the best teacher for you.
If the cost of private guitar lessons seems high you could try a self study guitar course. Often you can purchase DVD lessons or an online video membership for a lot less and take control of when you learn and practice.
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