Four Questions You Need to Ask a Guitar Teacher Before Studying With Them
Finding a great guitar teacher will help you learn faster, reduce your frustration, and make learning to play more fun. Unfortunately, many teachers are not very effective. Studying with an ineffective teacher will slow your progress and potentially make learning the guitar seem like a chore. Here are four questions you need to ask to avoid working with a lousy teacher.
How Will You Teach Me?
Many inefficient teachers will start to answer this question right away without asking you questions first. These teachers tend to teach everyone the exact same way, or even worse, they use some dull and uninspiring method book. You could waste a lot of time and money learning things that are not related to your goals if you study with this type of teacher
A good teacher will not be able to answer your question without asking you some questions first. The prospective instructor should ask you questions about your experience with the guitar and what you are hoping to achieve by taking lessons. Without knowing your goals, it will be impossible for a teacher to create a lesson plan designed just for you.
Will I Be Learning New Things Every Week?
On the surface, learning something new every week seems like a good thing. In reality, it can lead to a lot of frustration and overwhelm. A bad teacher will not understand this and constantly give you new material.
Every instructor will teach you new things. A trained instructor will know how to pace it so that you also have opportunities to learn how to use what you have learned. Applying what you have learned and integrating it with other skills is one of the most important things you need to know.
Bad guitar teachers don’t understand this and will overwhelm you with new material every week. You don’t want to know a ton of scale fingers but have no idea how to create an exciting solo.
A great teacher will understand and be able to explain the importance of mixing new material with application and integration.
How Should I Practice?
The Standard answer is to practice what you learned in lessons for at least a half-hour every day. Bad guitar teachers will assume you know what to do with the material they gave you when you get home.
A great guitar teacher will show you how to practice. Some will even devote entire lessons to practice, so they evaluate how you practice and help you find ways to make your practice time more efficient.
Great teachers will also understand that practicing guitar every day is often an unrealistic goal for most people. These teachers will often tell their students to only practice when they have the time and for as long as they reasonably can.
Where Did You Get Your Teacher Training?
The majority of guitar teachers will not be able to answer this question. Most guitar teachers have no training and learn how to teach on the job. Only a handful of guitar teachers understand that they need training and are willing to invest the time and money it takes to become an excellent instructor. A great guitar teacher will not only have the training but will be constantly looking to learn the best teaching methods to help their students get the best results.
Make sure you ask any guitar teacher these questions before studying with them. Finding a trained guitar instructor with a proven track record is worth your time and effort. A skilled guitar instructor will help you learn faster and make the process more fun.
About the author: Brian Fish is a professional guitarist living in Northeast Ohio and is an expert guitar instructor at Guitar Lessons Geauga.