Finding A Good Guitar Teacher
Picking up the guitar for the first time can be a daunting and even painful experience. It is at these early make or break moments when an individual could push through and improve or give up completely.
Thus, for anyone serious about learning this great instrument it is very important that you find the right teacher. The first step is to evaluate your own personal goals. Many teachers are classically trained musicians who will focus on learning to read notes and scales. However, if you want a more relaxed approach and just want to learn the chords to your favorite song, let a teacher know this upfront. Having taken lessons from the same teacher for 10 years I often felt he did a good job mixing the fun elements of practicing ( such as soloing or figuring out your own songs) with the more arduous task of learning music theory.
So remember, before you search the yellow pages for a guitar teacher you have to do some soul searching and figure out what exactly you want to get from these lessons. If you follow that mantra you will save money and time.
Good advice. I know great classical players that can’t get the feel of rock songs, don’t know the tunes, etc. And rock players shouldn’t teach jazz or classical. A teacher might have 2 styles under his belt that he can teach but not many more than that. I would look at youtube and find a teacher that has similar interests.
Another factor is comfort level – some teachers are very intimidating which makes learning uncomfortable and stressful. It’s great to be pushed but sometimes it can be too much. Others stress too much theory and analysis because that’s how they were taught or they like to intimidate or impress.
Good post- I can tell that you are familiar with music instruction to pick up on these points. Just like personal tastes in every other aspect of life, music is no different. When money is on the line (and we all know these lessons are not cheap) it is critical that a player gets exactly what they want.