Foundations of Guitar
My first question for any teacher I'm considering working with is, What is your favorite thing to teach? This question gives the teacher the floor to talk about what he teaches best.
It could be that he is the best at teaching jazz guitar, or loses herself in teaching lead rock guitar. If you want to learn lead rock guitar, then you've found your teacher.
Read MoreAsk yourself this question the next time you walk into any store or place of business: Do you feel welcome there? If not, that's probably not going to change.
If you can find a business that makes you feel welcome, right from the get go, you will have a much better experience in the long run. This also applies to guitar teachers.
This post goes over four archetypes of guitar teachers to avoid because they won't make you feel welcome, and they certainly don't want to help you learn in a way that works for you.
Read MoreIn general, there is a positive correlation between reputations and fees. The better the reputation, the better the chances that the teacher is worth his or her salt.
That said, how much is too much? How little is too little? How can you know what a guitar teacher charges is fair?
Read MoreIf you aren't inspired by your surroundings in guitar lessons, how will you feel inspired to learn guitar? If you aren't energized by the space you are learning in, how will you feel energized after the lesson is over?
Often overlooked, the environment where you learn guitar in has much to do with your long term enjoyment of guitar.
Read MoreIf you decide that face-to-face lessons are for you, then my suggestion is to find a guitar teacher that is less than a twenty minute drive away from you. Honestly, a five minute drive would be ideal, but twenty minutes is a maximum amount. Anything more is pushing it.
Read MoreIf you find a teacher who has a well-developed, and yet flexible, system for teaching guitar lessons, you've really found the needle in the haystack. You can count on working with a person who cares about you, and wants to see you do better.
How do you find this guitar teacher, this needle in a haystack? This blog post will help you do just that.
Read MoreMany beginners to guitar want a teacher who is structured and ready to provide opinions about the best way to learn guitar. Teachers provide this advice in the form of a curriculum.
How do you know if a teacher's curriculum will work for you? Answering this question can save you many frustrated hours of practice, and the drudgery of going to a teacher that you don't get along with.
Read MoreGuitar scales. Do you really need to know them? Practice them? I'll give you a hint: Nope! Would you like to know more about guitar scales, what they are good for, and even if you have to learn them to enjoy guitar? This post is for you.
Read MoreFriends aren't paid to teach you guitar. Teachers are. It is this simple fact that allows me to say with the utmost confidence that asking a friend to teach you how to play guitar will not work out the way you'd like it to.
There are many reasons why friends don't make decent guitar teachers. This post goes over all of them.
Read MoreNot everyone does well learning from a teacher. In fact, a teacher can unwittingly crush the enthusiasm of a free-spirit. How do you know if taking lessons is a good idea for you?
This post has the answer.
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