Starting to Teach

[jkahler]

Hello all. I am a long time lurker here. I have played for about 20+ years. I have been approached to teach a friends son. I have always thought about teaching but never knew where to start. I have a good understanding of the instrument. I plan on focusing on teaching only beginners for the first couple years. Are there any systems or series of books that would act as a good outline? I don't want to just jump into it blindly.

 

Thx

[JonR]

Depends what kind of guitar you're teaching. If it's classical, there's a history of agreed conventions in that style, so it's pretty easy to find teaching material. I'd recommend Noad's "Solo Guitar Playing".

Any other style, there are probably 100s of books you could use. I can't recommend any specific one, but I know the Dummies books are good.

Personally, I use all my own material, because I've never found any one book that covers what I think needs covering in a way that I find clear. What I did in the beginning was read a lot of books - some bought, most borrowed - and just took from each what I needed, adding my own slant.

 

The hardest thing for an experienced player is remembering what it was like not to know what you know now. There are a lot of things you take for granted, and probably don't even think about, that a beginner will find difficult or baffling.

 

It also makes a lot of difference whether you're teaching children (under 10 say), teenagers, or adults.

 

Children learn very fast, like playing simple well-known melodies as well as chords, but can easily pick up bad technical habits. Guitar playing should be like a fun game for them, but you will have to be careful about proper fretting technique. But if it stops being fun, they probably won't see the point in doing it.

Teenagers will know what's cool - more than you do - and will probably only want to learn that. They might also need to be nagged to practice. (Teenagers that don't need to be nagged to practice will probably prefer to teach themselves anyway.) Unlike most kids, they will have some kind of ambition and specific heroes, so should be well motivated, but maybe with unrealistic goals.

Adults (over 30 anyway) take a long time to get simple (to you) physical things down; their hands have stiffened over time (more so the older they are of course). And - although they're usually keen and motivated, with realistic aims - they might also have difficulty finding enough time to practice, because of other demands.

As for lesson length, half an hour is plenty for kids. Teenagers and adults can take 45 mins to an hour - but no more.

 

I never had lessons when I began, by the way - I was too arrogant to think anyone else could show me what I knew I wanted to do!

I'd been playing for some 30 years before I thought about teaching, and it began when a neighbour asked me for lessons. I was surprised how long it took me to work out a plan of action, to break down what I knew into a progressive course of lessons - to bring all that subconscious knowledge into consciousness and take it to pieces. The most striking thing was how simple the first lessons needed to be. What I'd thought might fit into a first half-hour ended up taking several hours.

I later took a part-time college course in teaching music, which showed me a whole load of other things I hadn't considered (largely how to plan lessons and assess both the student's progress and your own teaching).

So the most important thing is - take it REAL SLOW. Teach them how to tune the guitar (might take the whole first lesson, yes even with a tuner). Teach them a simple melody on 2 or 3 strings - could take the whole of a second lesson. Chords? Few beginners can manage even the simplest chords until lesson 2 or 3. And then they'll take months (literally) to change from one chord to another anything like quick enough. Barre chords? Maybe a year down the line they'll be getting to grips with them. (I'm talking adults here, by the way; kids might get that down in a few weeks or less.)

I do recommend (at any age) starting with melodies or riffs, not chords. Chords are not recognisable songs, even when played well. Learning to play Twinkle twinkle, Smoke on the water, or Ode to Joy, is do-able in an hour or so, and the student then has something they can show off to family or friends.

[JureGolobic]

Hi i've been teaching for 6 years now and if you're starting out, dont start with total beginners. It not easy to teach beginners and it's nothing more frustrating than seeing some who can't learn a simple chord change, and you don't know what to help him. Start with students that know something already and need to go to a higher level. That way you'll get experience. meanwhile you can read books and learn how to approach beginners.

[onelife]

One of the things I do to put myself in the student's position is flip my guitar over and try to play left handed. It reminds me of the difficulties involved in playing the "simple" stuff.

 

I usually try to get to know the students individually and find a way to connect with each one because they all have strengths and weaknesses in different areas.

[AJ6stringsting]

Nothing more powerful than humility .....

I like it when a student exposes me to something new or a question they give, make me think differently on the instrument.

[Sing Better In 3 Days]

I am not a guitar teacher, but I teach private voice and piano lessons for a living. One of the most important things with private lessons is that you listen to the goals of the parent and the student. If the student wants to play classical guitar, teach him. If he wants to play a specific song, teach him. If you teach what the student wants to learn, he will stay with you much longer and continue to develop a passion for his instrument.

[Patrick Roberge]

Tips that might help :

1- Start to teach asap, as soon you begin to teach you begin to improve as a teacher.

2- If you teach to beginner teach them in a way that there are improving right now. Do not go to much in theory at the beginning. They must like it right now not in 3 weeks

3- The teacher must give confident to the student. We all know how we found ourselft at the beginning.

4- Be confident at yourselft

5- Have multiple ways to inspire your students and to get them motivated

6- Get a teaching strategy. Fooling around during the courses and not beeing well prepared is a way to loose students.

7- Really important point: Find the student goals. This is crucial, if you dont find them and help to reach it is going to end soon.

 

I hope it might help a bit.

 

Good luck.

[1001gear]

I am not a guitar teacher' date=' but I teach private voice and piano lessons for a living. One of the most important things with private lessons is that you listen to the goals of the parent and the student. If the student wants to play classical guitar, teach him. If he wants to play a specific song, teach him. If you teach what the student wants to learn, he will stay with you much longer and continue to develop a passion for his instrument. [/quote']

 

Just so I know who I'm arguing with, are you the video girl or the avatar?

[JureGolobic]

My way of teaching:

 

1. students goals

2. i prepare the lessons and program to reach his or her goals asap. explain why they need to know what they need to know and of course add some of their favorite songs, but don't let them dictate the lessons. Because a) they don't know how to teach themselves (otherwise they wouldn't be paying you to do that) b) they don't know what it takes, what they need to practice to get where they want to be c) you will loose credibility in students eyes if you'll simple teach them stuff they want to know

 

I've made all the mistakes described above, so you don't have to

 

[AJ6stringsting]

I just got a gig teaching at a local music store.

What's so cool about teaching is that, sometimes a student will bring up a question or something they want to learn that makes you think.

The biggest thrill is when they accomplish something on the guitar and it'll ( at least with me) take you back to the moment you first mastered something on the guitar

[tlp123]

Rather than start a new thread, will start here...but have to say MAN THIS PLACE IS DEAD!! This is not HC I remember from back in 2007!!

 

Being a life long guitar enthusiast, hobbyist, whatever.....I've found these days, especially with all the media available on the internet, there's little excuse to at least NOT be moderately proficient, and at least NOT SUCK!!

 

So many are so many of the misinformed, and they choose to be "spoon fed". Wake up and realize there are too many guitar teachers that will teach very little that is useful unless YOU ARE STARTING OUT KNOWING NOTHING!!

 

Never forget the economic motives hidden in so many things. Those that teach for a living WANT YOU TO COME BACK AND PAY $$$.

 

Be wary of benevolent thieves.

 

Get the basics down, but then carry on and teach yourself. Today, there is no excuse not to.