Choosing your guitar teacher

At one point you have decided to do something different, you got that desire and motivation to play guitar, you are excited about it, or your child is already old enough and you are considering getting them involved in music with guitar. Next step is to find the right teacher and start the guitar lessons.Learning guitar is a long term commitment. Sometimes it is not easy to find a good teacher to feel comfortable with and to trust them. To begin with, you need to define your musical goals. What do you want to achieve? Why do you want to study guitar? In this article you can find few things that you can do before approaching your potential guitar teacher and also what to expect once you meet them.

Find information about the guitar itself there are different types of guitar and each of them has a different teaching approach each of them is used in different styles and the guitar teachers specialize in one of them in general. For example if you do intend to learn flamenco guitar and you end up with an acoustic guitar teacher this will not work for both of you on a long run.

Learn some music theory basics this will help you regardless whether you are looking for guitar lessons for yourself or for your child. There are plenty of free recourses in the internet. In this way you will safe initially some lesson time and it will help you to see, up to some extent, does the guitar teacher have enough musical knowledge.

Browse for articles and videos related to the guitar and music in general, that’s how you will be able to define primarily what do you like and what do you prefer.

Ask your friends about a good guitar teacher that they can recommend, make sure you ask them how they know about this teacher, did they have lessons with them or they just happen to know them. Try to get first hand referrals. It worked for them but, you never know will it work for you unless you try, however referrals are one of the best ways to get a good guitar teacher.

Be fair with yourself see how much time and money you are ready to invest etc… Even if you want to have the guitar lessons just as a hobby, whatever your goals are you want the right teacher for yourself.

Browse the local classifieds this is a tricky one most of the classifieds are well worded and with attractive prices, however this is a good place to look for particular guitar specialist once you know what you are looking for.

Attending student’s concerts and class productions in my opinion, this is the best way to see the teachers work and the results they achieved with their students. Usually after the show the teacher is open to talk with people, this is a good time for you to make contact with them.

The price

The most asked question is: “How much are the guitar lessons?” in most of the cases the conversation stops there because the potential student is just shopping around with no other information but the price… Of course the price is important as this is a long term commitment more important is what you will get for that price I guess. Just the title: “Guitar Lessons” do not speak itself for what is in the box unlike when you buy any other product. It is a good idea to be prepared what to expect.

Trial lesson

most of the music schools and private teachers offer a free trial lessons or workshops. Once you have done your initial research, make an appointment and attend some of them. The trial lesson is usually a meeting between the potential student and the potential teacher; it is a time when finally both interact for the first time. Usually the teacher will make a brief explanation on what and how they are going to teach you and what you can expect as a result in the future. The teacher may check your musicality and anatomy this can happen with or without your knowledge, you will be advised what guitar and what materials you will need for your guitar lessons. The trial lesson is a chance for you to ask the teacher any questions related with their qualification, activities and teaching programs.