Crucial Mistakes Guitarists Make When Searching For A Guitar Teacher
Are you looking for a guitar teacher?
It’s common knowledge that finding a great guitar teacher is the key to success for any guitarist. When you find a superior teacher, you know you will become a better guitarist faster, reach your musical goals and have a lot of fun doing it.
However, many potential students look for all the wrong things in a guitar teacher and end up taking lessons with someone who just doesn’t get results. This has the opposite effect of working with a great teacher and can actually hold your playing back or even create poor playing habits for you.
Here are the key mistakes people make when looking for a guitar teacher and what you should look for instead:
Mistake 1: Looking For The Guitar Teacher Who Charges Least
All guitar teachers are not created equal. When you look for a teacher who is the cheapest in town, you aren’t getting a “good deal” on lessons. In reality, you're much more likely to start lessons with a teacher who is brand new to teaching. Guitar teachers who charge very cheap rates usually do so because they feel like they don’t have much value to offer. Don’t become a guinea pig for these kinds of teachers who are just learning through trial-and-error!
Mistake 2: Looking For The Guitar Teacher Who Plays The Best
At first glance, this choice would seem to make sense. However, just because a guitar player has good playing skills, does NOT mean they understand how to teach other guitarists how to become great players. Having guitar playing skills is entirely different than having guitar teaching skills.
Mistake 3: Looking For The Guitar Teacher With A Degree In Music
Similar to the guitar player who has great playing skills, someone with a music degree can seem like a good choice... wrong again! Having a degree in music does not demonstrate one’s ability to teach music. It simply means they went to school to learn how music works. Again, totally separate skills.
...So, How Do You Actually Find A Good Guitar Teacher?
Guitar teacher trainer, Tom Hess offers his advice for finding a great teacher: “Look for a guitar teacher who is constantly improving their teaching skills with training specific to guitar teaching. Working with a guitar teacher who is certified to teach guitar is the best choice you could make for becoming a better guitarist.
When comparing this type of teacher to your everyday teacher (who has no certifications at all), it’s like choosing between going to a doctor to fix your broken leg or going to your next-door neighbor who likes watching shows about doctors… the choice is clear.”
We agree, and it’s for this same reason that we were certified through the Elite Guitar Teachers Inner Circle.
So here are the simple steps you need to take to find the right guitar teacher for you:
1. Determine what your preferred musical style is.
2. Find a guitar teacher who teaches this specific style.
3. Make sure this guitar teacher is both certified to teach guitar and has already helped many other students become great guitarists.
4. Talk to this teacher directly about your musical goals and start taking guitar lessons with him/her.
When you avoid the mistakes outlined in this article and follow the simple steps directly above, your chances of finding an excellent guitar teacher are 100%. Take action now to get started so you can become the guitar player you always wanted to be!
