64Firebird
New member
A good friend suggested that I start teaching guitar, but I've never had any lessens and don't know anything about it. I have studied some music theory and read a lot of books about playing guitar.
joro
The Pie Guy
I'm teaching my ten year old.....
I know bup-kus about theory......
I do know the difference inbetween a minor and a major chord though.........and stuff like that....
I never had lessons either...
I know bup-kus about theory......
I do know the difference inbetween a minor and a major chord though.........and stuff like that....
I never had lessons either...
JR#97
New member
I've taught before and plan on teaching again after Xmas. I suggest figuring out what you want to teach and who you want to teach. Then come up with a curriculum and instructional materials. If you focus on beginners to intermediates, you dont' really need to know much about theory, although it doesn't hurt. I've found that most people just want to learn songs or how to learn to figure out songs. So I tend to focus on learning all the basic chord forms and what chords go in what key. Circle of fifths, etc. I've recently picked up an excellent book called Fretboard Logic which is great for learning chords.
Aaron Cheney
Favorite Chord: C 6/9
I've taught in the past, and have been thinking about starting up again.
Once you have a couple students, you should think about renting a room at the local music store. You will find that the expnse is worth it, in terms of the extra exposure you will get.
Get some biz cards printed up, and advertise advertise advertise...
Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
Once you have a couple students, you should think about renting a room at the local music store. You will find that the expnse is worth it, in terms of the extra exposure you will get.
Get some biz cards printed up, and advertise advertise advertise...
Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
64Firebird
New member
So, how much do you guys charge?
Aaron Cheney
Favorite Chord: C 6/9
64Firebird
New member
One lessen a week I guess? So, about 20 students to make a living.
JR#97
New member
64Firebird said:
I was charging $30 a month for 3 lessons a month. But that was back in the late 80's/early 90's. Now, I'd probably charge between $15-$20 per lesson depending on level.
20 students is a lot if you're doing one on one. Group lessons are a good way to go, btw. Less $$ per student, but also less work per time.
do you have an area of expertise? specialized lessons can fetch up to $50 per lesson. typically fewer per month, but usually more intensive.
Badger
Active member
I think you should teach slide, there arent many people who teach that.
How long should the lessons be? Any books/materials you guys could recomend for him?
Oh, and how much do the music stores rent out space for?
How long should the lessons be? Any books/materials you guys could recomend for him?
Oh, and how much do the music stores rent out space for?
64Firebird
New member
Yeah, That's what I'm thinking, Blues (electric, acoustic and slide). But, I don't want to limit anything.
How is a players level judged? What skills does a player need to have to be considered intermediate or advanced?
How is a players level judged? What skills does a player need to have to be considered intermediate or advanced?
foo
Active member
I used to teach for a while.
$15 per half hour for beginners, $25 for intermediate or advanced.
The thing that drove me to finally give it up was that I wasn't cynical enough.
We would do the lesson. I would give them homework.
They would come back the next time having not done the homework.
Eventually I got to the point where I couldn't take the money for giving them the same lesson again.
I was trying to give them the building blocks of becoming a musician, not just being able to play a few tunes, but to really understand how music works.
It will be tough when they tell you that they want ot play really well, but you then discover that they're not willing to do the work to be able to play really well. If their goal is to play a few Beatles tunes around a campfire, then it's really easy to accept that - it's their goal that's important, not what you think their goal should be.
If you're okay with the idea that you will teach them how to play a few [insert name of flavor of the month here] tunes, then you'll be okay.
Beginner = How to tune, the notes of the strings, some basic chords (E, A, D, G, C, Amin, Emin etc.) and some strumming patterns.
The next two are difficult to define, as people's goals are so varied. e.g. Knowing what a Minor 6 chord is and how you use it is not going to be as important to a guy who wants to play like Ry Cooder as it is to a guy who wants to play like Django.
That's why I charged the same for both categories.
So, with that caveat, and generally speaking:
Intermediate = Can play the above mentioned chords and 'F' and 'Bb' smoothly below and above the fifth fret, and has some understanding of soloing, even if it is 'licks off of records' strung together with no understanding of why they sound like they do.
Advanced = Has an understanding of scales and arpeggios (although may not know what they are called or why they sound 'right' together) and how they are used in making music, how they relate to each other. Knows what a major seven chord is, possibly how to play different inversions - e.g. 3rd in the bass, 7th in the bass, etc.
Be careful what you wish for . . .
foo
$15 per half hour for beginners, $25 for intermediate or advanced.
The thing that drove me to finally give it up was that I wasn't cynical enough.
We would do the lesson. I would give them homework.
They would come back the next time having not done the homework.
Eventually I got to the point where I couldn't take the money for giving them the same lesson again.
I was trying to give them the building blocks of becoming a musician, not just being able to play a few tunes, but to really understand how music works.
It will be tough when they tell you that they want ot play really well, but you then discover that they're not willing to do the work to be able to play really well. If their goal is to play a few Beatles tunes around a campfire, then it's really easy to accept that - it's their goal that's important, not what you think their goal should be.
If you're okay with the idea that you will teach them how to play a few [insert name of flavor of the month here] tunes, then you'll be okay.
Beginner = How to tune, the notes of the strings, some basic chords (E, A, D, G, C, Amin, Emin etc.) and some strumming patterns.
The next two are difficult to define, as people's goals are so varied. e.g. Knowing what a Minor 6 chord is and how you use it is not going to be as important to a guy who wants to play like Ry Cooder as it is to a guy who wants to play like Django.
That's why I charged the same for both categories.
So, with that caveat, and generally speaking:
Intermediate = Can play the above mentioned chords and 'F' and 'Bb' smoothly below and above the fifth fret, and has some understanding of soloing, even if it is 'licks off of records' strung together with no understanding of why they sound like they do.
Advanced = Has an understanding of scales and arpeggios (although may not know what they are called or why they sound 'right' together) and how they are used in making music, how they relate to each other. Knows what a major seven chord is, possibly how to play different inversions - e.g. 3rd in the bass, 7th in the bass, etc.
Be careful what you wish for . . .
foo
Last edited:
64Firebird
New member
Thanks for the info foo, you've been very helpful. I can see where it could be very frustrating having to give the same lesson to a student over and over again, but if that's what they want to pay for...
J
Justin.Irish
New member
Foo- I totally agree with you. I thought teaching students guitar was going to be one of the greatest job ever. Well, I was totally ignorant at what the real picture was like. I have one student now, which (like you stated) just doesn’t want to do his homework or even practice the guitar on his own time. I’m really laid back, so I try nonchalantly to get him stoked about playing. It can be very frustrating at times.
Buck62
噛んでくれ
joro said:
That's awesome!
Your kid is lucky to have such a good dad.
64Firebird
New member
But, wouldn't just one student that really loves and enjoys it make up for all those bad ones?
I believe that to be a good guitar player, you have to LOVE the guitar and the way it sounds. I don't know if that can be taught.
And lets not kid ourselves, playing the guitar is hard. Those of us that have been at it for a while can forget how hard it was in the beginning. I'm trying to learn finger style Blues right now and practicing it is the hardest thing I've done in years! It's so boring right now and it's so easy to go back to the stuff I already know and just keep playing that. But, I keep at it because I love the sound of it. Hopefully, some of that will rub off.
I believe that to be a good guitar player, you have to LOVE the guitar and the way it sounds. I don't know if that can be taught.
And lets not kid ourselves, playing the guitar is hard. Those of us that have been at it for a while can forget how hard it was in the beginning. I'm trying to learn finger style Blues right now and practicing it is the hardest thing I've done in years! It's so boring right now and it's so easy to go back to the stuff I already know and just keep playing that. But, I keep at it because I love the sound of it. Hopefully, some of that will rub off.
6gun
New member
i was in your shoes a couple years back when i was playing (screwing around) in a popular local shop and the owner & staff ask if i'd taught and if i would be interested in teaching there. it was a shop with great teachers/players and a great compliment for me. after much consideration i went for it, even though i'd never taught and theory wasn't really a priority in my playing.
well, it's one of the best things musically i ever did. got up to speed with theory, played sometimes 7-8 hours a day, learned what the hell to call all the crazy s@#t i was doing on the guitar and turned some kids (and adults) onto good ole hard rock playing (which isn't the norm these days).
about half of my students were a headache because of the music they wanted to learn or their lack of effort in trying to become a decent player. and yes, guitar is very hard and some just can't grasp it.
psssst...secret is to find students you really enjoy working with. keep the good ones happy you can and move the rest outta there because the 15.00-20.00 isn't worth it. if you're a good teacher you'll get lots more. remember, everybody wants to play the geetar!
well, it's one of the best things musically i ever did. got up to speed with theory, played sometimes 7-8 hours a day, learned what the hell to call all the crazy s@#t i was doing on the guitar and turned some kids (and adults) onto good ole hard rock playing (which isn't the norm these days).
about half of my students were a headache because of the music they wanted to learn or their lack of effort in trying to become a decent player. and yes, guitar is very hard and some just can't grasp it.
psssst...secret is to find students you really enjoy working with. keep the good ones happy you can and move the rest outta there because the 15.00-20.00 isn't worth it. if you're a good teacher you'll get lots more. remember, everybody wants to play the geetar!
64Firebird
New member
I started putting together my lesson plans yesterday. It's harder than I thought it would be. I keep saying to myself maybe I need to show them this before I show them that. I feel like I'm building a ladder when what I should be doing is building a web. But, a web might be to complected for a student to understand.
JR#97
New member
Be sure to build some flexibility into your plan. Like I said earlier, you'll get a lot of kids that just want to learn songs. Kids never want to practice scales and do skill building exercises.
The way I approach teaching is teach the kids what they want to learn. If learning their favorite tune requires learning how to play scales, then I work it in. But I don't get caught up in teaching them what I want them to learn. It's about having fun and learning an instrument. The bullshit of dealing with kids not doing their homework and practicing just isn't worth it to me. I"m not out there to create genious virtuosos.. I just want to share the joy of the guitar. Now parents... there's another subject all together. lol
The way I approach teaching is teach the kids what they want to learn. If learning their favorite tune requires learning how to play scales, then I work it in. But I don't get caught up in teaching them what I want them to learn. It's about having fun and learning an instrument. The bullshit of dealing with kids not doing their homework and practicing just isn't worth it to me. I"m not out there to create genious virtuosos.. I just want to share the joy of the guitar. Now parents... there's another subject all together. lol
E
Emeric
New member
I started teaching guitar again last year. 1 student per night, 5 days per week, $15 per half hour lesson.
All of them were beginners, which I find are the best lessons (easiest). I cut back to two students this year.
My general approach was the usual:
- How to tune, open string and harmonic.
- Open chords, minors, majors
- Barre Chords, minors, majors
- Scales, pentatonic, major, minor, the modes etc.
- Strumming patterns
- Palm Muting
- Some basic picking patterns, usually start to use songs as examples to make it somewhat less boring.
etc. etc.
After this I find (and often before even getting that much done), many kids just want to learn songs. So I end up transcribing punk rock songs (the usual request) and showing them how to play them. Others are interested in the more classic rock which I prefer. Actually I always pick a few classic rock tunes and show them those - keep the music alive ya know.
You can also incorporate one lesson as 'how to change your guitar strings'. If it's electric you could get into how to intonate and make that a lesson to.
It's fun, but can be a burden if you get a 'hopeless' student.
One thing I've found is that there seems to be no shortage of students. If you have a good lesson plan it can be quite lucrative. Another thing, you don't have to be a guitar wizard to be qualified for this gig (depending on what level of students you plan on teaching). You just have to be a good at teaching.
All of them were beginners, which I find are the best lessons (easiest). I cut back to two students this year.
My general approach was the usual:
- How to tune, open string and harmonic.
- Open chords, minors, majors
- Barre Chords, minors, majors
- Scales, pentatonic, major, minor, the modes etc.
- Strumming patterns
- Palm Muting
- Some basic picking patterns, usually start to use songs as examples to make it somewhat less boring.
etc. etc.
After this I find (and often before even getting that much done), many kids just want to learn songs. So I end up transcribing punk rock songs (the usual request) and showing them how to play them. Others are interested in the more classic rock which I prefer. Actually I always pick a few classic rock tunes and show them those - keep the music alive ya know.
You can also incorporate one lesson as 'how to change your guitar strings'. If it's electric you could get into how to intonate and make that a lesson to.
It's fun, but can be a burden if you get a 'hopeless' student.
One thing I've found is that there seems to be no shortage of students. If you have a good lesson plan it can be quite lucrative. Another thing, you don't have to be a guitar wizard to be qualified for this gig (depending on what level of students you plan on teaching). You just have to be a good at teaching.
6gun
New member
Emeric said:
very true, my teacher was of holdsworth, mclaughlin caliber....so good he just made your head spin.
but, he was a LOUSY teacher so i learned very little from him. i would leave with a headache from his rambling. he charged 65.00 an hour. oh, he had a contempt for rock that used to drive me nuts, even though he'd admit that EVH, Hendrix are good players. it was kind of insulting because i'm a diehard rock player and he knew that.