Paying a Little Extra for an Instructor

Paying a little extra for an experienced, dedicated instructor can make all the difference in whether a student will be successful.

I was inspired to write this after a new student told me she went to a guitar teacher who kept looking at his watch throughout the lesson. She felt like he did not really want her there. She tried two others but both were not at her level of playing and couldn’t play the songs she wanted to learn.

Identifying a Seasoned Committed Teacher

There are so many amazing teachers out there who can inspire their students. It is easy to tell the difference between a seasoned, committed teacher verses someone who just needs the money.

Tools

One of the first things you will notice from an experienced teacher are the tools they use. On top of being organized, they will know how to get the student started on the right track at the first session using those tools. After each lesson, they will track your progress and know what the next step is. After years of taking lessons, you will be able to go back and see how far you have come.

Another very important indication that you have a great teacher is that he/she will have a library of fun material that students enjoy. This can only come from years of trial and error. After a while, an instructor knows which songs and exercises students really like and will use those in their sessions.

Rates

Another factor that separates an instructor who has made teaching a career from a new or inexperienced teacher are usually the rates. Someone who is new and not sure of themselves will often set their prices lower than everyone else. When I first started in 1998, the music store set the rates but my wage was probably the lowest in the industry. I had not invested anything into my career yet and did not have any teaching experience, so it made sense. My strongest asset was having the passion and excitement to teach.

Teaching is such an amazing career. Being inexperienced absolutely does not mean the person is a bad teacher. However, as the case when I first started, my wage reflected the fact that I was new.

Does the Instructor Take Advantage of Technology?

Back before Windows and the internet, we would manually write out all the changes, chords, and lyrics to the songs. Unless you bought the book or sheet music, you may be waiting a while for the transcription. This could sometimes easily take a few lessons. Today there are still instructors who do this. Not that this is necessarily a bad approach, but it is very time consuming. This can limit the amount of actual learning that takes place in the lesson.

These days, having a laptop with a separate monitor for the student is a huge benefit. Using a computer makes it quick and easy to download almost any song. This is also a great benefit for people who struggle with the small font that books offer. By having a large screen, the music can be blown up making it easier to read.

Another advantage of technology is the use of backing tracks. These can be pulled up on YouTube and are so much fun to play along with. I believe this is the reason that students today are so far ahead of my generation. Having a full band without a guitar track allows the student to experiment with endless techniques and ideas.

Music Programs

There are so many programs that can help a student master a part that they are struggling with. Having software and computer programs which slow down and speed up a song section, such as Guitar Pro, is vitally important. Not only that, these programs have the ability to isolate certain lead or rhythm tracks and loop them. Subscribing to a variety of programs will help with so many areas and styles that the teacher can focus on instruction and technique.

When the lesson is done, comments can be written in the music using a digital pen right on the computer screen. The music itself can then be saved to a file and printed for the student. This way, the student will have a digital one to refer to whenever they would like.

Final Words on Paying a Little Extra

If possible, try a few instructors and see what the difference is between cost and quality. Chances are, if you spend a little more, you may have a much better experience in the end.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me, I look forward to hearing from you!