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A few days ago I was reading on Jack Pribek’s blog about the fact that he decided to give guitar lessons (again). That made me think of the fact that I have been often asked questions like “will you tech me to play the guitar?”, “how long would it take me to learn to play the guitar?”, etc.
To tell you the truth, I have never given guitar lessons. One of the reasons is the fact that I don’t have time to do this and I don’t think I really find the pleasure for it, but it is not the main reason. The main reason is that I don’t consider myself a guitar teacher. I know how to play the guitar and I play it since a while. I love both the acoustic guitar and the electric guitar and I would probably manage to teach somebody to play. But I think that this doesn’t quite qualifies me as a guitar teacher, because there’s more than meets the eye in this, as far as I can see.
One of the facts that I don’t feel comfortable with is the terminology. Being a self-made guitar player, what I know comes from listening songs, reading books and watching video. When speaking to a friend of mine that is a guitar teacher, musically educated, at a local music school I realized that he has a vocabulary that I totally lack.
Also, I play my own way. Not the best, I don’t actually know which is the best way to play the guitar. My licks, my finger positions are personal. In time, I understood that some were not the best and I changed them or I have tried to. For ex,a few years ago, when playing a C major natural scale, starting on A string, when reaching the B note on G string, I used to play the next C (for going further on the second octave) with my little finger. I realized, at that point, when watching a basic video lesson that you need to slide your pointing finger to the C (on G string) in order to be able to play the next notes correctly.
This is a basic example, where I want to say that what you learn by yourself is not always the best thing. Sure, it worked the way I used to do it (of course, how often you play 2 full major natural scales?) . I realized that I am doing this wrong after explaining to a friend of mine how you play that C scale.
The point is that I CAN teach somebody to play. But I am not a teacher. I think there is a difference here.
I remember a great electric guitar player in Romania, when trying with his band to make it big outside, in UK, if I well remember, after a while, in order to earn a living there, somebody asked him to teach guitar. But I am not a guitar teacher, he says. I can not teach! Well, just try and do your best! This guy is one of the best guitar players here and the band is well known here, one with great fan base, a lot of sales and publicity. by the way, they’ve never made it big in UK.
Well, to make a long story short, the only reason for which I would teach somebody to play the guitar would be for my own interest, for learning myself, because it’s said that the best way of learning to do something is by teaching others.
So, do you feel comfortable teaching somebody how to play the guitar?
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10 Responses to “Do you feel ready to teach guitar?”
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Ovidiu OprescuRomania, 33 years
Playing the guitar since 17 and enjoying every moment of it!
Come meet me also on Mixx, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Digg, MySpace, MyBlogLog, Twitter, BlogCatalog
Also, why don't you add me to your blogroll? It's known to bring fortune and it will make you a better player! Honestly! ;-)
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jason
April 11th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Teaching is my full time job. But, I had to make a leap from a safe 40 hour a week job to doing this.
In teaching, you do become a better player. You have to overcome your weak spots and learn how to communicate with your student.
I’ve come to know more about my playing, as well as becoming a better player, because of teaching.
Ovidiu
April 12th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Indeed, when you try to teach the others you learn yourself, just that I think there is a great responsibility in this. I can teach somebody to play the guitar, but I think there’s more to it, to teach music and theory and correct techniques.
John Cook
April 12th, 2008 at 9:41 am
What qualifies a guitar teacher is A) musical knowledge and technical ability and B) an understanding of educational pedagogy. Playing guitar and knowing a lot about all of its related subjects and then passing on that information is called “showing people cool guitar stuff”. Knowing how to TEACH requires the same dedication to understanding educational principals as is needed to be a good guitar player. All teachers reading this: LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO TEACH. STUDY THE ART OF TEACHING. Quit being a guitar “shower” and start being a guitar TEACHER.
Ovidiu
April 13th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Indeed, John, a teacher’s approach may have huge influence on how the student grows so having the right approach and teaching the right things is a must. And it is more than to show someone how to play a song.
John Cook
April 13th, 2008 at 3:07 am
Yeah, a lot of teachers might know what Phrygian Dominant is but not know what metacognition is. A real teacher wants the student to LEARN. Not just make some money between gigs. A real teacher knows how to help a student LEARN, not just show the student what they think the student need to know. So how do you know how the help a student LEARN? Study the art of teaching. For all teachers reading this, quit ripping your students off. Students, make sure your teacher is knowledgeable regarding teaching techniques, as well as guitar, music, playing, and performance. Thanks for the chance to vent.
sandrar
September 10th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Solar
January 4th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
John,
No one should feel bad if a “non-qualified” teacher can inspire someone’s interest in an instrument. Especially if they can sustain that interest.
I recently took over a student who simply couldn’t make measurable progress with his instructor - an instructor who held a master’s degree and had taught music (at his own studio) for 15+ years.
Maybe he knew what metacognition was, maybe it didn’t matter.
There’s a place and a balance point for chemistry, having a ‘knack’ for teaching, and formal education.
Reading your post, no one should be allowed to teach without a formal education. The real world begs to differ. I do think instructors should pursue formal training, but insisting on that as a prerequisite is pretentious & egotistical.
Cheers, and best of luck
john cook
January 4th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
NEVER EVER said that one needs a formal education. Read the posts. There are plenty of lame teachers with huge degrees. What I’m talking about is understanding the art of teaching, not a formal degree.
I have no degree in either music or education, but I have read over 30 texbooks and doctoral thesis’ on educational psychology. And I have been a working pro for 20 years. That doesn’t make me smart or good; it just makes me prepared and gives me choices as an educator. Period. Nothing more. I have an understanding of how the human brain processes thought in a learning environment. The best teachers do. And while you have found a “balance point” with this students, what if you had 75 students of all backgrounds, talent levels, and interests? How prepared are you when you can’t NATURALLY find the “balance point”? What are you going to do when you show a kid something 2 or 3 times, all with different approaches, and they still don’t “get it”? A teacher with background and study in the art of teaching would have some information to tailor the lesson to the cognative needs of the student.
Listen, I am truly glad you have gotten through and found a way to work with a student where someone before you could not. But don’t underestimate the value of knowledge. Doing that is truly pretentious and egotistical.
Solar
January 15th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
…Fair enough, although your doctoral thesis on Edu Psychology does reiterate the emphasis of formal training.
However, I don’t intend to make education sound unimportant or irrelevent (I know better than that).
I believe it helps that I have children of my own. As I think about it, I’m pretty sure my effectiveness as a teacher would suffer greatly otherwise. That’s not to say those without children can’t teach, obviously…
john cook
January 15th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I don’t have a doctorate, but as I said, I have read a few doctoral theses. They were mentioned in footnotes in some of the books I was reading, so I checked them out.
Dude, I’m sorry if I came across as elitist or something. I just get riled up when guitar players feel that showing someone something is education. And I was responding to that in my first 2 posts. These players just sit in a room in a music store, could care less about the student, and are happy to make money “with a guitar in their hands.” These guys do a horrible job and good guitar teachers and music educators get a bad rap because of it.
And there is nothing wrong with showing people stuff and sharing ideas. But education is different. It is an art, and needs to be respected by musicians. Often times it is not. You, Solar, obviously have some respect for it, and I wish you luck.
Cheers!