519-640-2229
You've finally decided to go for it. You are going to learn how to play the guitar!
Now it's time to decide how to go about learning to play. You know that teaching yourself is out of the question so you are going to seek out someone to teach you.
Maybe you have some friends or family that can play already but they are not very good at teaching. This is typical.
So, you finally decide you should find someone who teaches guitar in your local area to help you instead. Someone who knows what they are doing.
Here are 3 misconceptions people have about guitar lessons in their local area and why they are important to know and avoid so you can successfully learn to play the guitar.
- All Guitar Teachers In Your Area Are Pretty Much The Same
When we look for services in our local area, for the most part, everyone is relatively the same.
The barber, the dentist, the doctor, the banker, the mechanic, etc. They all have their different personalities but for the most part they are all fairly equally skilled and knowledgeable and tend to offer a similar service.
So, we typically to think and expect the same thing is true when it comes to guitar teachers. But this is where things are different.
With guitar teachers, anyone who can play a guitar can put up an ad saying that they will teach you. That's why rates fluctuate so much in a local market.
Because of this you are going to find that every guitar teacher out there uses different methods to teach the guitar, most of which are learned by trial and error.
You do not want this. You want to find someone who knows what they are doing already. Guitar lessons are not cheap, well good ones aren't, so you want to find someone who already knows what they are doing.
- All Guitar Teachers In Your Area Are Trained
When it comes to other professionals in your area, those people can’t just put up an ad and say they are a doctor or a banker or a mechanic. They all have to go through specific training on how to do those jobs.
So, this is what we expect when it comes to other services we are interested in like learning how to play the guitar. However, this is not the case.
The reality is the vast majority of people who say they teach guitar are really good players but have no training on how to actually teach people let alone how to teach the specific skills on the guitar.
This is bad news for you and could mean a lot of time, energy and money wasted learning from someone who does not know how to teach.
You need to look for a professionally trained guitar teacher to get your money's worth. Just like you would look for a professionally trained doctor or mechanic.
Yes, you may pay more, in the short term, but you will get the results you are looking for.
- All Guitar Teachers In Your Area Teach Full Time
The reality is that almost all of the guitar teachers in your area do not teach full time.
Why does this matter? Because people who only do something part-time do not fully commit to it. They do it on the side because it is an easy way to make some extra money.
Since this is the case how much time, money and energy do you think someone is going to invest into this activity to improve what they do and become better guitar teachers?
They don't because many times they are already good guitar players or performers so they will spend all their time and energy on those things. It’s easy to find a few people to pay you to teach them a few things on the guitar.
What you want to do is find someone who teaches full time because at least then you will have someone who knows their income is tied solely to their ability to get you results.
This also means they will be able to put more time, thought and energy into what they do for you and is much more valuable to you.
Finding A Professionally Trained Guitar Teacher Is The Key To Your Success
Learning to play the guitar from a guitar teacher is definitely the right way to go. It will save you time and effort rather than trying to do it yourself.
The problem, as I have highlighted above, is that not all teachers are the same and they do not all know what they are doing.
Many guitar teachers in your area wing it from class to class and really only do it because they know it is an easy source of extra income.
And this is totally understandable. They have busy lives with other things so do not have the time to spend on developing their teaching skills or programs.
That's why a professional guitar teacher that is highly trained and who does it full time is the absolute best way to go. Even better if they only teach the guitar.
About The Author:
Maurice Richard is a professional guitar teacher that operates out of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has been a member of an elite guitar teaching mentorship program since 2007 and has taught many people how to learn to play the guitar. Learn how to play the guitar from a professionally trained guitar teacher by visiting his website right now!