Guest Article – 5 Things Every Guitar Teacher Should Know

5 Things Every Guitar Teacher Should Know, Guitar Coach Magazine

If you have aspirations to become a guitar teacher, but are not quite clear as to how to approach the subject, then you are not alone. There are many points to consider and it isn’t as easy as some may be led to believe. Even seasoned professionals run into a variety of problems and suffer from lack of confidence.

To be successful, you will need to try and bypass several obstacles and classic mistakes that guitar teachers make. If you manage to avoid these, then you will be on the right path to being a successful guitar teacher. Guitar Coach Magazine have listed five such common errors that you would do well to steer clear of.

The first mistake is subtle, but can have a dramatic impact on the progress of the guitar student. By not clearly understanding correctly the difference between what your student ‘wants’ and ‘needs’, you could be falling into a routine of negative practises. The ideal solution is to have more of what the student needs, but balanced with a little of what they want. If you focus too much on what they want, then the lessons you teach will lose a sense of direction and the students will not make the kinds of significant progress expected.

The next common mistake is to not be entirely focused on the individual students own goals. If you aren’t organised enough and make much of the lesson up on the spot, then you are bound to failure. It is a great idea to plan ahead and make notes on each of your students, so you can stay ahead of the game and this will in turn help yourself out.

Each student makes progress at different speeds and so it makes the individual planning so important to keep track of. Without it, you will struggle to remember where you are with each student and the job will become stressful.

The third mistake is to actually teach the student how to play guitar. Sounds obvious right? But many teachers do more explaining and talking than actually practical playing. Again, it is about finding a balance during the lesson. It is fine to translate information, but the key is for your student to become an accomplished guitar player, not just an expert on the theory.

The fourth mistake is to not know how to sufficiently correct student’s mistakes. It is an art form to spot errors and clearly explain the reasons behind them. You need to be bold and articulate and entirely focused on the lesson, otherwise mistakes can slip through the net. This is harder than it may sound if you are teaching every day. Every student deserves your full concentration, and the way you deal with their mistakes says a great deal about you and how your student will progress.

The last mistake is to not transmit what is needed of your students. It’s all about communication again. Your student needs to put in a lot of effort to learn effectively, and if they are clearly not, then you need to relay this in a sensitive way. The last thing you want is to upset them, but at the same time, you need to get the message across that they must put more energy into their learning.