Being a guitar teacher is a great job. I think that if you want to a become great guitarist, teaching is one of the best choices that you can make. It is not an easy job, though. You have to study, you have to practice, you have to learn how to teach different people and different skill levels. You have to learn how to teach one-on-one and how to teach group lessons. There is a lot of work involved, but there are also great advantages. I encourage every guitar player who is taking the guitar seriously to start teaching…even if it’s just friends or family. You are going to learn bunch of useful stuff along the way and also enjoy other benefits, including:
You get to spend a lot of time with your guitar
No matter if you are a full-time or part-time teacher, you will probably spend most of your days with your guitar. Either you will be practicing, learning new songs for students or playing with them. You won’t let a day pass by without touching the guitar. There will be a constant connection between you and your instrument. Can you imagine how that can help you? Spending all day with the guitar? Isn’t that a dream of almost every guitarist?
If you want to teach something, you have to understand it perfectly
When I started teaching I didn’t know how difficult it was going to be to explain some basic concepts to students. I thought that if I understand it, I can teach it! Boy, was I wrong! At that time I didn’t realize that your level of understanding has to be much greater if you want to teach somebody. You need to see the connections between different concepts, you need to develop an ability to look at the same thing from different perspectives. You need to know how to simplify things, you need to create real-world examples for better understanding. You must think about how much new material is enough for one lesson. It’s not as easy as it may seem. I had to spend hours and hours reading books to get a real deep understanding of things I thought I knew. The good thing is that you are not doing this only for your students. You are also doing it for yourself. Your better understanding is making you a better player.
Different students want to learn different styles of music
As you grow as a teacher, you will have more and more students. And with more students there are more musical styles that you need to learn. You probably won’t be the best bluegrass and metal guitar player at the same time, but knowing the basics of both genres will definitely make you a better guitarist. Listening to different styles of music and transcribing some of the most popular songs in particular genres will expand your musical horizons. It will help you understand how those songs are structured, which scales are used the most, what techniques are used, how this style is different from other ones and much more.
Some of your students are going to challenge you
Some of them won’t let you sleep. I know that music is not a competition, but in order to become the best that you can be you have to accept the challenge. If you want to be great, you have to work hard. If your students are practicing for 2-3 hours a day and getting real good results, you will be motivated to do the same. A good teacher needs to be an example for his or her students.
You can learn something from every guitar player
Every guitar player has something special that you can learn from him or her. It doesn’t have to be some flashy lick or difficult arpeggio. It can be determination, passion or love for music. Anything. Every students is an opportunity for your growth. Maybe some students won’t be a good fit for you, but that is also a lesson learned. If they don’t like your style of teaching, that’s OK. At least you know that you have one. You can work on that.
You get to be surrounded by musicians
You are going to be surrounded by musicians. How great is that? Every day you can talk with your students about music, you can jam with them, attend their concerts. It can be a fantastic experience for everybody. Music brings people together. Don’t miss this opportunity!
You get the feeling of satisfaction
When you are watching your students as they grow from absolute beginners to accomplished players, you can’t help but feel good. You know that you are helping people to fulfill their dreams. You are teaching them how to play that beautiful instrument and you are changing their lives by doing so. This satisfaction is going to reflect in your own playing. That is a sure thing. Maybe they will thank you for all your time and help. Maybe they won’t. It doesn’t matter. You know that you are changing this world by doing the work you love. That’s a beautiful feeling. You can’t buy it. You have to earn it. So how about starting to teach guitar right now?
About The Author: Lukas Kyska
Lukas is a guitarist, songwriter and the founder of The Aspiring Guitarist. His passion is to help people become better guitarists by playing music they love. You can contact him at lukas@theaspiringguitarist.net or follow him on Twitter.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
