# How to teach guitar lessons



## Traivs (Aug 13, 2010)

Hi, all.

I've been approached recently by people asking me to teach guitar lessons. I've given informal lessons to my friends and whatnot, but I've never done it "professionally." 

Any tips? Especially on the business side of things. How much do I charge, what should my dropout policy be, that sort of stuff. 
Thanks,

Travis


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## jeremy_green (Nov 10, 2010)

Teaching is fun and can be a great job - but to do it well it is a lot of work.

I am not up to date with current rates as I haven't done it in a few years. All the people I teach now are friends and kids etc as I dont have time to commit as required. But I would say NO LESS that $15/half hour. You should request the full month in advance (at the beginning of each month) and be firm that any last minute cancellations are billable. (2 days notice OR doctors note) People cancel on you at the last minute and you are stuck with nothing to do for that half hour. Be firm on this and explain well up front so they all know the policy. If you are firm and professional with this people will respect your time better. If you get all loosey-goosey they will respond in kind and you can be left with pockets of empty time which is OK once in a while but can become a major drag if it happens often enough. If you want to make an exception do it ONCE but make sure you say "I'll let it slide this time but the policy is... next time you will be billed"

As far as the lesson itself:
- Form a plan of what you are going to do with students. Spend a weekend or two and chart out some courses of instruction. Figure out a bunch of beginners songs, exercises, reading and theory material. Then do the same for the intermediate and advanced levels. Students like when teachers are organized and have a plan they are working through. Go through all the basic chord shapes and rank them in terms of difficulty (F & Barre chords are the hardest for beginners). Present them and everything in an order.

- Make part of the lesson teaching them ear training or how to lift a song on their own. (I did a blog entry on this with a list of songs may be helpful Six String Obsession: How to learn to play by ear - The Great Secret revealed!)

- Take notes at the end of the lesson as to where you left off with the student. So as he comes back the next week you can pick up right where you left off.

- Dont force note reading or theory on anyone who you arent sure is in love with the instrument. Nuture the enjoyment FIRST and everything else will eventually fall into place. Many bad teachers drive kids away from playing because they think they are doing the right thing by forcing them to learn to read etc. 

- Communicate EVERYTHING with the parents and explain what you are doing with their kid. Especially if you are NOT teaching them reading and text book stuff. Some parents get uptight that "all the kid is learning is songs and stuff" - make sure they understand what you are doing.

Most important make it FUN FUN FUN!! Keep it light and try to inspire them with great videos, expose them to good players, show them exciting pedals and stuff that excites you. Make them a part of the guitar culture as quickly as you can. All this stuff can be as enticing as the pursuit itself.

Good luck brother! Ask questions here too as you go!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I will try to reply later, but in the meantime, search this place where I've posted literally pages of my outlook on the subject:
Discussion Forums: For Teachers

Peace, Mooh.


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## jeremy_green (Nov 10, 2010)

I formalized and expanded on my response a bit in my blog. Thanks for the topic idea!

Six String Obsession: Teaching - some tips on where to begin


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

While you want to have a well rounded approach, make sure that you slant your teaching towards _your_ strengths. If reading music is one of your strengths then emphasize reading music, if listening is a strength then emphasize listening. Personally, my emphasis is to make "musicians" rather than "guitarists" so I strongly encourage reading, theory, and performance. I have lost students with this approach, but I have also gained students with this approach. Most importantly, I am _comfortable_ with this approach.

You also want to balance teaching to your _students'_ strengths so they can have some success, but also encouraging them to stretch themselves with the things that they struggle with. There's nothing so rewarding as "seeing the light go on" after a student has struggled with something - and it gives them a real boost to finally "get it" too.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

jeremy_green said:


> I formalized and expanded on my response a bit in my blog. Thanks for the topic idea!
> 
> Six String Obsession: Teaching - some tips on where to begin


Jeremy makes a great point about getting feedback from your students. Though I find that most of my students, especially those who aren't teenagers, have no idea what they would like to learn (they just want to make music) - so you need to have a plan. Often what I will do is work on 2 or 3 tunes for a bit and then ask, "which one do you like the best" and that's the one that we will work on getting "performance ready".


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