General Music Chat

No, I don't need guitar lessons, I'm trying to get set up to teach guitar and thought I would check in with you guys and see if anyone has any good tips and advice.

I've taught a little at a local music store, it went pretty well but didn't last long since the guy running the store was too interested in booze and drugs and let it get in the way of business. He got way too wasted at our first gig, fell face down on stage, went outside and threw up a few times while I kept things going with bass player and drummer I'd just met a couple of hours earlier, and of course we parted company that night.

So...I'm trying to get some more income going, I literally can't keep the bills paid right now, so I need income and there are no bands needing guitar players around here right now, I've been looking for over 3 years.

I'm planning to try and do this in peoples' homes, since I don't have a decent place to do it myself, I live in a tiny house that's pretty run down and I have way too much stuff, it's piled up everywhere, not acceptable for guitar lessons. I'm thinking $25 a half hour, print out some chord charts and go from there, maybe I'll be able to get some actual books later on. for now I have a good laser jet printer that gets excellent print quality and it won't bleed or run like ink jets will. I've demonstrated this when trying to sell laser jets by dipping my business card in a glass of water, after showing them what happens with an ink jet. We had a sheet of paper printed with ink jet someone had spilled water on, I kept it instead of letting it hit the trash, just for this demonstration. Laser jet also does print shop quality.

In the short time I taught for the music store it seemed to go pretty well, the kids liked me and I think they were willing to practice because they liked me and wanted to show some improvement. First thing we always did was put the guitars on a tuner, and as I went I tried to teach them what the various parts of the guitar were too, and kept after them to practice so they could learn a few chords and how to change chords so they could start learning songs. It's not much fun until you can put a song together...

Anyway, I thought I'd check in with the guys here, I know some of you have mentioned teaching guitar, any tips and advice you can give a beginning teacher, I'll appreciate it.

Paleopete, I wish I was experienced enough to offer true advice in this case. But anyhow, with your guitar knowledge and patience I imagine you would be an awesome guitar teacher.

By the way, I know what you mean about some printers, some just really stink, Lol.

I really wish I could be of help more here. The only thing I can offer is if you need some kind of special photo ad or something made up I can try and do that for you. I use Photoshop to do my stuff.

Peace out, GuitarAnatomy.

Hey Pete,

Ive been teaching rock/country/folk guitar and bluegrass/melodic banjo outta my home studio for 14 yrs now...Dont use any tab or books anymore..I create arrangements and rhythm tracks on an OLD ensoniq SQ1 (much like Howlins SY 55)...I teach by phrasing/muscle memory and theory. (Scales,Keys, chord # system,rhythmic patterns, pickin /strum techniques...I used to put lessons on cassette for the students but now , most want an Mp3 mailed to them..Actually the cassette is much quicker, more practical and can be done on their time.Most students over 59 prefer the cassette.. ...Yeah , if ya can , create ya some room in the house (ya dont need much)..You oughta see this place if ya wanna see cramped... ..I dont charge by the month either, that way Im square with people when they leave..The muisc stores here allow me to advertise my service and even send students my way...No gas has to be burned..Thats the best part.. ..It takes some extra time to create arrangements and you'll have to do some vocals, (even if they suck)..GEEZ, I just taught "Slow Ride" yesterday.. You dont EVEN wanna hear me screamin that thing out in A, (I even sang the tenor...EEEK) BUT, its teachin......
Yeah , do all your drum , bass , piano , B3, Sax, Synth, etc on the SQ1 (prolly get one or something like it ) for 200-300 bucks now..Then track your gtr and sequencer to Audacity (or your cassette multitracker) and ya got a lesson..


Hope this gives ya some ideas..

John

I hadn't even thought about payment by the month, it'll be by the lesson or forget it.

I don't have the equipment to do complete arrangements, so that might be difficult. I do have guitars, sax, flute, xylophone and electric piano but no bass or drums. Have Audacity already, it's working fine but I need to get some quiet around here so I can tinker with it some more and learn how to use it better, but I can use it and maybe get a couple of people I know here to either do some parts for me or loan me the instruments. I'm a good singer so that's not much of a problem, but I don't have the range I did a few years ago. Singing with the flu is a BAD idea...but I thought a good paying New Years gig was not to be missed...there goes 3 notes off the top of my range...

I'll be learning as I go, I'm still pretty unsure about this but I need to do something and I think it's worth a try.

GA: Thanks, I appreciate it but I already made up a nice looking flyer, no graphics needed, but I might grab a bmp of a guitar and drop it in, I can do that easily. I have a good program for that, a couple actually just need to poke around online and find the pic I want.

it's tuff to learn enough chords and how to strum-in-time right off the bat... so what I did was have them bring in a song they like and teach them the melody in a single note style... kids love this. now they CAN play their fav song... this gets them exited and being exited makes them practice. it also builds dexterity. you can't pester a kid into practice... then it becomes a job.. . then they loose interest. you also can't just let them play... so trick them. all the while have them learn one chord each lesson and tell them that this is the "hard" stuff they need to practice and the melody is for "fun" time.

I'd give up on going to their house... not many ppul are willing to let a stranger in these days... plus it's damn near impossible to build up enough students that way. find a local music store... offer to sell guitars for 2hrs a day for them for free. every gtr you sell you can assume the ppul want to sign up for lessons... leave a schedule on hand at the store so they can sign kids up when u r not there. dazzle mom and dad with "dust in the wind" and dazzle the kid with korns "nick nack patty wack". these ppul meet you in a store and like you and you can sell them 12 weeks of lessons up front.

offer to give a free first lesson to anyone who buys a gtr - to get them started. most stores realize that a good population of students taking lessons there means string/pick/books sales. make them give out your card with each gtr sale.

you pay them $2 an hour for renting a studio and help keep their biz going and they will start signing kids up every time they sell a guitar. you'll have more students than you want. you can also sell the idea that you will get your students to upgrade from their stock. this guarantees repeat biz.

I made a living doing this all throughout college. I taught at 3 dif music stores at one time. had a waiting list 40 students long at points along the way. not boasting... you don't have to be good to teach... you just have to be good with kids cause there's not enough advanced students to keep you employed.

unfortunately right now is the worst time in the world for teaching cause it's summer and no one wants to be inside... you need to build up students over the winter and get them to pay in advance for summer. not many ppul buying guitars in stores either. that's why you might need a few stores to work from.

hope some of this is useful. good luck.

More students will come and go, than will stay. So charge more for the first lesson, and make it an hour minimum. Then reduce the rate for subsequent lessons. You need to factor gas into the equation at these prices, if you are going to them. Having your own space is preferable as some parents may pay you just to get the kid out of the house for an hour.

Also, consider a "clinic" instead, or in conjunction with bi-weekly lessons.

Community centers and community colleges sometimes will provide space if they are making money as well, for teachers to provide limited workshops. In this scenario, you have a half-day event, maybe 4 hours worth, but charge a good price, with materials they can take home and keep, and if you advertise it well, who knows if you sign up 20 students at a time, and instead of maxing your hour out at a ceiling of $50 bucks, maybe you charge that same $50 bucks for FOUR HOURS, but multiply it by 20. That's $1000 bucks. Even if half of it went out for the space and for materials, you would net $500 bucks, making you $125 an hour, instead of $50. This could also become your "pool" for new regular students, who want to continue with their lessons. You would be making MORE money per hour, and they would be getting a one-time amazing deal of $50 bucks for 4 hours rather than one hour. Any prospective students would be referred to "begin" with your "guitar clinic" as their introduction to your teaching.

You could bill it like this...

"Everything you need, to learn to play hundreds of songs, in a single 4-hour crash course, with qualified music instructor... Pete (Last Name)"

Good advice Mike!

Good advice Mike!

as always I relish your praise craig.
right back at ya... clinics are a great idea...
remember pete... this is a biz... you gotta hustle... when ppul pay as they go it is much easier to not be commited... pay in advance is non-refundable so if they quit = too bad (obviously make sure you tell this up front and use the idea that you are locked in with that rate on those lessons as a selling point. hell I used to give a 10percent discount if they pay for a month or more in advance).

I think MrMikeV had a great idea with keeping the kids happy. Kids and attention spans being what they are, they need to experience some, any form of gratification early on to keep with it. This from experience, too
Also, you might try to befriend a copy jock at a Kinkos or something like that. When I managed a Quick Copy center outside of Philly, I always gave musicians HUGE breaks.
From what little I have read of your posts here, I think you have the patience and personality to be a great teacher !

u r too kind. thanks, mv

1st few lessons are spent teaching & correcting form, in most cases, for me. I often find that they still need reminding after being with them for months.

I start with the chromatic scale, & "doh reh mi in B" on the 2nd fret of 5th string, because the frets correspond with the proper fingers in the tab.

I also toss in Alice Cooper's "Eighteen" for fun early on cuz it's so easy.

It's at this point that I start with chords & basic strums, while adding two-octave major & minor scales, & the pentatonic scales.

Once they have the pentatonics down pat, I try to get them to jam with them for at least 5-10 minutes every lesson in a blues format.

I use "Wildwood Flower" to teach lead fingering & melody within chord patterns. I get a lot of rolling of the eyes with this, but it works very well once they do it. Then you can add in the strums between the lead parts & it's a one-man show. Once they learn this it gets exciting for a bit, for most students, even if they hate country/bluegrass. If you do it in C, it also introduces the dreaded F chord in a non-threatening way.

Chording is often a nightmare for them. I try to get them to instantly put thier fingers in the chord shapes while strumming a monotonous pendulum pattern. It takes a while, but it works if they keep up with it daily.

Only after they have learned the basic scales & a few chords do I ask them to bring music they are interested in. I tell them this at the outset, so it gives them something to shoot for, & lets them know they've progressed when they get there. A nice reward for thier efforts.

Getting paid by the month is the bestest! When they crap out on you at the last minute, you've already been paid. Of course I was waiting for them at a music store. Going to thier house is a whole 'nuther thing, I guess. Still, if I have done my part, & prepared your lesson, you should pay me for it if you decide to do something else at the last minute, with less than a day's notice.

Get some nice wide-lined tab paper. I've only gotten this teeny little crap around here in books & it's hard to write on & hard to see. Dunno why they even sell this crap.

I love teaching. Next best thing to writing & playing.

Some great tips here guys, thanks a lot. I'll see if I can respond to a couple of things if I can remember it all...

All the music stores are wrapped up around here, I seriously doubt if there's a chance for more guitar teachers in that area, plus it's 26 miles to the closest one. Not a drive I want to make every day at almost $4 a gallon for gas, and the gas bill is the main reason I'm not cruising over there pretty regular to try and find some sort of **cough**day job...

I was doing basically the same thing as philby, when I tried teaching at the music store. Get them comfortable with a couple of chords and try to get them to the point they could remember them and chance from one to the other and learn some sort of simple song. That was my biggest frustration, their attention span is not great and it's boring just practicing chords, so I had them work on strumming too, change chords at various times while keeping it going, and also had to constantly remind them about form. One girl let the guitar practically lay in her lap and it took constant reminding to get her to keep it in a decent playing position.

I also always made sure the first thing they did was put the guitar on a tuner, and after they tried for a couple of minutes and got lost I'd help. they gradually were getting the hang of it.

Eighteen sounds like a good idea, and I've played Wildwood Weed - I mean Flower - for ages so that one wouldn't be hard to work with. It'll be hard not to break into Jim Stafford's lyrics though.

As far as chords go, I knew it was rough on them, so I tried to get it across that daily practice would develop callouses and it wouldn't hurt hoping that would be something to shoot for. Surprisingly enough, F didn't give me as much trouble as I thought, the stretch of little fingers for a decent G was tougher.

Damn...I just realized I'm late for work, I'll have to drop in again later and finish this, I'm 5 minutes late, but sitting in the parking lot so it's not that bad...thanks a lot, I'll get back to ya

Damn, Nobody ever told me I had to change chords! Sittin here on this sack of seeds.

For little hands, I use the "cheater chords," you know, the 3rd finger on 3rd fret of 1st string for G - don't play the 5th & 6th strings. This helps when it comes time to learn to strum full chords, but you hafta hold off the 6th in a D, F, etc. Gives them control of their strumming hand. For C, of course, just play the 1st 3 strings...etc etc etc. This method makes the D the 1st 3 finger chord they learn. Once they get over that little hurdle, it's easier to teach them the harder stuff.

I don't make children stretch too much to make full chords. It hurts, & makes them want to quit.

I spend more time teaching single note melodies that they are familiar with, like London Bridge, or Mary Had a Lil Lamb, stuff like that. Keep them doing simple melodies until they are more familiar with the guitar, & able to stretch further. I also make them learn stupid little ditties that I've written for kids, with nonsensical words. Makes them giggle a lot, & makes them work to learn the nonsense phrases, too, as well as the melodies. You oughta see their faces light up when they learn to sing & strum "Gaffor Gadding Gee-doo!" It's hilarious, & yet they learn in spite of it all.

I also get the small ones to stomp out beats with their feet or clap their hands to learn to keep in time. It's fun to see them marching around chanting "ONE two three four" over & over while keeping their breathing in check so they don't lose the beat. This is necessary for the small ones, imo, no matter what instrument I'm teaching. I use metronomes a lot, too, of course.

I used to do recitals with the students at Xmas time. I'd give them some challenging things to learn in Oct, & push them a bit harder to learn it by the performance. It was a big deal, too, for ALL of us! There's always a local church that will let you use their space for a few hours on a Saturday for this. I've thought about using the coffee house place, too, cuz some of my students wanna play stuff that really shouldn't be done in a church...LOL.

Best recital I ever had was one where I made a little combo with a 51 yr old woman playing acoustic, a 15 yr old boy on electric bass, & a 14 yr old girl on electric guitar, all playing "Take 5" together - without drums or any percussion. My goodness how they wowed us all! Each one had to take the melody, even the bassist had to play the 1st 1/2 of it. They traded off leads & chordings, & had to play the melody in 2 octaves.

Same show, a 6 yr old boy sang & played "Gaffor Gadding Gee-doo," & brought the house down in laughter & cheers.

That music store I taught in has closed, & man I really miss teaching! I only have 1 student, now, that I teach at his home. I've heard through the grapevine that a couple of my other students want to return, & I need to find a place to teach. Maybe I'll try it at another music store one day.

I don't usually charge for the 1st lesson. This is where I establish my rules - #1 less than 24 hrs' notice for a dropped lesson means you PAY for it! - #2 if you don't practice for 5 weeks running, I'll bring it to your parents' attention, & if you still haven't on the 6th week I'll fire you as a student (no sense wasting ppl's time & $, I figure) - #3 no lessons on days when school's been cancelled due to inclement weather or holidays - #4 you, as my student, WILL play at the Xmas recital to show that you actually have learned something from me, unless there is a damned good reason for you to miss it.

I allow parents to attend the 1st lesson, & then request that they leave us alone to work. Rarely do I get a huffy mommy or daddy complaining about it, but it's happened, & I've allowed them to attend, but to keep quiet while the lesson progresses.

I also begin to teach tab at the 1st lesson, but it rarely sinks in well the 1st week. I look at it like the 1st week is a toss-away in terms of really learning anything, but it establishes our roles & sets up the tone for the real lessons. That's why I do the 1st one for free. After that, it's $20/half hr or $40/hr. If I'm teaching at their home, the price goes to $25 & $50, respectively, cuzza the extra expense on my part to get there, & no, the 1st lesson isn't free, either..